AJC blogger counters her U.S. Senator

Speech-making, writing, blogging, stating and yakking adds up to much mush

Last week, the U.S. Senate passed its financial reform bill with an amendment regarding credit score use in employment.  Senator Udall from Colorado sold the idea by saying that employers use credit scores.  The problem with that is that the consumer reporting agencies say that they don’t even provide credit scores for employment purposes.

Udall has not replied to a request asking for substantiation.

Two weeks ago, as an Atlanta Journal-Constitution blogger profiled the Equifax consumer reporting agency CEO, the writer dropped the E-Bomb, referring to a “paranoia.”  Sh’yeah!  A self-fulfilling prophecy in the making.

The blogger has not replied to a request for substantiation.

But, redemption for ATL came in the personage of another AJC blogger.  She quotes her senator, then contradicts his statement.  Rana Cash writes:

“I believe it’s only fair to allow consumers access to their credit score when it is used against them to deny credit, require a higher interest rate on a loan or prevent an applicant from being hired for a job,” said Sen. Johnny Isakson (R-Ga) in a statement. Employers often use credit reports, but do not have access to credit scores.

Ouch.  Ouch-O-Mondo-Matic!

The senator was asked by creditscoring.com to reply with substantiation.

Rag-tag army of dissenters

Cash is not alone.  John Ulzheimer, a New York Times blogger and no slouch in credit reporting and scoring said that there is “mountain of evidence that scores are generally not used by employers.”  He talks about the phenomenon on televison.  He had the last word on it– then had the last word on it.

Highly-intelligent and incisive Bankrate writer with exquisite taste in multimedia Leslie McFadden discovered the creditscoring.com video and wrote about the issue in “Credit score myth persists.”

In the Columbia Journalism Review, a reporter had an epiphany and, in a rare moment of leadership in the media, felt a sense of responsibility to his readers that caused him to– gasp– actually make a correction.

They are joined by ChoicePoint, the Privacy Rights ClearingHouse and CNN.

And finally, Lester Rosen, lawyer, author, speaker, expert witness and background screening company president– who knows a little about employment credit reports– keeps hammering away at the “urban myth.”

But, when you’re up against the Federal Reserve, with its access to congressional hearing rooms, it ain’t easy.

The Fed has not replied to a request for substantiation.

AJC, and credit score and job applications paranoia irony

Right in Equifax’s hometown, in an interview piece on chairman and CEO Richard F. “Rick” Smith, a writer for the Atlanta Journal-Constitution asks, “Is there too much paranoia about credit scores, which can affect everything from loan and job applications to insurance premiums?”

Apparently, he missed the story about Equifax/employers/scores, so the irony of the notion of paranoia is painfully accentuated.

‘Dude’s on vacation.