The Wall Street Journal Sunday, Final response

From: Greg Fisher [mailto:greg@creditscoring.com]
Sent: Thursday, December 08, 2011 3:25 PM
To: Alexa von Tobel, CEO & founder, LearnVest; Maria Lin, editor in chief, Learnvest, Inc.; Dani Dalesandro, Sunshine Sachs, press inquiries contact for LearnVest, Inc.
Cc: Ann Kaplan, chair of the board, LearnVest; Teri Everett, senior vice president, Corporate Affairs & Communications, News Corporation; Emily Glazer, reporter, Wall Street Journal, News Corporation
Subject: RE: credit score, utilization ratio, closing accounts, LearnVest, fabulous New York bunk

[FORWARD THIS MESSAGE TO LIBBY KANE]

Libby Kane, staff writer, LearnVest
740 Broadway, Suite 1002
New York, NY 10012

You wrote, “This ratio of how much credit you’re using to how much credit you could use accounts for about 30% of your credit score.”

That is a bunch of balderdash.

You also wrote, “When you close a card, you lose the credit history that went with it.”

That is pure poppycock.

Who are your sources?


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

[MESSAGES BELOW, AND PRIOR EMAIL, WERE ATTACHED] 


From: Greg Fisher [mailto:greg@creditscoring.com]
Sent: Thursday, June 23, 2011 5:49 PM
To: Emily Glazer, reporter, Wall Street Journal
Cc: Ann Kaplan, chair of the board, LearnVest; Maria Lin, editor in chief, Learnvest, Inc.; Alexa von Tobel, CEO & founder, LearnVest; Melissa Rudy; Jennifer Waters, columnist, Consumer Confidential, MarketWatch, Wall Street Journal, News Corporation; John Ulzheimer, The Ulzheimer Group; Teri Everett, senior vice president, Corporate Affairs & Communications, News Corporation
Subject: RE: credit score, employers, Wall Street Journal, LearnVest II

What is your editor’s name?


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


From: Glazer, Emily
Sent: Thursday, June 23, 2011 4:59 PM
To: ‘greg@creditscoring.com’
Subject: Final response

Hi Greg,

I spoke with my editor and there will be no correction as I have confirmation from my source (who has also emailed you) about the accuracy of the information in the article. I believe I wrote this back to you, as did Alexa and people from LearnVest.

Thank you,

Emily

Emily Glazer | The Wall Street Journal Sunday
[address]
[phone] | [email address] | @emilyglazerwsj

The Wall Street Journal Sunday teams leading metropolitan newspapers with The Wall Street Journal in an authoritative and useful package of original investment news, personal-finance articles and career advice. (For recent stories check out: wsj.com/Sunday)


From: Greg Fisher [mailto:greg@creditscoring.com]
Sent: Friday, June 10, 2011 12:51 PM
To: Alexa von Tobel, CEO & founder, LearnVest
Cc: Ann Kaplan, chair of the board, LearnVest; Maria Lin, editor in chief, Learnvest, Inc.; Emily Glazer, reporter, Wall Street Journal
Subject: RE: credit score, employers, Wall Street Journal, LearnVest II

When do you return?


[PRIOR EMAIL

 

credit score, employers, Wall Street Journal

From: Greg Fisher [mailto:greg@creditscoring.com]
Sent: Sunday, May 22, 2011 4:33 PM
To: Emily Glazer, reporter, Wall Street Journal
Subject: credit score, employers, Wall Street Journal

See this message and your response at https://blog.creditscoring.com/?p=2114.  

You wrote, “A credit score also is used when you apply for an apartment lease and even for some jobs.”

Who is your source regarding credit score use by employers?


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


UPDATE, 2011-06-22

From: Greg Fisher [mailto:greg@creditscoring.com] 
Sent: Tuesday, May 24, 2011 12:57 PM
To: Glazer, Emily
Cc: Everett, Teri M. ( NewsCorp )
Subject: RE: credit score, employers, Wall Street Journal

Please reply.


From: Glazer, Emily 
Sent: Tuesday, May 24, 2011 5:52 PM
To: ‘greg@creditscoring.com
Cc: Everett, Teri M. ( NewsCorp )
Subject: RE: credit score, employers, Wall Street Journal

Hi Greg,

Thanks for reading the article and reaching out. I apologize for my delayed reply – I went through my inbox and I never received your original email.

A number of sources, including Alexa von Tobel from personal-finance website LearnVest.com, had mentioned that some employers check your credit score. This is most prevalent with various background searches during job interviews as a low score could put you at a hiring disadvantage.

Cheers,
Emily


From: Greg Fisher [mailto:greg@creditscoring.com] 
Sent: Thursday, June 02, 2011 12:29 AM
To: Glazer, Emily
Subject: RE: credit score, employers, Wall Street Journal, LearnVest

LearnVest.com states, “While employers cannot access credit scores, they are given a history of missed bill payments, debts, and bankruptcies.”

How did you obtain the information you attribute to Ms. von Tobel?


From: Glazer, Emily 
Sent: Thursday, June 02, 2011 10:15 AM
To: ‘greg@creditscoring.com
Subject: RE: credit score, employers, Wall Street Journal, LearnVest

Hi Greg,

The information was obtained through a phone interview. We wrote “and even for some jobs” because it depends on the company.

Thank you,
Emily


From: Greg Fisher [mailto:greg@creditscoring.com] 
Sent: Thursday, June 02, 2011 11:21 AM
To: Alexa von Tobel, CEO & founder, LearnVest
Cc: Emily Glazer, reporter, Wall Street Journal
Subject: FW: credit score, employers, Wall Street Journal, LearnVest

What indicates that employers use credit scores?


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


On Jun 3, 2011, at 11:54 AM, Greg Fisher wrote:

Please reply.


From: Maria Lin
Sent: Monday, June 06, 2011 10:19 AM
To: greg@creditscoring.com
Cc: Alexa von Tobel, CEO & founder, LearnVest; Ann Kaplan, chair of the board, LearnVest; Emily Glazer, reporter, Wall Street Journal
Subject:Re: credit score, employers, Wall Street Journal, LearnVest II

Hello Greg:

According to one source, the Society for Human Resource Management, 43% of their companies ran credit checks on some or all potential hires according to a poll they conducted a few years ago.

Links to a few of their reports are below.

http://www.shrm.org/Research/SurveyFindings/Articles/Pages/Backroundcheckingcomparative.aspx

http://www.shrm.org/Research/SurveyFindings/Articles/Pages/BackgroundCheckingImplications.aspx

Please feel free to reach out to them directly to confirm the answers to your questions.

Best regards,

Maria


Maria Lin
Editor in Chief
Learnvest, Inc.
740 Broadway, Suite 1002
New York, NY 10012
xxx.xxx.xxxx (office)
xxx.xxx.xxxx (cell)
xxx.xxx.xxxx (fax)


From: Greg Fisher [mailto:greg@creditscoring.com]
Sent: Monday, June 06, 2011 12:25 PM
To: Glazer, Emily
Cc: Alexa von Tobel, CEO & founder, LearnVest; Ann Kaplan, chair of the board, LearnVest; Maria Lin, editor in chief, Learnvest, Inc.
Subject:RE: credit score, employers, Wall Street Journal, LearnVest II

SHRM told me that its survey does not address credit scores.

What correction will you make?

From: Hughes, Jennifer 
Sent: Thursday, April 09, 2009 5:04 PM
To: creditscoring.com
Subject: RE: credit score, employers III

Hi Greg,

Neither survey discusses credit scores, only credit checks.

Sorry!

Thanks,
Jenny

Jennifer Hughes
Media Affairs Specialist
Society for Human Resource Management
1800 Duke Street
Alexandria, VA 22314-3499
Phone: xxx-xxx-xxxx

E-mail: xxxx@xxxx.xxx
www.shrm.org

 HR Leadership for the New Economy.  Only at the SHRM Annual Conference & Exposition.
June 28 – July 1, 2009 | New Orleans, La.
Find out more at www.shrm.org/conferences/annual.
—————————————-

From: creditscoring.com [mailto:greg@creditscoring.com]
Sent: Thursday, April 09, 2009 4:45 PM
To: Hughes, Jennifer
Subject: RE: credit score, employers III

Thank you.

What are the survey results regarding credit scores (a single number calculated from a person’s credit history), specifically?

Do any of the survey questions use the term “credit score”?
—————————————-

At 11:31 AM 4/9/2009, Hughes, Jennifer wrote:

Hi Greg,

According to SHRM’s 2006 Weapons in the Workplace Survey, 42% of surveyed employers run credit checks on potential employees as part of routine background checks. In SHRM’s 2004 Reference and Background Checking Survey, 19% of surveyed employers said they always used credit checks as a type of information in a background check, 24% sometimes used credit checks, and 18% rarely used credit checks.

If you have any other questions, let me know.

Thanks,
Jenny

Jennifer Hughes
Media Affairs Specialist
Society for Human Resource Management
1800 Duke Street
Alexandria, VA 22314-3499
Phone: xxx-xxx-xxxx
E-mail: xxxx@xxxx.xxx
www.shrm.org
 
HR Leadership for the New Economy.  Only at the SHRM Annual Conference & Exposition.
June 28 – July 1, 2009 | New Orleans, La.
Find out more at www.shrm.org/conferences/annual.
—————————————-

From: creditscoring.com [ mailto:greg@creditscoring.com]
Sent: Thursday, April 09, 2009 10:39 AM
To: Malveaux, Julie; Harris, Jeanene; Hughes, Jennifer
Subject: RE: credit score, employers III
 
Do you claim that employers use credit scores?


From: Glazer, Emily
Sent: Monday, June 06, 2011 12:54 PM
To: ‘greg@creditscoring.com’
Subject:RE: credit score, employers, Wall Street Journal, LearnVest II

Thanks for pointing this out, Greg. I’m going to talk with my editor and will get back to you.

Cheers,
Emily


From: Alexa von Tobel
Sent: Friday, June 03, 2011 8:42 PM
To: greg@creditscoring.com
Subject:Re: credit score, employers, Wall Street Journal, LearnVest II

Greg, I am currently traveling out of the country for work, but happy to get back to you as soon as I have better access to email. Hope you are having a great weekend!
-Alexa


From: Greg Fisher [mailto:greg@creditscoring.com]
Sent: Friday, June 10, 2011 12:51 PM
To: Alexa von Tobel, CEO & founder, LearnVest
Cc: Ann Kaplan, chair of the board, LearnVest; Maria Lin, editor in chief, Learnvest, Inc.; Emily Glazer, reporter, Wall Street Journal
Subject:RE: credit score, employers, Wall Street Journal, LearnVest II

When do you return?