Category: Enough to be Dangerous

Experian’s Twitter foray: Jobs and credit scores

@Experian_US (John Peace [alt 8/14/12], the sheriff of Nottingham) wants to insert himself into the conversation, but does not respond.

His shiny, new, search engine-friendly, $200-million CreditReport.com says, “Not all employers pull an applicant’s credit history or place tremendous weight on it, but individuals working in government or financial roles can expect their credit scores to be a factor.”

However, Experian also says, “No, Experian’s business policy prevents the inclusion of credit scores with an employment report, at Experian called Employment Insight.”

So, apparently, somebody related to government is beaking the rules.

Follow the one-way conversation.

Countdown to when Experian removes statement about employers using scores III

Tweet, tweet.

Experian says, “Credit reports are not scored when used for employment purposes; they are typically reviewed as part of the character evaluation as well as to verify identity and application information.”

CreditReport.com says, “More Employers Check Applicants’ Credit Scores.”

Experian owns CreditReport.com.

consumer report accuracy, CDIA, Gannett, PERC, Arthur Andersen III

From: Greg Fisher [mailto:greg@creditscoring.com]
Sent: Friday, June 17, 2011 8:55 AM
To: Stuart K. Pratt, president & CEO, Consumer Data Industry Association
Cc: Norm Magnuson, VP, public affairs, CDIA; Consumer Data Industry Association (CDIA)
Subject: RE: consumer report accuracy, CDIA, Gannett, PERC, Arthur Andersen III

See this message and your response at https://blog.creditscoring.com/?p=2141.

You wrote: “The end result of PERC’s study is that conjecture and opinions about accuracy have been replaced by empirical data. This is the only independent third-party study ever undertaken.”

So, was the 1991 study not independent, not third-party, or not a study?

————————————————————

From: Greg Fisher [mailto:greg@creditscoring.com]
Sent: Sunday, June 12, 2011 7:35 AM
To: Consumer Data Industry Association (CDIA)
Cc: Norm Magnuson, VP, public affairs, CDIA
Subject: RE: consumer report accuracy, CDIA, Gannett, PERC, Arthur Andersen II

Please reply.

———————————————————– 

From: Greg Fisher [mailto:greg@creditscoring.com]
Sent: Tuesday, June 07, 2011 10:04 AM
To: Consumer Data Industry Association (CDIA)
Subject: consumer report accuracy, CDIA, Gannett, PERC, Arthur Andersen

So, was the 1991 study not independent, not third-party, or not a study?

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

PREVIOUS POST

credit score, employers, Taylor English Duma

From: Greg Fisher [mailto:greg@creditscoring.com]
Sent: Friday, July 01, 2011 10:55 AM
To: Bruce S. Richards, lawyer, Taylor English Duma LLP
Subject: credit score, employers, Taylor English Duma

See this message and your response at https://blog.creditscoring.com/?p=2220.

Allen Smith, J.D., manager of workplace law content, Society for Human Resource Management wrote: “Most employers don’t use third-party scores. They instead order background checks and sometimes credit reports, [Bruce] Richards [an attorney with Taylor English Duma LLP in Atlanta] noted.”

What evidence suggests that any employer use[SIC] credit scores?

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

SCORE UPDATE: creditscoring.com increases lead over Fed

creditscoring.com gained 30 (+46 for Video 2) views while the Cleveland Fed only increased by 13.

Trend

creditscoring.com:

1993 – 2005 – 2027 – 2540- 2672 – 2702

The Federal Reserve:

554 – 643 – 716 – 1109 – 1194 – 1207

creditscoring.com (Video 2):

161 – 207

credit score, employers, NSADAQ, Card Hub

From: Greg Fisher [mailto:greg@creditscoring.com]
Sent: Thursday, June 23, 2011 7:41 AM
To: Odysseas Papadimitriou, chief executive officer and Founder, Card Hub
Cc: Melissa Rudy; H. Furlong Baldwin, chairman, NASDAQ OMX
Subject: credit score, employers, NSADAQ, Card Hub

See this message and your response at https://blog.creditscoring.com/?p=2213 and https://blog.creditscoring.com/?tag=nasdaq.

You wrote, “Decision makers from loan officers and mortgage brokers to car salesman and employers rely heavily on consumer credit scores in evaluating applicants.”

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

[attached previous message about NASDAQ]

[http://community.nasdaq.com/News/2011-06/4-reasons-why-you-should-use-a-credit-card-and-1-why-you-shouldnt.aspx?storyid=82037]

credit score, employers, CardRatings.com, NSADAQ, Fox Business, 2011-06-03

From: Greg Fisher [mailto:greg@creditscoring.com]
Sent: Tuesday, June 21, 2011 12:43 PM
To: Melissa Rudy
Subject: credit score, employers, CardRatings.com, NSADAQ, Fox Business, 2011-06-03

See this message and your response at https://blog.creditscoring.com/?p=2198 and https://blog.creditscoring.com/?tag=trope-do-you-know-your-credit-score.  

You wrote:

Despite how easy it has become to receive copies of credit histories and credit ratings, most people remain ignorant of their FICO scores – and of how they affect the ability to secure a mortgage, open a credit card account, or even, in some cases, land a good job… The basic credit report that can be requested by mail for free shows your credit history and current debt. Although it enables you to catch any inaccuracies that may have been reported by a lender or to spot incidences of identity theft, it won’t include your credit score – the number that lenders, insurance agencies, landlords, cell phone companies, and even employers use to determine whether you are a reliable or risky prospect.

You said it twice.

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, distribution, MONEY, Time Warner

Yesterday, following a message from creditscoring.com, Time Warner made a correction to its story.  Money Girl did not respond.

Here is another message to Time Warner, sent moments ago:

From: Greg Fisher [mailto:greg@creditscoring.com]
Sent: Tuesday, June 21, 2011 9:17 AM
To: Ismat Sarah Mangla, writer, MONEY, Time Warner
Subject: credit score, distribution, MONEY, Time Warner

See this message and your response at https://blog.creditscoring.com/?p=2192 and https://blog.creditscoring.com/?tag=time-warner.

You wrote: “Chances are your score is in the top tier: 750 or above out of 850 on the FICO scale. (Check yours for $20 at myfico.com.) That alone qualifies you for membership in a fairly exclusive club : Only a third of Americans have achieved such a high number.”

Who is your source regarding the credit score distribution? 

What indicates the one third figure?

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

credit score, utilization ratio, MarketWatch, Wall Street Journal, News Corporation

From: Greg Fisher [mailto:greg@creditscoring.com]
Sent: Tuesday, June 21, 2011 12:09 AM
To: Jennifer Waters, columnist, Consumer Confidential, MarketWatch, Wall Street Journal, News Corporation
Subject: credit score, utilization ratio, Consumer Confidential, MarketWatch, Wall Street Journal, News Corporation

 See this message and your response at https://blog.creditscoring.com/?p=2190, https://blog.creditscoring.com/?tag=wall-street-journal, and https://blog.creditscoring.com/?tag=news-corporation.

You wrote, “It’s a fussier method than that, but your utilization rate is worth some 30% of your score.”

Who is your source for the worth of the utilization rate?

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

UPDATE, 6/21/2011

From: Waters, Jennifer 
Sent: Tuesday, June 21, 2011 12:21 AM
To: ‘greg@creditscoring.com’
Subject: RE: credit score, utilization ratio, Consumer Confidential, MarketWatch, Wall Street Journal, News Corporation

Experian and TransUnion and FICO.

From: Greg Fisher
Sent: Tuesday, June 21, 2011 12:59 AM
To: Waters, Jennifer
Subject: RE: credit score, utilization ratio, Consumer Confidential, MarketWatch, Wall Street Journal, News Corporation, correction

Fair Isaac indicates that the proportion of credit lines used is only one of six items in an entire category which comprises 30%, “Amounts Owed.”

When will you make a correction?

Where do Experian and TransUnion make the statements you refer to?

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

UPDATE, 6/22/2011
Social media

From: Greg Fisher [mailto:greg@creditscoring.com]
Sent: Wednesday, June 22, 2011 10:15 AM
To: Jennifer Waters, columnist, Consumer Confidential, MarketWatch, Wall Street Journal, News Corporation
Cc: Melissa Rudy; Emily Glazer, reporter, Wall Street Journal, News Corporation; Teri Everett, senior vice president, Corporate Affairs & Communications, News Corporation
Subject: RE: credit score, utilization ratio, Consumer Confidential, MarketWatch, Wall Street Journal, News Corporation, correction II

If

a + b + c + d + .30 + f = .30

then the sum of

a, b, c, d, and f must be zero.

But that must not be true since Fair Isaac said, for instance, regarding the 4th item in the category, “Your FICO Score considers the number of accounts you have with balances” (also, see Equifax, 1997).  Are we both talking about the same Fair Isaac?

What is your equation?

Also, could you find somebody to clean up the page titled, “One in Six Employers Looking At Your Credit Report, Study Finds”?  On the menu bar in Internet Explorer, click on View, then Source (Ctrl+U in Firefox and Chrome) to see the page’s HTML source code.  It still says, “Many employers are checking job candidates’ credit scores, but how big of a factor are credit scores in a company’s eventual decision to hire?”

And, another thing:  Please have Rupert Murdoch review the page titled, “How to Score a Free Credit Score.”  It says that employers use credit scores, and that is a myth.

And, one more thing:  Have Mr. Murdoch review the page titled, “Protect Credit Score.”  It has been a month.

See an example of an honorable correction by Gannett on its page titled, “Our view: Credit reports stacked against consumers.”

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