Back in the 70s things were very different. Back then under federal law your credit rating was to be used for one purpose only – to determine if you were credit worthy. The law expressly forbid using your credit rating for any other purpose. Forget the laws, today your credit rating is being used for a rapidly expanding list of other purposes.
A short true story;
I interviewed with a major financial firm. The first two interviews went
very well and as I left their facility with a firm appointment for the
next interview in my wallet, a lady from the personnel department
approached me breathless. “Oh, I almost forgot, I need you to sign
this”.
She handed me a single page release that authorized “any and all” background searches. I gulped hard but managed a confident smile as I signed the damned thing. I crossed my finger and hoped for the best.
Four days later I received a letter canceling my third interview and thanking me for my time and interest. Bottom line – they were dumping me because my credit was less than perfect.
Would someone please explain to me what your credit rating has to do with your desirability as an employee? Sure I had some minor financial problems and late payments, but they were only routine financial problems that were the direct result of some minor problems I’d been going through.
Yes, I was having some problems but I only needed one thing to get back on my feet - I NEEDED A JOB! But because my credit wasn’t perfect, a job was the one thing I couldn’t get! Talk about your Catch-22 situations!
So here is what you MUST do before starting your job search. Contact all three of the major credit bureaus listed below and get a copy of your most recent credit report.
But what about all those outfits on the Internet and on TV that can, for a single fee, provide a single report that contains data from all three reporting agencies? It sounds more convenient – right?
The best approach is to run the checks yourself. When you hire some other firm to do the work for you, they will end up with a ton of personal information on you. Who exactly are these people? What exactly are they doing with your information? They may be selling your data to others. Do you really want to take that risk? Be smart – do the work yourself.
Lately each of the major credit bureaus has started selling all three reports for one package price. If you trust them with the information, this may be a safer route than trusting some unknown firm.
Equifax:
Equifax Information
Services LLC
P.O. Box 740256
Atlanta, GA 30374
800-685-5000
800-685-1111
Equifax.com
Experian:
Experian Consumer Services
901 West Bond Street
Lincoln, NE 68521
888-397-3742
Experian.com
Transunion:
800-888-4213
800-916-8800
Transunion.com
But why should you bother? You always pay your bills and have never had a problem getting credit. So you’ve always just assumed that your credit record was clean.
When I checked my credit record before applying for a mortgage I got a real shock. Someone with my same name (First and last name plus the same middle initial) appeared on my report. He lived in Texas and I lived in Ohio but nonetheless there he was all over my report like a rash.
This idiot had two very bad habits. First he loved to buy land and hated to pay taxes on it and secondly he loved to drive drunk. So there were all his problems laid out on my credit file! Good thing I checked my file before applying or my mortgage application would have ended up stuffed in a trash basket!
I called the three credit-reporting firms but had problems getting the information removed from my file. It was a real struggle and I had to threaten legal action before they caved in and agreed to check his social security number against mine. Bingo – the two numbers were different and the damaging information was finally purged from my file. Check your file now, before you apply for a job.
Otherwise you could end up being rejected by employer after employer without ever knowing why!
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