New York Times Two – Employers and credit scores myth Mayor and city council pat themselves on the back with false information about employers: Credit Score Myth 2

Employers do not use credit scores because they cannot even get them.

Despite that and eight years of debunking, the mayor of New York said, “Using credit scores in hiring decisions only makes it harder for people facing economic hardship to find a job and restore their personal finances.” #1509N

Bill de Blasio’s preposterous statement is in a September 3, 2015 press release on the official website of the city of New York, New York. It announces a campaign to “educate New Yorkers” on a law regarding credit reports and employment screening.

A city Commission on Human Rights flyer is titled: “YOU ARE MORE THAN YOUR CREDIT SCORE. NYC agrees. A new law prohibits most businesses from checking or using your credit history for employment decisions.”

State senator Jeff Klein follows the mayor’s lead, quoted in the press release saying, “A job applicant should be judged on their skills not on their credit score.” #myth2

In April of 2015, before the vote, a press release on the city council’s website stated, “All New Yorkers deserve the chance to compete for a job based on their skills and qualifications, not three digits on a financial report,” said Council Speaker Melissa Mark-Viverito.

In 2013, councilman Brad Lander led his cause in social media with the cry, “‘one, two, three, four. I am not my credit score!'”

Confronted with the fact that employers do not use credit scores, the politician used a poetic license defense: “Fair point. But sadly, ‘credit report’ or ‘credit history’ (which is what many do use) just don’t rhyme as well.”

The same song-and-dance works for a two-man writing team with members from Harvard University and the Federal Reserve. Their title: “‘No More Credit Score‘ Employer Credit Check Banks[SIC] and Signal Substitution.”

One of the authors replied that “‘score’ is there for the rhyming.”

The Fed publishes such so-called “working paper” documents, designated as such “with the aim of contributing to scholarly debate and soliciting constructive feedback.”

What it does with the feedback is the question.

In April, 2015, a local general-interest newspaper, the New York Times, quoted then-council member Vincent Ignizio saying that his measure would allow citizens to “prove their worth based on their talent, not on past mistakes or a credit score that could be low for many reasons.”

In 2012, the newspaper, itself, exacerbated the myth with an item that said, “The credit score, once a little-known metric derived from a complex formula that incorporates outstanding debt and payment histories, has become an increasingly important number used to bestow credit, determine housing and even distinguish between job candidates.”

The article (as with its effect on man) remains false.

Duke tells students to revise history

[previous message]

From: Greg Fisher (greg@creditscoring.com)
Sent: Wednesday, October 02, 2013 11:39 AM
To: Richard H. Brodhead, president, Duke University
Subject: RE: credit score, employers, myth, falsity, truth, efficacy of a social media message, ivory tower II, falsity

I do not see a reply to my email from you, and I am troubled that I have not noticed any that you might have made. But, the change that you made to your previously false document (if that is your response (and if it is not, then it is the greatest coincidence in history)) gives me, at least, a glimmer of hope for the future of the planet.

However, something else—something fundamental—troubles me even more. You state: “You can always ask a credit card company or other creditor to have negative information removed from your account.  They want to keep their customers happy, so they will commonly oblige your request if you have regularly made your payments on time and just made a few errors.”

That is in your document—available worldwide—titled, “How can I improve my credit score?” and is the biggest crock of nonsense that I have ever heard. But I have heard it before and did what I could to stop it. After publicly following consumer reporting for 15 years, I have heard it all.

The law, the Fair Credit Reporting Act, states

The banking system is dependent upon fair and accurate credit reporting. Inaccurate credit reports directly impair the efficiency of the banking system, and unfair credit reporting methods undermine the public confidence which is essential to the continued functioning of the banking system.

It is no wonder the students and young alumni of Duke have an advantage: They have the power to change history.

I used the microcosm of the myth that employers use credit scores to determine the integrity of mainstream media. In that exercise of herding cats, I found that, largely, media organizations are passive-aggressive: They ignore their problem with accuracy, errors and corrections, and me. The First Amendment to the U.S. Constitution lives. The New York Times (the metaphor as well as the actual organization) needs no formal license to exist, publishes falsity (even about American history) and answers to no one. Now that that exhaustive (and exhausting) 5-year study of mine is over, as I crawl out of that rabbit hole of ridiculousness and into the light on the surface, I find ridiculousness ten-fold and growing.

But institutions of higher learning are not cats. They are (to use a fourth metaphor) a different animal, and, in some cases—as with public institutions, for instance—do, indeed, answer to higher authority. Although that appears not to be the case with you, your affiliation with a religious organization indicates a relationship to a higher moral authority, at least.

To whom Experian and its leaders ultimately answer in regard to misinformation, today, is confusing to me: Is it the Federal Trade Commission or Elizabeth Warren’s notion, the Bureau of Consumer Financial Protection (who likes to call itself the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau).

And so, since I have not seen a reply from you, I will now berate you with a prediction: You will change your website regarding that bunk about begging a creditor to create a history that never was, and, indeed, sir, suggesting that banks commonly lie to credit bureaus. It is heresy. Your outrageous suggestion impairs the efficiency of the banking system and undermines public confidence.

Have some dignity.


Greg Fisher
The Credit Scoring Site
creditscoring.com
Page A2
pagea2.com
PO Box 342
Dayton, Ohio  45409-0342
937-681-3224

Truth, falsity and myth in the Ivory Tower

From: Greg Fisher (greg@creditscoring.com)
Sent: Monday, September 30, 2013 9:27 AM
To: Richard H. Brodhead, president, Duke University; Richard H. Brodhead, president, Duke University (via public affairs office); Irene Jasper, director, Student Lending, Duke University; Personal Finance@Duke, Duke University
Cc: Alex Rosenberg, Department of Philosophy, Duke University
Subject: credit score, employers, myth, falsity, truth, efficacy of a social media message, ivory tower

See this message and your response at https://blog.creditscoring.com/?p=5408.

Your website states: “A poor credit score may mean having to make a large deposit in order to open an account with the electric company or to sign a new lease.  It could even mean the loss of job opportunities.”

What is the name of the person who wrote that?

Experian claims, “Creditors, landlords, and even some employers consider a person’s credit score before deciding whether they will approve a loan, lease an apartment, or hire an applicant.” However, Experian also states, “No, Experian’s business policy prevents the inclusion of credit scores with an employment report, at Experian called Employment Insight.”

Employers do not use credit scores. I looked into it. See a five-year account of false statements (including yours, now), in this bizarre and fascinating phenomenon, documented at creditscoring.com. Apparently, you have not noticed the pages behind the links above. During your social media chat with Experian, will you address the notion regarding credit scores in employment alleged on your websites?

What evidence proves that employers use credit scores? What prompted the statement in your document? I am attempting to track the myth to its original source. Who provided—or how you came about—the misinformation is valuable.

Today, please acknowledge receiving this message.

There are many false statements; the one mentioned above has serious consequences. I believe that you and Experian have the burden to prove that your statements are true. Neither of you have provided any evidence.


Greg Fisher
The Credit Scoring Site
creditscoring.com
Page A2
pagea2.com
PO Box 342
Dayton, Ohio  45409-0342

[next message]

Quicken Loans nonsense, and Gilbert’s bitterness about credit scores

Dan Gilbert is bitter.

He made some corrections, but he still has not completed his work.

[previous email exchange]

From: Greg Fisher [mailto:greg@creditscoring.com]
Sent: Tuesday, September 10, 2013 3:29 PM
To: Bill Emerson, CEO, Quicken Loans; Bill Emerson, CEO, Quicken Loans (via L. Kreder); Bill Emerson, CEO, Quicken Loans (via Help address); Bill Emerson, CEO, Quicken Loans (via assistant’s address)
Cc: Dan Gilbert, Fathead; David Quilty, senior editor, Quizzle LLC; Todd Albery, Leader of the Webolution, Quizzle LLC
Subject: RE: Your horrible, recurring errors, follow III

Your website still states, falsely, “Don’t forget: Many employers also check credit scores, especially when you’re in the hiring process.”

That is nonsense. Employers do not use credit scores. I looked into it.

Who is your regulator?


Greg Fisher
The Credit Scoring Site
creditscoring.com
PO Box 342
Dayton, Ohio  45409-0342

Encounter with billionaire about credit score myth

[PREVIOUS EMAIL]

From: Gilbert, Dan
Sent: Thursday, August 01, 2013 10:53 AM
To: Quilty, David; Albery, Todd
Cc: ‘greg@creditscoring.com’
Subject: Fw: Your horrible, recurring errors

Todd and David,

I truly cannot follow this guy’s point below.

Maybe it got lost through all of the bitterness and anger in his email, but as always, I know you guys will try to get to the bottom of it and understand the feedback to determine if there is a change that needs to take place.

Please keep me posted.

Thank you.
Dan G.

[by “below,” Gilbert refers to previous email]

 

From: Greg Fisher [mailto:greg@creditscoring.com]
Sent: Thursday, August 01, 2013 12:17 PM
To: Dan Gilbert, Fathead
Subject: RE: Your horrible, recurring errors, follow

Employers do not use credit scores, but your website said (before the error disappeared (“score” is even gone from its headline)), again, that they do.

What don’t you understand about that?


Greg Fisher
The Credit Scoring Site
creditscoring.com
PO Box 342
Dayton, Ohio  45409-0342

 

From: Greg Fisher [mailto:greg@creditscoring.com]
Sent: Friday, August 02, 2013 1:02 PM
To: Todd Albery, Leader of the Webolution, Quizzle LLC
Cc: Dan Gilbert, Fathead; David Quilty, senior editor, Quizzle LLC
Subject: RE: Your horrible, recurring errors, follow II

Hello, Skippy.

Your error disappeared!  Apparently, lax control is the way to become a billionaire.

I’m still waiting for your boss to reply.  In the meantime, take a look at this.  quickenloans.com states, “Don’t forget: Many employers also check credit scores, especially when you’re in the hiring process.”

Wrong.

Also, some guy wrote (and, Mr. Gilbert left on his website for three years), “If you recognize that maintaining a good credit score is a necessary evil in today’s society because insurers, employers and lenders check scores when making offers, you might consider damage to your credit score a negative consequence of walking away from a mortgage.”

Wrong again.

On that guy’s website, you find the reliability meme, as in: “You can complain about this all that you want, but your whining won’t stop from potential employers from checking out your credit score. The justification that I heard is that an employer will want to see if you’re reliable.”

That was “posted” (as the mommy bloggers say) by yet another guy who tells young people, “Your future employers WILL look at your credit score.”

Elsewhere, that guy gushes: “If you want to build your [CENSORED] for ‘credit score’ or ‘debt management’ than[SIC] just say so! Ask me for my advertising rates and I’m sure that we could work something out.”

Yikes.


Greg Fisher
The Credit Scoring Site
creditscoring.com
PO Box 342
Dayton, Ohio  45409-0342

Senate Majority Leader; credit scores

This is an allegory to The McConnell Bind, a method to force corrections of big-media articles containing errors of fact about credit scores.

The corollary, Senate Majority Leader, starts here, and ties inaccurate credit score articles to screw-ups about U.S. Senator Harry Reid’s (D-Nev.) position in the legislature. Ignoring one is irresponsible.  Ignoring the other is downright un-American.

Here goes.

A Washington Post Writer’s Group piece, released in syndication, states, inaccurately, “Senate Minority Leader Harry Reid predicted at a news conference in Las Vegas that ‘immigration is going to pass the House of Representatives’ and insisted that ‘if [the GOP] were smart, they would take [the Senate] bill’ and start from there.”

But, it is elementary: Senator Reid is the majority (not minority) leader.

The tie-in:  In 2009, the Washington Post published this needlessly scary thought: “And a lower credit score means you pay more for the money you borrow. It can also mean higher insurance rates for your home or car, or worse, the loss of a job.”

Of course, employers do not use credit scores, so relax (and don’t believe da Post’s other scribblings, either).

The first attempt at contact (in this round), regarding this matter of American history, was social media.  That having failed, email is next, and then, if that doesn’t work, the postcard!

False information on government website

The efficacy of a social media message

Lena Taylor
Senator (D-Milwaukee), Wisconsin legislature

Employers do not use credit scores because they cannot even get them.

However, you wrote, “Approximately 40% of employers check credit scores when making hiring decisions.”

So, your information is false.  Who provided that statistic?


Greg Fisher
The Credit Scoring Site
creditscoring.com
PO Box 342
Dayton, Ohio  45409-0342

Wisconsin Capitol
Wisconsin Capitol
Wisconsin Capitol (aerial view)
Wisconsin Capitol (aerial view)

Bloomberg News personal finance blog Ventured&Gained

From: Greg Fisher [mailto:greg@creditscoring.com]
Sent: Friday, May 17, 2013 1:02 PM
To: Rick Levinson, blogger, Ventured&Gained, Bloomberg News
Cc: Meghan Womack, press contact, Bloomberg News
Subject: credit score, employers, edit it

See this message and your response at https://blog.creditscoring.com/?p=5070.

Employers do not use credit scores because they cannot even get them.  However, this week, in the ironically titled “What’s in a Credit Score? Few Know.,” you wrote, “And increasingly, employers are using the scores in hiring decisions.”

I solved that part of the puzzle 5 years ago.  Where have you been?  You also said, “Pretty scary when you consider that these scores help determine whether you’ll get a credit card what[SIC] you’ll pay for it.”

Use complete sentences.

In that publicity piece for VantageScore, you mocked citizens:  “There was one bright spot, however: Apparently folks have gotten the message that making loan payments on time helps raise your credit score. Ninety-four percent of quiz takers got that right.”

It’s no wonder we’re so misinformed.  In this case, since you have such broad influence, I’m ready to listen as you provide your source (or, what you thought was your source) for the mere notion that employers use credit scores, at all.  But it is the “increasingly” part that I’m most interested in.  Who did you get that little gem from?

Or did you just make it up?  I haven’t run across any reports of a New York Noodle Nook 900 credit score requirement to get a job there.  Have you?

The same misinformation that you just published (and its inevitable syndicated error) has serious, real, actual consequences for democracy.  So, stop clucking your tongue at we stupid Americans and respond.  Do so today.  And, make sure that you do not make seem like your error never happened.  What is your correction policy?

Employers do not use credit scores, and media have created a big mess.  You want a scoop?  There’s your big scoop.


Greg Fisher
The Credit Scoring Site
creditscoring.com
Page A2
pagea2.com
PO Box 342
Dayton, Ohio  45409-0342

[NEXT MESSAGE]

Blended credit score name game

Equifax Experts (aka “I”)
EFX Moderator, EM
Diane Moogalian, vice president of operations, Equifax Personal Solutions
Richard F. Smith, chairman and CEO
Equifax
Atlanta, Georgia

Equifax Experts, you wrote

I usually get questions about differences in credit scores when a consumer is checking his or her credit report to make a big purchase—like a car—or to apply for a mortgage.

There are different credit score models available to lenders. Some use industry-weighted scores, and others use blended scores from all three CRAs. The lender determines which score model it prefers.

EFX Moderator, EM, you wrote

There are different credit score models available to lenders for things like mortgages and car loans. The lender determines if it prefers an industry-weighted score or a blended score from all three credit reporting agencies.

What is the name of a person or organization who provides “blended scores from all three CRAs”?  What are the names of those scores (in your expert opinion)?

What are your names?

Drop everything and answer those questions today.


Greg Fisher
The Credit Scoring Site
creditscoring.com
PO Box 342
Dayton, Ohio  45409-0342

[SEE https://www.facebook.com/Equifax#!/Equifax/posts/10150977741444015?comment_id=26550986&offset=0&total_comments=1]