Tag: Washington Post Company

Open letter to Murdoch: 5-year credit score nightmare

Further investigation into the efficacy of a social media message

From: Greg Fisher [mailto:greg@creditscoring.com]
Sent: Wednesday, August 07, 2013 7:37 AM
To: Rupert Murdoch, chairman and CEO, News Corporation (via Julie Henderson)
Cc: Andrew Housser, co-founder & CEO, Bills.com; Michael Lewis, VP/general manager, KTBC FOX 7, Austin, News Corporation; Danielle Douglas, reporter, Washington Post
Subject: credit score, employers, KTBC-TV, Austin, Fox Television Stations, Inc., News Corporation

An open letter to Rupert Murdoch

Rupert Murdoch
News Corporation

Dear Mr. Murdoch:

You published, “A poor credit score can haunt you throughout adulthood, affecting your ability to rent an apartment, finance a car, buy a home or even land your dream job.”

This thing is not a dream; it is a 5-year nightmare.  As I already told you, employers do not use credit scores.  The myth [is] now out of control and has begun having serious consequences.  Send a memo about this to all points of your empire, now.

Please, make it stop.  I’ll talk to you through social media.

Are these messages about the truth getting through to you?  Haven’t you even noticed the big stink?  Are you there, sir?

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

Senate Majority Leader; credit scores

This is an allegory to The McConnell Bind, a method to force corrections of big-media articles containing errors of fact about credit scores.

The corollary, Senate Majority Leader, starts here, and ties inaccurate credit score articles to screw-ups about U.S. Senator Harry Reid’s (D-Nev.) position in the legislature. Ignoring one is irresponsible.  Ignoring the other is downright un-American.

Here goes.

A Washington Post Writer’s Group piece, released in syndication, states, inaccurately, “Senate Minority Leader Harry Reid predicted at a news conference in Las Vegas that ‘immigration is going to pass the House of Representatives’ and insisted that ‘if [the GOP] were smart, they would take [the Senate] bill’ and start from there.”

But, it is elementary: Senator Reid is the majority (not minority) leader.

The tie-in:  In 2009, the Washington Post published this needlessly scary thought: “And a lower credit score means you pay more for the money you borrow. It can also mean higher insurance rates for your home or car, or worse, the loss of a job.”

Of course, employers do not use credit scores, so relax (and don’t believe da Post’s other scribblings, either).

The first attempt at contact (in this round), regarding this matter of American history, was social media.  That having failed, email is next, and then, if that doesn’t work, the postcard!

Bad reporting at the Washington Post

From: Greg Fisher [mailto:greg@creditscoring.com]
Sent: Wednesday, February 13, 2013 11:44 AM
To: Michelle Singletary, columnist, Washington Post
Subject: Your bad reporting

See this message and your response (or lack of it) at https://blog.creditscoring.com/?tag=washington-post-company.

You wrote, “The information is then used to create credit scores, which can affect consumers’ ability to get a credit card, a home loan, an apartment or even a job.”

Employers do not use credit scores, and you failed to substantiate your claim.  Did you just make it up?

Who is your source?

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

Who is the Washington Post’s source?

From: Greg Fisher [mailto:greg@creditscoring.com]
Sent: Wednesday, September 26, 2012 5:29 AM
To: Donald E. Graham, chairman, Washington Post Company
Cc: Michelle Singletary, columnist, Washington Post; Patrick B. Pexton, ombudsman, Washington Post; Danielle Douglas, reporter, Washington Post; Ylan Q. Mui, reporter, Washington Post; Ylan Q. Mui; Meredith Hooker, managing editor for Internet, The Gazette; Allan Lichtman, professor, Department of History, American University; The Washington Post Company; John Temple, managing editor, Washington Post; Ken Harney
Subject: credit score, employers, Washington Post, 2012-09-25

See this message and your response at https://blog.creditscoring.com/?p=4205, https://blog.creditscoring.com/?tag=trope-even-employers and https://blog.creditscoring.com/?tag=washington-post-company.

You published, “Credit agencies have come under greater scrutiny as consumer advocates question the accuracy of the scores, which affect the ability to get a mortgage, car loan, credit card and sometimes even a job.”

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

Daily adjustments


From: Greg Fisher [mailto:greg@creditscoring.com]
Sent: Wednesday, March 28, 2012 11:28 AM
To: Donald E. Graham, chairman, Washington Post Company; Patrick B. Pexton, ombudsman, Washington Post
Cc: Cory Haik, digital journalist, Washington Post
Subject: RE: credit score, employers, Washington Post II

Please reply.

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

[previous message]

 

Washington Post; Have you met Don Graham?


From: Greg Fisher [mailto:greg@creditscoring.com]
Sent: Sunday, March 25, 2012 10:53 AM
To: Jon DeNunzio, blogger, Washington Post
Cc: Patrick B. Pexton, ombudsman, Washington Post; Donald E. Graham, chairman, Washington Post Company; Ylan Q. Mui, reporter, Washington Post
Subject: Washington Post, who is your source?

Have you ever met Donald E. Graham?

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

[previous email]

 

credit score, employers, Washington Post Company

From: Greg Fisher [mailto:greg@creditscoring.com]
Sent: Thursday, February 16, 2012 7:40 PM
To: Ylan Q. Mui, reporter, Washington Post
Cc: Patrick B. Pexton, ombudsman, Washington Post; Donald E. Graham, chairman, Washington Post Company
Subject: credit score, employers, Washington Post Company

See this message and your response at https://blog.creditscoring.com/?p=3433 and https://blog.creditscoring.com/?tag=washington-post-company.  Also, see Tips for reporters; you need it (and so does your editor).

You wrote

Those scores have become crucial in the aftermath of the financial crisis. Some employers are even looking at credit scores as criteria for jobs. A car, a home, a college education are all financed by lenders that rely on the score to determine who gets credit and how much they pay for it.

Your word even is a real hoot!  Employers do not use credit scores.  The consumer reporting agencies do not even provide credit scores for employment purposes.

An ethical journalist cites his source.  Who is your source?  Is it Wikipedia?

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

 

credit score, employers, Washington Post

From: Greg Fisher [mailto:greg@creditscoring.com]
Sent: Sunday, July 17, 2011 9:06 AM
To: Andrew Alexander, ombudsman, reader representative, Washington Post; Andrew Alexander, ombudsman, reader representative, Washington Post
Subject: credit score, employers, Washington Post

See this message and your response at https://blog.creditscoring.com/?p=2263.  

You published, “A credit score can determine whether or not you get a job or what interest rate your auto loan will come with, for example.”

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

Employers credit score Catch-22 myth, Washington Post Company

From: Greg Fisher
Sent: Friday, March 25, 2011
To: Allan Lichtman, professor, Department of History, American University
Cc: Meredith Hooker, managing editor for Internet, The Gazette; Ken Weiss, editor, Gazette of Politics and Business (weekend edition); Jeff Allanach, editor, Frederick County newsroom, The Gazette; David B. Simon, managing editor, Montgomery County newsroom, The Gazette; Vanessa Harrington, editor, Prince George’s County newsroom, The Gazette; The Washington Post Company
Subject: credit score, employers, The Gazette, The Washington Post Company, 2011-03-25

You wrote, “The American people are well aware of the problem of using credit scores for employment decisions.”

Who is your source regarding credit score use by employers?

See this message and your reply at https://blog.creditscoring.com/?cat=myth-2.

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

credit score, employers, Washington Post

http://www.buffalonews.com/410/story/667793.html
http://www.courier-journal.com/article/20090517/BUSINESS/905170338/1003/ARCHIVES
http://www.ocregister.com/articles/credit-card-rate-2381680-utilization-percent
http://www.fresnobee.com/columnists/salinas/story/1374724.html
http://www.miamiherald.com/136/story/1028698.html
http://www.philly.com/philly/columnists/michelle_singletary/043009_color_of_money.html
http://www.projo.com/business/content/bz_singletary03_05-03-09_DJE6T79_v6.17c60ad.html

From: creditscoring.com
Sent: Wednesday, May 20, 2009 11:35 AM
To: Michelle Singletary, Wasington Post personal finance columnist (The Color of Money email address); Michelle Singletary (another Washington Post email address for Singletary)
Cc: Andy Alexander, Washington Post ombudsman; Andy Alexander (another Washington Post email address for Alexander); Shirley M. Carswell, Washington post deputy managing editor
Subject:RE: credit score, employers III

Please reply.

From: creditscoring.com
Sent: Tuesday, May 19, 2009 8:49 AM
To: Michelle Singletary, Wasington Post personal finance columnist (The Color of Money email address); Michelle Singletary (another Washington Post email address for Singletary)
Cc: Andy Alexander, Washington Post ombudsman
Subject:RE: credit score, employers II

You also wrote, “If the market has widely embraced the FICO credit score, Congress shouldn’t allow business quarrels — not now when credit is hard to get — to result in shutting down access to information that is essential to obtaining the best loan, insurance rate or even a job.”

Please reply.

From: creditscoring.com
Sent: Sunday, May 17, 2009 7:24 PM
To: Michelle Singletary, Wasington Post personal finance columnist (The Color of Money email address); Michelle Singletary (another Washington Post email address for Singletary)
Subject:credit score, employers

You wrote:  “And a lower credit score means you pay more for the money you borrow. It can also mean higher insurance rates for your home or car, or worse, the loss of a job.”

Who is your source regarding credit score use by employers?