How has your credit/credit score faired while unemployed? (employee, credit card, debt)

[mitch256]

Like many here I'm sure, being unemployed, I now must face the fact that my income will likely not return to the level it previous was. Therefore, it appears as if I will have some difficult decisions to make in the very near future. I have had good credit for all of my life. I have always paid my bills on time and generally lived within my "means". But when your "means" change (i.e. income is reduced by 50-60 percent) yet your bills remain the same, inevitably some things must change.

As I chart the next 12 months or so of my life considering the likelihood that my income will probably be MUCH less than what I used to make, it is obvious that I will not be able to pay many of my obiligations. Bankruptcy is an option I suppose but in my profession (banking), bankruptcy will most certainly spell certain doom. Bankruptcy=no job for you in the Banking industry.

Anyone else faced with this same delimma? What is the current state of your finances/credit?

[grapico]

I actually just got a letter from one of my credit cards on Monday and they increased my credit limit by 20%, JP Morgan Chase. This is despite making minimum payment amounts and running up a tab the last 6 months.

[diorgirl]

In July this year, the Equal Employment for All Act was introduced in the House of Representatives by Congressman Steve Cohen (D-TN) and a group of 34 other Democrats. The bill proposes to stop employers from using credit checks to make "adverse employment decisions." The House Committee on Financial Services is currently reviewing the bill.

H.R.3149: Equal Employment for All Act - U.S. Congress - OpenCongress

"Financial problems reflected on a negative financial report often stem from circumstances outside of the person’s control such as medical problems, illnesses, or layoffs," said Congressman Cohen in a press release. "It is unfair and makes no sense to further penalize those job seekers who want to work hard but have had financial difficulties by denying employment solely on the basis of their credit."

Congressman Luis V. Gutierrez (D-IL), one of the co-sponsors of the bill, is the chairman of the Subcommittee on Financial Institutions and Consumer Credit.

If passed, the law would amend the Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA), the Federal law that guides the updating and usage of credit reports. The FCRA currently allows employers to run credit checks, but requires them to get a signed written consent form from the applicant. If adverse action is made because of information in the consumer’s credit report, that person has the right to dispute the information and reapply for the position.

The new law would prohibit employers from checking credit reports, even if the employee signs a consent form.

There would be some exceptions with the new law, keeping it legal for employers to use credit reports in certain situations. Credit reports would continue to be used for positions that require national security or FDIC clearance, jobs with state and loan government agencies that already use credit reports, and certain positions at financial institutions. Credit reports may be used for employment purposes in other positions as required by law.

A number of civil rights groups have endorsed the new legislation including the National Consumer Law Center, National Employment Law Project, National H.I.R.E. Network, the Leadership Conference on Civil Rights and the NAACP.

New Law Would Prevent Employers From Checking Credit Reports | SPENDonLIFE

If you support the legislation, contact your congressperson and tell him or her to vote for it.

[kodaka]

I haven't checked my credit score so I don't for certain, but I would imagine it has dropped.

I incurred some medical expenses right before I was laid off, and by the time I got the invoice, I couldn't afford to pay them. I have spoken to the billing department and explained the situation. They were uncompromising (but polite-a rarity, I know).

I pointed out that nothing they can do will get them their money faster. Calling me every day is not going to magically make money appear in my bank account. Neither is damaging my credit score. I don't own a car or a house for them to repossess. There's nothing they can threaten me with that is worse than what I'm already dealing with.

[spm62]

Originally Posted by kodaka

I haven't checked my credit score so I don't for certain, but I would imagine it has dropped.

I incurred some medical expenses right before I was laid off, and by the time I got the invoice, I couldn't afford to pay them. I have spoken to the billing department and explained the situation. They were uncompromising (but polite-a rarity, I know).

I pointed out that nothing they can do will get them their money faster. Calling me every day is not going to magically make money appear in my bank account. Neither is damaging my credit score. I don't own a car or a house for them to repossess. There's nothing they can threaten me with that is worse than what I'm already dealing with.

I told them the same thing. I told my creditors they were going to have to wait until I found a job. I can`t give them something I don`t have. My unemployment is 35% of what I was making. There is no way I can continue to eat and live plus pay them on such a reduced income. Eventhough they continue to call me, Now I just never answer. I got tired of telling them the same thing over and over everyday of the week.

[rlrl]

an employer can still find out about a bankruptcy even if it is off your credit after 7 or 10 years just by searching the court that your bankruptcy was filed in? that the original judgment never leaves your record like it does on a credit report?

[gatormonk]

I was working in Australia when the global crisis hit, and own a condominium here that was rented out. However, the tenant got evicted, and my management company couldn't find another tenant. I was forced to stop making mortgage payments due to the fact that I couldn't pay the mortgage here and living expenses there as well.

My credit has taken a HUGE hit. It went from nearly perfect to well below reasonably acceptable levels. I have not paid the mortgage in over a year and have been waiting seven months for the bank to approve a short sale on the property, as it is not worth anything near what I owe on the mortgage currently. My hope is it will be approved soon and I can move on and try to rebuild my credit to a reasonable level. The problem is I am also back here now and unemployed, so not sure how much longer I can keep paying the other small debts I have (credit cards mostly, though I have student loans those are currently in unemployment deferment).

[shamrox311]

I filed for bankruptcy. That's how bad it's gotten for me.

Last year has been great:

1) Lost my house
2) My ex fiance left me because she couldn't deal with me being unemployed
3) Filed bankruptcy


I figure it can't get any worse.

[crystalblue]

My credit rating, which I had managed to get pretty high, is now destroyed.

[kodaka]

To add to above about creditors calling, there has been a....not quite shiny or silver...but dimly lit side to this.

I don't actually have a lot of debt. I had a little on my credit cards but not a lot. I had my student loans which were substantial but it is pretty easy to get them deferred due to unemployment. I've been late a few times on bills and that will probably affect my credit score.

What the creditors are calling me about is what I owed in co-insurance for a medical procedure I had done two weeks before I was laid off (and would have cancelled if I'd known I wouldn't have a paycheck to cover). Since I have been unable to pay, the hospital has offered a 'settlement'--they've knocked off several hundred dollars from the bill so far (my co-insurance was $900 initially) and there's no sign that they are stopping. By the time I finally have the money to pay it, I may have actually saved myself some money. So far they haven't actually reported my delinquency to the credit bureaus, although that looks imminent.