Myth | The Credit Score Blog

credit score, employers, WalletPop, Virgins

From: Greg Fisher [mailto:greg@creditscoring.com]
Sent: Friday, June 10, 2011 8:35 AM
To: Mitch Franklin, assistant professor of accounting practice, Whitman School of Management, Syracuse University
Subject: credit score, employers, WalletPop, Virgins

See this message and your response at https://blog.creditscoring.com/?p=2153.

WalletPop.com published: “But credit scores also factor into insurance rates, and even [“even” was a link to http://www.walletpop.com/photos/credit-score-virgins/3658526/]* potential jobs: employers are increasingly checking scores as part of the application process, Franklin says. ‘People don’t realize how much of an impact their credit score has on their life.’”

What evidence indicates that employers use credit scores?

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

* UPDATE 8/14/13: The link that was under the word “even” above is defunct (and so is WalletPop.com, apparently. Try it: walletpop.com.). Here is a new link: http://www.dailyfinance.com/photos/credit-score-virgins/#!slide=3658526.

credit score, employers, Connecticut sSB 361 passes Senate

The Connecticut Senate passed sSB 361.

The title says it all: “AN ACT PREVENTING THE USE OF CREDIT SCORES BY CERTAIN EMPLOYERS IN HIRING DECISIONS.”

One headline reads, “Senate passes bill that prohibits employers from asking new hires about their credit score.”

See Credit scores. Pre-employment screening. Influence: Government. The national consumer reporting agencies all claim that they do not even provide credit scores for employment screening.

credit score, employers, Black Voice News

From: Greg Fisher
Sent: Monday, June 06, 2011 11:05 PM
To: Black Voice News
Subject: credit score, employers, Black Voice News

See this message and your response at https://blog.creditscoring.com/?p=2129.

You published: “Imagine being unemployed for nine months and finally a job offer comes your way. Great you’re ready to pop the champagne cork. But wait not so fast. First you have to pass a background check. That could mean pulling your credit score.”

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

credit score, employers, Gannett, USA Today, 2011-06-05

From: Greg Fisher [mailto:greg@creditscoring.com]
Sent: Monday, June 06, 2011 7:48 AM
To: Letters, USA Today
Cc: Robin Pence, VP, corporate communications, Gannett Co., Inc.; Brent Jones, standards editor, USA Today, Gannett
Subject: credit score, employers, Gannett, USA Today, 2011-06-05

See this message and your response at https://blog.creditscoring.com/?p=2125 and https://blog.creditscoring.com/?tag=gannett .

Yesterday, you published, “Credit scores can determine whether you get a mortgage and what the rate is; whether you qualify for a car loan, a credit card, a rental apartment or insurance; and, in recent years, even whether you get a job.”

However, in another story, you reported: “When employers request information from the credit-reporting agencies, they get a report designed for employers or companies that screen employees. They don’t get the same report provided to lenders. And they don’t get your credit score, the numerical figure lenders use to assess the likelihood you’ll repay a loan, Levin says.”

Further, you also provide a link to a story that states: “In listing the ways that credit scores can be used, I wrote that potential employers look at your credit score to see if you’re under financial stress. Greg Fisher, who runs the website creditscoring.com, called me out on my mistake.”

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
937-681-3224

credit score, employers, Huffington Post, 2011-05-31

From: Greg Fisher [mailto:greg@creditscoring.com]
Sent: Tuesday, May 31, 2011 2:10 PM
To: Bryce Covert, assistant editor, New Deal 2.0
Subject: credit score, employers, Roosevelt Institute, New Deal 2.0, The Swipe, Huffington Post, 2011-05-31

See this message and your response at https://blog.creditscoring.com/?p=2122, https://blog.creditscoring.com/?tag=huffingtonpost, and in the Myth category at https://blog.creditscoring.com/?cat=134.

You wrote: “As wages fell and consumers took on more debt to compensate, credit scores have become more and more important, as they are a large part of determining a borrower’s creditworthiness. They now even factor into things like job applications [corrected link. 6/9/11, Ed.]… But it doesn’t stop there — potential employers, insurance companies, landlords, and a host of others use these scores as well.”

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

credit score, employers, Reuters, 2011-05-23

From: Greg Fisher [mailto:greg@creditscoring.com]
Sent: Monday, May 23, 2011
To: John Wasik, columnist, Reuters
Subject: credit score, employers, Reuters, 2011-05-23

See this message and your response at https://blog.creditscoring.com/?p=2116 and https://blog.creditscoring.com/?tag=thomson-reuters.

You wrote, “Potential employers and insurance companies also check credit scores, so your FICO is a keystone to your future security as well.”

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 2011-12-02: See Canada Day]

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?

Critique of Wikipedia – The silence is broken (for naught)

This has not happened in over a year. Before Monday’s edit of the Wikipedia article Credit score (United States), 38 days had passed with no edits. The last time that happened was November, 2009, when the span was 40 days.

Unfortunately, the new edits were of no substance.

The message board masquerading as an encyclopedia still misinforms anybody reading it. Its U.S. Credit score article falsely states that the so-called credit utilization ratio accounts for 30 percent of the FICO score, while the FICO company itself illustrates that that is not true. The misinformation is now in its 7th year. Ironically, the editor changed punctuation in that portion of the article, but failed to notice, indeed, the error of fact he was editing. On the other hand, however, he makes no claims to credit score expertise in his profile: “Anime, manga, and science fiction fan; copy editor and wikifier—scourge of incorrect dashes and capitalization. ^_^.”

Even the Federal Reserve appears to have used wiki-nonsense in federal testimony. If that is true, then Wikipedia is the Fed’s source, while the Fed is Wikipedia’s source. So, who’s in charge, here?

The Wikipedian has been wiki-decorated with the WikiMedal for Janitorial Services, and his wikipage is festooned with the official wikimedallion.

At least they don’t take themselves too seriously.

Nobody should.

Credit score, employers and Minyanville

From: Greg Fisher
Sent: Monday, May 09, 2011
To: Todd Harrison, founder and CEO, Minyanville Media, Inc.
Cc: Conor Sen, “Professor,” Minyanville
Subject: credit score, employers, Minyanville

See this message and your response at https://blog.creditscoring.com/?p=2077.

You published, “There was a time when we’d apply for a job or an apartment or a mortgage and not have to worry about a credit score.”

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

Myth: Employers use credit scores (video) – National Financial Literacy Month

National Financial Literacy Month – Video illustrates myth that employers use credit scores

creditscoring.com video shows media, experts, central bank and legislators furthering the myth that employers use credit scores in hiring decisions.