Author: Greg Fisher

From: Greg Fisher [mailto:greg@creditscoring.com]
Sent: Sunday, July 17, 2011 9:12 PM
To: Claudia Buck, personal finance writer/columnist, Sacramento Bee, McClatchy Co.
Cc: Peter Tira, communications director, The McClatchy Company
Subject: credit score, employers, McClatchy Co., Sacramento Bee

See this message and your response at https://blog.creditscoring.com/?cat=134, https://blog.creditscoring.com/?p=2266, https://blog.creditscoring.com/?tag=mcclatchy, http://www.creditscoring.com/influence/media/newspapers/mcclatchy and [and also see] http://www.newsobserver.com/2010/07/04/563407/credit-score-crusader.html.

You wrote: “However, if you’re shopping for a single type of loan in a short period of time – say to finance a home or auto, those multiple credit inquiries are treated as a single request and won’t count against you. Same for an employer requesting your credit score for a job application.”

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, 7/19/2011

From: Buck, Claudia – Sacramento
Sent: Monday, July 18, 2011 3:56 PM
To: ‘greg@creditscoring.com’
Cc: Tira, Peter – McClatchy Corporate
Subject: RE: credit score, employers, McClatchy Co., Sacramento Bee

Greg….Thanks for writing. The paragraph you’re referring to was based on my interview with Bradley Graham of FICO.com. He was referencing job applicants who give permission to an employer to pull their credit report or credit score. My understanding is that an employer can request a credit report automatically but if a job applicant gives permission, the employer can request a credit score, as well.

Does that clarify it?

Claudia

Claudia Buck
Assistant Business Editor
Sacramento Bee
email: [xxxx]
phone: [xxxx]

From: Greg Fisher [mailto:greg@creditscoring.com]
Sent: Tuesday, July 19, 2011 3:03 PM
To: Claudia Buck, personal finance writer/columnist, Sacramento Bee, McClatchy Co.
Cc: Peter Tira, communications director, The McClatchy Company; Elaine Lintecum, treasurer, McClatchy Co.; Scott Lebar, senior editor, McClatchy Co., Sacramento Bee; John Ulzheimer, The Ulzheimer Group; Craig Watts, Fair Isaac
Subject: RE: credit score, employers, McClatchy Co., Sacramento Bee, FICO claim

It only clarifies who your source is and what he claims.  The truth is another matter.

A Fair Isaac video stated:  “In addition to credit decisions, your FICO credit score may be used to determine if a landlord will rent to you, or even if an employer will hire you. That’s right. That little three-digit number between three-hundred and eight-fifty impacts your financial life in a lot of ways.”

Asked for its source for that information, the company replied, “The mention you cited from the myFICO video clip was based on anecdotal information gleaned from public sources such as published articles.”

That means that the credit score company gets its information from the media, and gives it back to the media as the truth.  You won’t find that video on Fair Isaac’s website any longer.  However, more specific information is available. 

For instance, one of your McClatchy colleagues resolved the conflicting information by contacting the consumer reporting industry trade association who told her that the consumer reporting agencies do not sell credit scores to companies for pre-employment screening.  She made a correction.  Recently, USA Today and the Baltimore Sun made a similar corrections.

Credit expert John Ulzheimer, who is quoted in your article, calls the notion the number one myth about credit scores (starts at 2:40).

Most importantly, however, the agencies, themselves, state that they do not sell credit scores to employers.

Will you make a correction?

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