There is a side benefit, however small, to having a credit report pulled for employment.
I had to go through a rather detailed background check for my current employer that required a credit report as part of it. When I was asked to explain some negatives on it, I found out that I had old and inaccurate information on it. I was able to pay off one old bill I’d forgotten about and challenge three others that had been paid off long ago.
The end result is cleaner credit for me since I couldn’t have gone to work for this company without nearly squeaky-clean credit. Not a small benefit in the age of tight credit.
Wow. I would never let a company do this. I’m sure my credit rating isn’t too good, mainly because I was travelling for years and never had a credit card or loan, and now because after being made redundant I had to get advice from a charity to renegotiate my student loan payments with my bank. So that means I’m dishonest or that I’m going to steal from the company?? I’d find it hard to think they drew any other conclusion if I didn’t get a job I was qualified for just because of my credit history.
Get your credit report now and fix all the inaccurate and really old stuff. This information is available at the only government-sanctioned credit reporting agency-operated website, annualcreditreport.com, by calling 1-877-322-8228, or by mailing the Annual Credit Report Request Form
When I worked in the “credit industry”, they checked mine first to determine if I was moral enough to destroy villages and burn women and children…
Oh, wait. That was responsible enough to grant sub-prime loans on over-priced pieces of shit that would be under-utilized and prime for repo and resale at a huge premium…
Oh, wait. My business card says, “Senior Underwriter”. Yeah, thats what I did.
Thanks Robin and DrDeth. I don’t think my credit history is poor per se (though with the latest shenanigans with the bank it may well be), it’s just that with years of travelling/no steady job/regular address there isn’t much of it. People of 33 usually have some credit history such as mortgages, loans or even HP agreements - if you don’t at that age plenty of lenders look at you askance and wonder why. Can’t say I care too much though…
It’s like peeing in a cup as a condition of employment… an intrusion into non-job-related activities which, if enough of us willingly submit, will become part of the landscape of discriminatory hiring practices, excluding the already disadvantaged (among the “deadbeats” are folks whose bad credit comes from not enough income/coverage during a medical crisis, whose abusive partners purposely ruined their credit, victims of identity fraud, etc etc) from climbing the socioeconomic ladder.
The one job I had that required a credit check asked me about the negatives that popped up. I was able to get documentation for the three that had been paid off and was given the opportunity to rectify the outstanding bill, which I did.
The other thing they were looking for was my “mode of living.” The company wanted to make sure that I wasn’t so heavily in debt – current or not – that I couldn’t manage it. Unmanageable debt isn’t a good thing when you’re managing other people’s money.
That said, I agree with you in that credit reports shouldn’t be pulled unless it’s vitally necessary for the job being applied for, and even then, the applicant should be specifically asked for consent before doing so; consent language shouldn’t be assumed or buried in a page of boilerplate.
