Another Hurdle for the Jobless: Credit Inquiries

Digging out of debt keeps getting harder for the unemployed as more companies use detailed credit checks to screen job prospects.

Out of work since December, Juan Ochoa was delighted when a staffing firm recently responded to his posting on Hotjobs.com with an opening for a data entry clerk. Before he could do much more, though, the firm checked his credit history.

The interest vanished. There were too many collections claims against him, the firm said.

“I never knew that nowadays they were going to start pulling credit checks on you even before you go for an interview,” said Mr. Ochoa, 46, who lost his job in December tracking inventory at a mining company in Santa Fe Springs, Calif. “Why would they need to pull a credit report? They’d need something like that if you were applying at a bank.”

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/08/07/business/07credit.html?_r=1&th&emc=th

but they deal with ATMs with money in them and cash registers that could have money in them. Though, i don't know how your financial status really has to do with whether you would steal or not. If people are going to steal, they'll do it regardless of their situation. But for most jobs it doesn't make much sense to me. Like working at Walmart... where they certainly wouldn't rely on your word for how much money is in your drawer and such.

This has become common in the last 4-5 years. Don't know if they did it before that. TMI is TMI


It's one of the ways that auto insurance companies can check on what you've been doing and if you're an acceptable risk.

usually with people who have insurance but it maxes out or Insurance co. finds some reason to deny payment. Even people who don't file bankruptcy can still have major dings on their credit - collections, judgements, etc. I'm not sure if they credit bureaus reveal this aspect of it. Hopefully so.
Also, if someone is a thief AND they've been prosecuted before, that can be find out with a background check.
And then there are the inquiries and how they can drag your credit score down. Can simply applying to many companies who routinely pull credit reports drag your score down?

I went to join a credit union the other day. I have been out of the banking system for about a dozen years. I hate banks. But I need to open a commercial account, so I went to a credit union.

They would not open either a personal account or a commercial account for me because I did not have enough ID. I had my DL, my birth certificate, my social security card, my insurance card, my voter ID card, and mail sent to me at my address. I did not have a passport, a credit card, or a utility bill in my name. They would not open an account.

Further, she mentioned that a credit check is part of the screening process for opening a personal account.

Isn't this all getting a little bit crazy? Aren't they spending more money keeping people away from their services than they would spend on any harm that deadbeats could do?

It's insane. Paypal looks better and better all the time.