Employers : Do you run Credit Checks / Background Checks

[Star Gazer]

Yeah but it's still extra money and time they have to do those things.

 

LB, you're fooling yourself if you think your potential employers won't spend $29 in an effort to make sure their counselors - people entrusted with delicate, fragile people to counsel/treat - are who they claim they are, have the background they claim, etc.

 

Let's put it this way... I don't know of any employers that DON'T run a credit check, if only to verify the things mentioned before.

[jerbear]

Yeah but it's still extra money and time they have to do those things. Not eveyone runs them, I know companies who don't.

 

But yeah, I agree that companies are beginning to do them more and more.

 

Oh plus, with the number of applicants that are applying these days that money will add up if they start doing tons and tons of credit checks.

 

Spending $29 for each candidate is better than spending money on defending lawsuits or negative publicity. Even if they have to spend $290 on 10 candidates it is still cheaper than 1 billable hour.

[Star Gazer]

Spending $29 for each candidate is better than spending money on defending lawsuits or negative publicity. Even if they have to spend $290 on 10 candidates it is still cheaper than 1 billable hour.

 

Ding ding ding! A credit check provides everything that a criminal background check does, and then some, and it's cheaper. There's no reason NOT to do one, particularly when the profession is a sensitive one.

[Lauriebell82]

LB, you're fooling yourself if you think your potential employers won't spend $29 in an effort to make sure their counselors - people entrusted with delicate, fragile people to counsel/treat - are who they claim they are, have the background they claim, etc.

 

Let's put it this way... I don't know of any employers that DON'T run a credit check, if only to verify the things mentioned before.

 

I'm just saying that my old companies have not run credit checks but HAVE run criminal, FBI fingerprints, child abuse. That's what they really want to know.

 

But I think you missed the part where I said that I know of places who DO.

Edited December 17, 2009 by a LoveShack.org Moderator

[Star Gazer]

I'm just saying that my old companies have not run credit checks but HAVE run criminal, FBI fingerprints, child abuse. That's what they really want to know.

 

Well, I bet you good money that they did. Do you have copies of your applications where you signed giving them permission to investigate what you put on your application, including, but not limited to, the other investigations you mentioned? Most standard applications do give permission to conduct credit checks.

 

In any event, I think you just need to be a little wiser in the way prospective employers coduct themselves, that's all. It will do you a world of good.

[carhill]

It doesn't hurt to pull your own report (from the separate vendors) and have that information yourself. It won't be as detailed as a lender report (don't know what employers get) but still will cover any potential sensitive areas and give ample opportunity for correction and/or explanation. Make information work for you

[Lauriebell82]

Well, I bet you good money that they did. Do you have copies of your applications where you signed giving them permission to investigate what you put on your application, including, but not limited to, the other investigations you mentioned? Most standard applications do give permission to conduct credit checks.

 

In any event, I think you just need to be a little wiser in the way prospective employers coduct themselves, that's all. It will do you a world of good.

 

Most agencies require you to obtain/pay for your own clearances. I looked online and it just said "do you give us permission to contact past employers and background checks to assess your moral character, ect. It didn't say anything about a credit check but it MAY be possible that they would run one as I said.

 

Basically my point was that I know of some companies who don't (have talked with HR people).

 

I probably could be a little wiser, that's true. I have gotten fooled pretty good. I have learned though so some good came out of it.

[Star Gazer]

I have gotten fooled pretty good.

 

And I bet I know who's fault you think that is.

[Mary3]

In California, I know for a fact they do. They do both, complete with fingerprinting.

 

Employers run credit checks not really for purposes of checking your credit history. Rather, they run a limited employer report (that doesn't show age/birthdate) to look for judgments, convictions/criminal history, and verifying education/experience/employment history. Credit checks are also much less expensive than complete background checks. They get the information they really need (criminal history, verification of information) from the credit report.

 

If you're denied a job or fired based on information in your credit report, the employer is required to notify you of this.

 

So you are saying they do the CR more based on finding out if you worked where you said you did....If you are a hidden criminal...ect....Its not really your * score * or pass or fail that matters ?

[Mary3]

I just wanted to add that people who, superficially, showed questionable credit, once interviewed and their explanations corroborated, generally received the financing they sought, or we offered an alternative collateralization which met our underwriting standards. I imagine it's the same in the workplace, wrt employment contractual issues, with the difference being credit scoring is just one piece of the background pie for an employee.

 

For me, the bottom line is people are more than a credit score or background check; those tools are useful ways of getting to know someone you are betting your company's, shareholder's or personal money on. Information is a good thing, but it's not everything

 

I love you .........

[carhill]

yeah, that's what borrowers always say when they get their loan

 

So you are saying they do the CR more based on finding out if you worked where you said you did....If you are a hidden criminal...ect....Its not really your * score * or pass or fail that matters ?

 

SG likely knows a lot more employers than I do, but IME, the information is used to determine patterns of behavior consistent or inconsistent with what the company needs for that particular position. Every person and every position is different. Does the FICO matter? IME, the number itself isn't a significant factor and I don't even know if they see that, rather just a pass or fail on their criteria.

Edited December 16, 2009 by carhill

[Mary3]

There are so many circumstances behind BK. I had 25 years of impecable credit. But it all started snowballing and until the day I walked into the A office , it was perfect 750 score . It is THEN that you are instructed to start paying your A and climb off the mountain that you can't handle anymore.

 

It did not help that your CC all raised your interest ( and no you weren't late ) Double your minimum payment ( and no you weren't late ) dropped your available credit and you saw 0 % interest about as often as life in a Ghost Town...

 

You lived in a town where everyones home dropped in value $ 100,000 to $200,000 putting you deeply underwater and at everyone's advice, including your A , you walk away. You would be paying mortgage for 30 years and it still would not equal what you * owe *.

 

Then in the middle of this you get laid off in a state ( as mentioned above ) with the highest unemployment in all the states ( 13% )

 

My friend bought a house for $ 350,000 . One year later it was worth $ 150,000 and was on the auction for $ 80,000 .

 

Then you have those with BK who have a 20 year blemished history with lates, over the limits, they have evictions , judgements and finally after ruining their credit they file for BK . ( Just showing you there are at least 2 kinds of credit history here )

 

Then you have those who had catastropic medical costs , could never pay the hospital off at the depth of the debt.

 

I could go on ....there are many examples why one would file BK. Nobody wants to do it. It tears your heart out and ruins you ( as you can see ) in many different ways...

 

I think they should make credit pulls ( a new law ) where your score is not the basis of your job.

 

Yes they should account if you are a criminal. You robbed a bank. You handle cash.

 

But some say if you are suffereing financially then they need to DIG in and see if you would steal from the company. .......

 

The ODDS of most normal healthy employees is NOT to steal.

 

It just does not seem fair to have someones credit score and eliminate them . ( Based of course on circumstances ) But thats where a new law might come in where you were discriminated against BECAUSE of your credit score...

[carhill]

Trust me, with business in the tank, a divorce chewing at my bank account, and my house worth 1/2 of what it was three years ago, I know exactly what you mean. I almost had sex with a customer today just for bringing in some work

 

That same customer just bought a house for 500,000 (that's one half million) less than was owed on it. 800,000 loan; 300,000 purchase price. Welcome to California.

[Mary3]

Trust me, with business in the tank, a divorce chewing at my bank account, and my house worth 1/2 of what it was three years ago, I know exactly what you mean. I almost had sex with a customer today just for bringing in some work

 

That same customer just bought a house for 500,000 (that's one half million) less than was owed on it. 800,000 loan; 300,000 purchase price. Welcome to California.

 

Santa I can see why you are so darn sexy !

[Star Gazer]

[/b]

 

So you are saying they do the CR more based on finding out if you worked where you said you did....If you are a hidden criminal...ect....Its not really your * score * or pass or fail that matters ?

 

MOST do, yes.

 

However, if your profession requires a higher level of security or scrutiny or judgment (e.g., a bank teller [who handles a lot of money], or an attorney [who needs to be trusted with client confidences and trust accounts], or law enforcement/security [who based on their finances may be inclined to accept bribes], or mental health professionals/counselors [who are expected to be responsible and have good judgment], a financial planner [should be obvious],), credit score DOES become relevant.

 

But when you're applying to work in customer service, or sales, or marketing... it's not as relevant.

[Blackfrost]

Regardless of the position you are applying for at my company - which is a major entertainment company - we run background checks and credit checks, but no urinalysis screenings. It has nothing to do with whether or not you handle money, it's just company policy for everyone who wants to work here. I have no idea what they do with the credit check data, but maybe I'll ping HR and see what they tell me they do with it.

 

I'm sure I'll get the standard HR line "oh we just do it because it's part of the policy"

[Mary3]

MOST do, yes.

 

However, if your profession requires a higher level of security or scrutiny or judgment (e.g., a bank teller [who handles a lot of money], or an attorney [who needs to be trusted with client confidences and trust accounts], or law enforcement/security [who based on their finances may be inclined to accept bribes], or mental health professionals/counselors [who are expected to be responsible and have good judgment], a financial planner [should be obvious],), credit score DOES become relevant.

 

But when you're applying to work in customer service, or sales, or marketing... it's not as relevant.

 

All of the above make sense. We can all think of jobs where your background is very important.

 

I just wonder in this economy how many employers are getting a score and deciding how fair they are going to be with it ?

[Mary3]

Regardless of the position you are applying for at my company - which is a major entertainment company - we run background checks and credit checks, but no urinalysis screenings. It has nothing to do with whether or not you handle money, it's just company policy for everyone who wants to work here. I have no idea what they do with the credit check data, but maybe I'll ping HR and see what they tell me they do with it.

I'm sure I'll get the standard HR line "oh we just do it because it's part of the policy"

 

Thanks BlackFrost

[Blackfrost]

Thanks BlackFrost

 

In response from HR, I received this "a credit report typically includes information about your former addresses and previous employers. We can than use this as one way to verify the accuracy of information that is provided on an application or resume."

 

That was all they would tell me, and they always hire everyone I ask them to hire for my division. So either I'm only getting truthful and responsible applicants with high credit scores or it's just simply what they stated from above. I have seen people disqualified from having a background check done though, so I know they take those checks very seriously

[Mary3]

In response from HR, I received this "a credit report typically includes information about your former addresses and previous employers. We can than use this as one way to verify the accuracy of information that is provided on an application or resume."

 

That was all they would tell me, and they always hire everyone I ask them to hire for my division. So either I'm only getting truthful and responsible applicants with high credit scores or it's just simply what they stated from above. I have seen people disqualified from having a background check done though, so I know they take those checks very seriously

 

Okay BlackFrost , what if HR said " Okay everything checks out , he/she reported everything accurately but BOY look at that awful credit score " What are the odds ?

[melodymatters]

Mary,

 

I am appreciating your thread because I can relate ! I had my own businesses up until my last job, which was managing properties for an absentee owner.

 

 

 

Now this being the real estate market in Florida, HE was declaring personal bankruptcy and advised me to do the same. I had a sick husband who ended up dying and medical bills you can't imagine. Prior to this I was a 800 credit score baby.

 

 

 

Ironically we would check our potential renters credits scores while ours were going to sh*t ! Like I mentioned though, if it seemed recent or incident based, we made exceptions.

 

I think you are getting lots of answers from people who work for major corps, as well as the always present "scare squad". I think , depending on your industry, if you can get face to face and explain : divorce, death in the family etc. It won't count against you too much.

 

As for sending resumes to some faceless HR drone in another state, I don't even believe that works unless you are in a very specific industry. They aren't calling because they bothered to check your credit score : they aren't calling because they are not even reading it !

 

I'd be curious to know more about your situation, feel free to PM !

[Blackfrost]

Okay BlackFrost , what if HR said " Okay everything checks out , he/she reported everything accurately but BOY look at that awful credit score " What are the odds ?

 

As someone else mentioned in this thread, I think your credit could play into decisions made around jobs that handle corporate accounting. If you are not personally handling finance for a company, I don't see how your credit would have anything to do with hire/no hire. We only do background and credit checks, after we have found the candidate we want to hire. So, you'd have to have passed the phone interview and the onsite interview before we ever checked your background. At that point, everyone I've ever interviewed has disclosed any information I should know before we go forward. If I have a potential hire, one of the questions I will ask - if I'm completely serious about hiring them is: before we run your checks, is there any surprises I should know about? If they lie to me, then they are exposed and promptly cut from consideration.

[Mary3]

As someone else mentioned in this thread, I think your credit could play into decisions made around jobs that handle corporate accounting. If you are not personally handling finance for a company, I don't see how your credit would have anything to do with hire/no hire. We only do background and credit checks, after we have found the candidate we want to hire. So, you'd have to have passed the phone interview and the onsite interview before we ever checked your background. At that point, everyone I've ever interviewed has disclosed any information I should know before we go forward. If I have a potential hire, one of the questions I will ask - if I'm completely serious about hiring them is: before we run your checks, is there any surprises I should know about? If they lie to me, then they are exposed and promptly cut from consideration.

 

Well I would tell them the truth. It not pretty with BK but like you said , they can find out NOW or they can find out later. I always believed in the principle : Start with the Truth.

[Mary3]

Mary,

 

I am appreciating your thread because I can relate ! I had my own businesses up until my last job, which was managing properties for an absentee owner.

 

 

 

Now this being the real estate market in Florida, HE was declaring personal bankruptcy and advised me to do the same. I had a sick husband who ended up dying and medical bills you can't imagine. Prior to this I was a 800 credit score baby.

 

 

 

Ironically we would check our potential renters credits scores while ours were going to sh*t ! Like I mentioned though, if it seemed recent or incident based, we made exceptions.

 

I think you are getting lots of answers from people who work for major corps, as well as the always present "scare squad". I think , depending on your industry, if you can get face to face and explain : divorce, death in the family etc. It won't count against you too much.

 

As for sending resumes to some faceless HR drone in another state, I don't even believe that works unless you are in a very specific industry. They aren't calling because they bothered to check your credit score : they aren't calling because they are not even reading it !

 

I'd be curious to know more about your situation, feel free to PM !

 

I am very sorry about the loss of your husband. I can imagine medical bills became sky high. No-one ever thinks they would have to file but thank God there are rights for those who have fallen under the bus and there's no rescue ....

 

You can also PM me if you like

[Kizzyfur]

Personally I think the whole credit check by potential employers is stupid. It is irrelevant in determining whether or not someone is going to be good at their job. I'm a good example of this. Now granted I haven't yet run into any problems getting a job. I am just using myself as an example to why the whole credit check thing is irrelevant to an employer.

My credit rating is pretty bad. This isn't because I'm irresponsible, especially not as far as my work ethic goes. It's mostly due to the write-offs from being in between jobs in the past. That compounded with not making enough money to pay everything at the beginning of the month since they add late payments to your credit rating. It is frustrating having to juggle bills and has caused me some problems with depression because it bothers me when I cannot get something I owe paid because I don't have the money.

However, though I may have a bad credit rating, I have always pulled more than my weight at work. Every job I've had I have always taken up the slack of fellow co-workers and not once did I ever complain about it to anyone other than friends and family. I rarely miss days and have even gone into work when I should have stayed in bed. I also enjoy taking as much overtime as possible.

So yeah, just because someones credit is bad doesn't necessarily reflect their work ethic. So why do companies do a credit check?