Why a Credit Check?

To everyone who responded concerning not getting hired due to poor credit report, I was one of those people. Even though I have an outstanding work history as well as references I was denied a high paying management job because of this. I contacted my congress person in my state and surprising heard back from her. Everyone in every state has to do this. Stop this terrible practice especially in this day and age when people are being foreclosed on left and right.

Negla3 in Columbus, Ohio said: I don't have good credit either, but I do think that the check is important, because people with bad credit and access to information can be tempted to use others' credit/identities.

Yeah maybe so but jobs needs to created for people to acheive more goals and better pay in order to get out of debt.

B in Clearwater, Florida said: They are looking for a history or financial troubles usually so it isn't necessarily by the score. Like Negla3 said, people with financial troubles are FAR more likely to do something illegal as means of paying bills especially dealing with money and/or other peoples finances and personal info. I am not saying that everyone is like that it is just statistics. Same thing as why your insurance company pulls credit to determine risk. Bad credit people are more likely to make a false claim etc...But bad credit doesn't necessarily discount you from employment if it is explainable i.e. good credit up until you became unemployed.

Never know what the situation is as to why some people have bad credt issues, all I know is that mine is horrible due to my medical condition. I believe that people would pay off there bad credit if there was enough money left over after slaving at someone eles establishment making them a fortune. I am well-educated and have professional degrees, but the industry has no consideration for each individual situation.

B in Clearwater, Florida said: There is plenty of data that supports this otherwise it wouldn't exist. I did not say everyone with bad credit would do these things. I said it makes them MORE likely to do these things which is why companies look at it.

Scenario:
Person A has no late payments or collections and credit cards have 0 balances

Person B has 5 credit cards that are maxed out, collections, late pays on their car and credit cards. They have collection agencies and creditors calling them daily for payments threating to take them to court

In a pool of 100 of each of these scenarios, who would be MORE likely to steal, cheat etc...? If you tell me there would be no difference you are lying. Again, I am not saying that automatically makes you a thief, just more likely to do it on average.

Not to mention, someone with bad credit...can they really give financial advice if they can't even handle their own? Maybe if they used to have bad credit but do not now and they learned from it! But you wouldn't have the problem of getting hired in the first place.

So yes, you are correct that companies use it to discriminate against people.

For senario A that person may have a high paying job or rich parents, or maybe he is not using his credit enough.
Senario B of issues with bad credit, not everyone should be judged by a credit rating, because they may need the job to pay it off bad crdeit to have a more desirable credit history.

B in Clearwater, Florida said: Listen, I agree that a credit check in most instances is uncalled for. However, there are cases where it makes perfect sense. I started my post with only trying to explain why companies do it which was a simple explanation.

Even if 4 out of 5 people with bad credit wouldn't be tempted to commit a crime, maybe it is 9 out of 10 with good credit wouldn't. I guess the 10% difference is worth a company not taking the chance.

And like I said in my first post, USUALLY companies aren't looking at credit score. Depending on the job they may be looking for many different things. Most of what I have seen is looking for responsible payments and managing debt. Of COURSE there are always exceptions to rules with everything.

Remember also, the credit check comes late in the process. If you made it that far then you will have a chance to explain any issue. It's not like they make you send a credit report with your resume!

You got it wrong and I feel sorry for you. Admit it...that most crimes are committed by greedy, over competitiveness, wealthy indiviuals. Martha Steward? I rest my case. Oh...I do believe she would have excellant credit due to the fact that she is exstreemly wealthy, which is why she only got a slap on the wrist and a moment in jail.

bree in Flossmoor, Illinois said: In regards to comment from B in Clearwater, Florida. You must be speaking specifically for yourself. I pratically ruined my credit when I was pretty young 18-23. However I have always worked in banks or places where I had access to sensistive information and have never felt the least bit of temptation to do something that is going to get me thrown in jail. I think denying someone based soley on credit is unfair. Circumstances happen quite often out of your control that can affect your ability to pay also just trying to survive on your own is huge task. Low paying jobs + high cost of living and a few bad choices does not = to a person stealing money, committing identy fraud or filing false insurance claims... Get over yourself... Stop coming to retarded conclusions,,, Thanks

Tell her like it is...please somebody.

joel in Amityville, New York said: There is no empirical data to support your claims. Having bad credit does not mean you will steal, give bad financial advice or anything unethical or illegal. Using credit in the hiring process is just another way to discriminate against those that are viewed as undesirable by the company that is doing the hiring.

You are correct, there is no data to support claims that people with bad credit will steal etc. Actually it appears that people with degrees from Ivy league institutions/popular colleges are the individuals causing all of the financial troubles in Corporate America (Enron, Worldcom, Fannie Mae etc.,).

I am an Internal Auditor and it is amazing the amount of excuses I hear when I confront Senior Managers/Executives about issues at their Corporations.

Basically, it appears that people with good credit in major positions are the ones committing a lot of the fraud in Corporate America. Remember this statement..............."The majority of bankruptcies are filed by individuals with college degrees"

I used to work for a designer discount chain. The manager of the store I am sure had outstanding credit. He lived in a beautiful home and drove brand new cars. But guess what. He stole to the tune of 225,000.00. I was one of the ones who noticed the problem and turned him in. But can't get a job because of credit. Go figure. I urge everyone to write to their congressman and woman about this problem. It has to stop especially in this economy.

jordansbubbe in Wesley Chapel, Florida said: I used to work for a designer discount chain. The manager of the store I am sure had outstanding credit. He lived in a beautiful home and drove brand new cars. But guess what. He stole to the tune of 225,000.00. I was one of the ones who noticed the problem and turned him in. But can't get a job because of credit. Go figure. I urge everyone to write to their congressman and woman about this problem. It has to stop especially in this economy.

Exactly, I was an Internal Auditor for a Fortune 500 Company. Internal Auditor along with Corporate Security conducted a fraud investigations of the "Credit" Manager based on a tip by one of his own employees. He was responsible for embezzling more than $300,000. He was stealing refund checks owed to some of the company's customers due to customer overpayments, product returns etc. He had the checks mailed to an a PO Box owned by him and his wife.

He had a nice home and drove a nice car. He would always give Internal Auditors a hard time by making comments like...I am a CPA and also have an MBA etc. It turns out he was one of the biggest thieves in the company.

B in Clearwater, Florida said: They are looking for a history or financial troubles usually so it isn't necessarily by the score. Like Negla3 said, people with financial troubles are FAR more likely to do something illegal as means of paying bills especially dealing with money and/or other peoples finances and personal info. I am not saying that everyone is like that it is just statistics. Same thing as why your insurance company pulls credit to determine risk. Bad credit people are more likely to make a false claim etc...But bad credit doesn't necessarily discount you from employment if it is explainable i.e. good credit up until you became unemployed.

I don't agree with that statement. I have bad credit. I had fraud on my account for years didn't know it never got a credit check because I didn't have any credit. I am still paying debt that I don't know where it came from. I was told I waited to late to look into things. some things goes back to 2001. Have no ideal who did this. Can't get promotion on my job because of this. I will not make any false statement to try to get good credit. Hopefully one day I will be able to pay everything off. I have to pay the bills that are the most important like hospital bill, utility etc. Then I go back paying the other bills. It's taking forever, don't want to file bankruptcy.

Cant Tellya in rochester, New York said: I would like to just say again that I DID not have a credit check to become a personal banker....they did fingerprinting and a criminal background check and that was all. I was hired 5 months ago so maybe this is something that has changed recently...?

. If you signed a release of information that can do a credit check without you knowing. They are done all the time on jobs.

bree in Flossmoor, Illinois said: In regards to comment from B in Clearwater, Florida. You must be speaking specifically for yourself. I pratically ruined my credit when I was pretty young 18-23. However I have always worked in banks or places where I had access to sensistive information and have never felt the least bit of temptation to do something that is going to get me thrown in jail. I think denying someone based soley on credit is unfair. Circumstances happen quite often out of your control that can affect your ability to pay also just trying to survive on your own is huge task. Low paying jobs + high cost of living and a few bad choices does not = to a person stealing money, committing identy fraud or filing false insurance claims... Get over yourself... Stop coming to retarded conclusions,,, Thanks

preach!

I have poor credit and would like to know if this has any hinderance with me getting hired with Chase Bank.

Jessica in Dodson, Louisiana said: I don't have the best of credit but am thinking of applying as a customer care rep. My question is: do they do a credit check on all employees? If so, what do they look for? I don't have the best of cerdit and it's getting even worse, due to my lack of a job, will this keep me from attaining the position?

Did you get the job? I had an interview with Chase and have poor credit. I want to know did you get hired.

I know this is an old post but I still must comment. In 2000 i walked into my bedroom and caught my husband in bed with another woman. I moved out the next morning after calling the police and threatening him with just about his dear life to get my belongings. He moved her in our home and I was destroyed. I had a break down, literally and didn't work for months. Credit was ruined.
Fast forward have never been able to get back to both our salaries. But was doing fine moved to another state, got a good job, credit was ok (SOL in Tx was up) but NOW, layed off in Sept of 07, and have been living at the same place for 3 years. Moved around quite a bit after the breakup. The bad creditors have found me, the ones that shouldn't be in business. They are sending me bills on debts that are over 8 years old. They have ruined my credit, 1800.00 cell phone bill which was was co-signed (they cant find him), our ccards, everything. They have even sued me for judgement and I was never served. NOW I have been turned down for 4 jobs in the last year. Because of my credit. I am 54 years old, have only had two traffic tickets in my whole life and ok credit up to this point. I have no money to hire a lawyer to get this straightened out Cease and desist letters do not work. They are just adding it on. I have no criminal record and you think if i was going to steal i would have done it before now. Blue collar people who steal just steal, they don't try to get jobs where background checks and drug tests are the norm. So now I am working for 8.00 and hour, barely making it because of irreputable credit companies. Oh yea, I should have paid those bills but never could afford it. I hope all you people posting that think this is OK and fair continue to have a blessed life. I hope you never get sick, or your child gets sick or divorce or death or the multitude of things that happen in life. God bless you that you never know.

karen in Homewood, Illinois said: I have poor credit and would like to know if this has any hinderance with me getting hired with Chase Bank.

I believe poor credit does affect job opportunities with Chase.
I interviewed for a position today, for which I am very qualified.
I was told I would have an offer within 23 to 48 hours.
But of course, rather than call me, they jerks sent me a form email that I havent been hired.
I dont have the best credit bc I've been working and in school, working a low level call center job, had some late payments and plenty of credit card debt to pay off.
I'm def irritated that I applied and interviewed for a call center job for which I have the experience and did not get it.

If you were not hired due to your credit, you will get a letter advising that information based upon your credit prevented you from getting an offer of employment. I suggest that you contact the undersigner of this letter, and offer a letter of indicating why your credit/fica score is low. Again, make sure that you indicate that you have been under employed, not making enough money to sustain your standard of living, hense pay your finanical debts. I hope that it works....good luck.

Jessica in Dodson, Louisiana said: I don't have the best of credit but am thinking of applying as a customer care rep. My question is: do they do a credit check on all employees? If so, what do they look for? I don't have the best of cerdit and it's getting even worse, due to my lack of a job, will this keep me from attaining the position?

I have been through two interviews now with chase and it looks very promising that they are going to offer me a position as a PB. However, I do not have good credit and I am wondering if that is going to be a deciding factor to me getting the job. I got laid off from suntrust bank a month ago and I passed all their background checks. The manager at the end of the interview did tell me that if there were any blemishes on my credit they were unable to hold my licsenses. I want to know that even though I am qualified and perfect for this position is my credit going to ruin this oppurtunity?

I had perfect credit for years, until my spouse lost their job. We knew we would not be able to pay our bills, so we declared bankruptcy. Will this keep me from being hired by Chase in the mortgage loan department?

Chase and most other banks do credit checks now.

Did you know that all the laws that have passed, or are in process of being passed, that ban credit checks for employment have an exemption for financial services employers? Financial employees and job candidates are not safe from this discrimination.

I would like to stop you right there. Why do you think that "African Americans" are the only ones that came from poverty? Think before you speak. Every single race has it's share of people who were raised with nothing. No money, no married parents, no college money savings. And if you want to get really technical, there are so many "programs" out there to send "African Americans" to college for free, i'm suprised you would even say anything about people "descriminating" about your bad economic situation. The fact of the matter is we all have the same chances now, regardless of what anyone says, some have it handed to them, and some go out and earn it, and some decide to make excuses and drain the economy asking for handouts. Which decision will you make?

To anyone interested.. I received an offer from Nationwide Insurance Jan 2011, the same day they called back and rescinded the offer because of my poor credit history. Does anyone know if JPMorgan Chase do the same thing? No money, no job, bad credit!!! Great Country we live in, this is the thanks I get serving two tours in Iraq, thanks America!!!

Rob in Columbus, Ohio said: To anyone interested.. I received an offer from Nationwide Insurance Jan 2011, the same day they called back and rescinded the offer because of my poor credit history. Does anyone know if JPMorgan Chase do the same thing? No money, no job, bad credit!!! Great Country we live in, this is the thanks I get serving two tours in Iraq, thanks America!!!

My heart goes out to you Rob in Columbus, Ohio. thank you for your service to our country. Take heart, things will get better because our Might God is still in control. I am a single widowed mom with sterling credit up until 1.5 years ago due to no
work. College degree, bilingual, etc. But I know change will come. Keep your faith and your head up.

Using credit checks is just a legal way to discriminate against those who are already at a disadvantage. I myself have been denied for several jobs just because of my credit. I am 40 & have never been arrested for anything. Do you think at 40 & a clean record I would begin a life of crime just because I have access to someone's financial information or their money. Most of the jobs that I apply for have nothing to do with financial obligations. Call center jobs are now doing the same thing. A lot of companies see this as a way to legally discriminate against minorities, as well as those beneath their economic level. Before I recently got a degree, I had to work low-wage jobs that caused me hardship. I barely made enough to pay my bills let alone any extras, so I had cars repossessed, got evicted, among other things. That is why I worked hard to put myself through school & get a better paying job to clean up my credit. How can any individual do that if they are not offered a chance to make a decent wage? Yes, I made bad decisions as well, however I never stole, lied, or cheated anyone. All I did was mess up my credit. I never hurt anyone but myself. This is discrimination but it is legal! & it will continue until it is no longer legal. The unemployment rate for minorities is over 19% & climbing.

In case anyone is still interested, I was worried about the credit check with Chase, but I've actually just gotten confirmation that my background check (which includes credit check) has passed. The only thing pending is my fingerprint results, which, unless you've committed a crime you didn't disclose, shouldn't be something to worry about. My credit is pretty poor, I have a repo on it, and that doesn't include other bad debt... I too was young and stupid.

B in Clearwater, Florida said: OK go read this then since it touches on credit reports.

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pre-employment_screening

For you to say there is no correlation between the two is ridiculous.

Do you understand mathematics and statistics? IT IS MORE LIKELY THAT SOMEONE WITH BAD CREDIT WILL DO IT VS SOMEONE WITH GOOD CREDIT. THAT IS NOT SAYING EVERYONE WITH BAD CREDIT AND NO ONE WITH GOOD CREDIT WILL DO IT, JUST PERCENTAGE OF RISK.

Do you understand ANYTHING. Wikipedia seriously. Were you never taught in college that wiki. is not a reliable source. Oops maybe you don't have a college degree. Here is a link from NY times, which by the way is a reliable source to debunk your nonsense. www.nytimes.com/2010/04/10/business/10credit.html

You are so correct. This is why I am leaving Texas to a state that has passed a law that makes it illegal to use credit reports for employment. Texas has not
passed this law for its citizens and I don't understand why. Oregon, Maryland, Hawaii, Washington and Chicago have passed it. Many other states are looking
at doing this.

B in Clearwater, Florida said: They are looking for a history or financial troubles usually so it isn't necessarily by the score. Like Negla3 said, people with financial troubles are FAR more likely to do something illegal as means of paying bills especially dealing with money and/or other peoples finances and personal info. I am not saying that everyone is like that it is just statistics. Same thing as why your insurance company pulls credit to determine risk. Bad credit people are more likely to make a false claim etc...But bad credit doesn't necessarily discount you from employment if it is explainable i.e. good credit up until you became unemployed.

I was a bank security officer and a senior executive at many banks. Do not believe the comment that "Bad credit people are more likely to make a false claim etc". This is not true, most people always pay their bills on time if they can. When someone goes through a divorce, job layoff or medical problems they cannot help getting behind. I never turned down someone for a job based on a credit report. I was only interested in their criminal record and if they passed the drug test. The credit bureau agency's make millions of dollars telling employers to use a credit report to critique potential employees. The credit bureau lobby also pays millions of dollars to lobbyist to pay off your senator and congressman not to pass laws to make this illeagle. You are not a criminal if you have not commited a crime and getting behind on you bills does not make you a bad person. Do not beleive all of the lies being told by the credit bureau media.

I have a interview this week with a insurance company that I really want. After looking at the job description it says they perfrom a credit check. My credit is bad. Should I even go for the interview? It's for Sedgwick CMS as a claims examiner.

jjackson in Austin, Texas said: I have a interview this week with a insurance company that I really want. After looking at the job description it says they perfrom a credit check. My credit is bad. Should I even go for the interview? It's for Sedgwick CMS as a claims examiner.

I would apply, however you may not like your company they are in the business of trying to take away workmans comp benefits. Your credit record has nothing to do with getting a job. You are not a criminal because you have some credit issues. If you are turned down for this job, complain to all of your elected officials such as a congressman, senator, state representative, governor, state senator. Also call the civil liberties union to see if they can help and contact the local bar association. If you put up a fight you will get a job. It is against our legal system to discriminate and convict someone of a crime that has not been committed. Do not allow the system to take you down! You need a job and deserve a job, hand in there and fight!

Cheryl K in Delaware in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania said: I don't agree with this credit check business!

I am a Truck Driver, based in AZ. I didn't need a credit check to get the job- or the license. I have a perfect driving record, and spotless criminal background. But you see, it's not my career. Since 1990 I've held 11 financial licenses, including the one I would need to manage Merrill Lynch. And, I'm qualified to manage Merrill Lynch. I've invested over $1 billion for clients and have qualified for the Million Dollar Round Table, (in insurance) 4 times. I've worked for Dean Witter, Prudential,
Independent Bank of So. Michigan, (Investment Center VP for 14 branches) Washington Mutual Bank, ING, AIG, Farmers Insurance, and Allstate Insurance, (twice) among others. I've never even had a whisper of a complaint from over 2,000 clients. I am always honest- always. I've been downsized, rightsized, and laid off from company buyout, 10 times in 10 years because of the economy. My sales record is impeccable and impressive. I've never been "fired". And, because of this, and a divorce, and taking care of my disabled brother, I have a credit score of 435. I haven't even been able to get an entry level insurance sales position, now for 2 years. It isn't fair. So, I have to drive a truck. Any help out there?

Keith in Manchester, Tennessee said: I would apply, however you may not like your company they are in the business of trying to take away workmans comp benefits. Your credit record has nothing to do with getting a job. You are not a criminal because you have some credit issues. If you are turned down for this job, complain to all of your elected officials such as a congressman, senator, state representative, governor, state senator. Also call the civil liberties union to see if they can help and contact the local bar association. If you put up a fight you will get a job. It is against our legal system to discriminate and convict someone of a crime that has not been committed. Do not allow the system to take you down! You need a job and deserve a job, hand in there and fight!

I'm sorry, you are very wrong. Read my Post. I am Ed TC.

Negla3 in Columbus, Ohio said: I don't have good credit either, but I do think that the check is important, because people with bad credit and access to information can be tempted to use others' credit/identities.

Only a crook would do this and they would have a felony record and could not pass the bonding requitements. You have more risk shopping for a car at a dealership!

I agree! Please look at my Post. Thanks, Ed

Ed TC in Salt Lake City, Utah said: I'm sorry, you are very wrong. Read my Post. I am Ed TC.

I cannot find your reply, and if you judge people because they were laid off or had medical issues you are missing the mark. I have been in the financial business for many years and know quite a few top executives. Do not belive what the credit bureaus are telling you, go by the felony record and the drug check. If anyone steals they were a thief before they were hired and should have been caught prior to being hired. Do not judge people who have never had a felony record, you are judging them when they have done nothing wrong!

joshril in Maple Valley, Washington said: I worked for Chase as a securities licensed persona
l banker and they did not pull a credit check on me. I wouldn't worry.

They did on me, but I'm a Securities Principal. Please see my Post.

I cannot get to your post and will be glad to please tell me where to go and find it.

B in Clearwater, Florida said: They are looking for a history or financial troubles usually so it isn't necessarily by the score. Like Negla3 said, people with financial troubles are FAR more likely to do something illegal as means of paying bills especially dealing with money and/or other peoples finances and personal info. I am not saying that everyone is like that it is just statistics. Same thing as why your insurance company pulls credit to determine risk. Bad credit people are more likely to make a false claim etc...But bad credit doesn't necessarily discount you from employment if it is explainable i.e. good credit up until you became unemployed.

This job pays little more than minimum wage and yet the requirements are

" Basic Requirements:

•Must have no history of criminal conviction, no current bankruptcy, current bad debts, current overdue bills or any pending court dates "

I find this ethically disturbing, and actually hurting lower income persons as this helps to promote and maintain "class status." This is asinine. I can understand the criminal rejection, however, to be rejected because of bankruptcy or if you have a court date, or to be behind on a bill seems outrageous

I would think that those most in need of a job that pays 10 per hour would be those who may be just the kind of persons you are excluding and a bit down on their luck. A person should not be judged in such strict manner, especially when the pay is barely above minimum wage. You should be ashamed!

Too many employers today seem to treat job applicant credit scores as de facto personality assessments, which is a mistake. “If you look at what actually goes into a credit score, only 35 percent of it is your repayment history,” he says. Paying bills on time does demonstrate that a person is financially conscientious, but a long stretch of unemployment or other hardship like a medical crisis can skew that.

Many job-seekers, especially those who h

B in Clearwater, Florida said: There is plenty of data that supports this otherwise it wouldn't exist. I did not say everyone with bad credit would do these things. I said it makes them MORE likely to do these things which is why companies look at it.

Scenario:
Person A has no late payments or collections and credit cards have 0 balances

Person B has 5 credit cards that are maxed out, collections, late pays on their car and credit cards. They have collection agencies and creditors calling them daily for payments threating to take them to court

In a pool of 100 of each of these scenarios, who would be MORE likely to steal, cheat etc...? If you tell me there would be no difference you are lying. Again, I am not saying that automatically makes you a thief, just more likely to do it on average.

Not to mention, someone with bad credit...can they really give financial advice if they can't even handle their own? Maybe if they used to have bad credit but do not now and they learned from it! But you wouldn't have the problem of getting hired in the first place.

So yes, you are correct that companies use it to discriminate against people.

or the person with good credit was already a thief and kept in good standings without ever getting caught. There really is no good way to tell if someone is going to steal from a company. There is so many variables that companies try to cover themselves with assesments and reports and face to face interviews but no one really knows what will make the person snap. Look at all the top dogs in the banking industry that have stolen the company's money. How many of them had clean credit when hired?