Having hard time finding job w/bad credit! (apartments, mortgage broker)

[Nightflier]

I guess it all falls back to stereotyping. Statistics no doubt show that the majority of people with bad credit are poor employment risks. As well, it is a boon to companies who wish to discriminate, as those same statistics also no doubt show that certain ethic groups have poor credit. This allows the companies to discriminate legally.

Given those statistics were compiled no doubt several years back, and no longer apply, is irrelevant.

Any job/company that pays well will check your credit. As well as car insurance companies - your rate is often increased if you have poor credit.
Contracting firms or temp agencies are the best bet. They don't care what your credit score is. Contracting firms are better than temp agencies, as they tend to offer higher level jobs.

A good job where a company card may be issued will be out of reach, but there are several good jobs that do not require this. As well, background checks and credit history (excluding tax and student loan debt) only go back 7 years. Most background checks won't go past that unless it is a government-related job.

In this day and age when so many people are struggling, credit checks should not be an issue - job references/reputation alone should suffice.

Many people have bad credit nowdays. Even those who never used to. When companies run out of employees when everyone has bad credit, perhaps they'll be abit more lenient. We can only wonder!

[awf82]

Originally Posted by NYCtoWarm

Declaring bankruptcy due to high medical bills is not the same as having 25 accounts in collection due to spending more money then you have, not paying loans, not making car payments, etc.. Good credit does not always equal good character, but it is part of what companies look at when performing a background check. In law enforcement, the background investigation goes over a person's financial past. Why? Because a person who has had problems with money MAY be a risk for bribery. This is not something that they made up because they feel like making it difficult.

Medical bills are one of many reasons a person has bad credit. Let's not make it look like everyone is responsible, but a few people are getting screwed because of medical bills. I'd love to see where you get the information saying that MOST bad credit is due to medical bills.

I've worked in banking for 10 years and from what I've seen, the vast majority of people who have bad credit got that way because of medical collections. Yes there are some people who are just plain irresponsible but most got sick and either didn't have insurance or insurance wouldn't cover all the costs. The problem with pre-employment credit checks is they usually don't look at individual circumstances. In fact in most casses the credit check is done by an outside firm and the employer just recieves a pass/fail report back and never even sees the credit report.

[ArizonaBear]

Originally Posted by rosalind g

At a point in the past, that might have been accurate. But, that theory doesn't hold water nowadays. The economy has changed so much, for the worse, in the last several years that NOW most people's bad credit is not due to financial irresponsibility. The # 1 reason for bankruptcy in the USA is medical bills. Anybody holding fast to the notion that good credit = good character is completely out of touch with the current economic realities.

No joke there:

My FICO score was ca. 720-------------not anymore. My hours at work dropped so much that I was forced to file Ch 7 bankruptcy.

Admittedly; I had a lot of credit card debt but making my payments (above the minimum) was no issue back in 2007.

The worst part about it was my payment history was sterling for over 4 years yet the $%^&* credit companies still jacked my interest rates up--------which finally threw me under the bus.

[KarmaPhx]

Credit has nothing to do with getting a job, employers do not check your credit.

[Greatday]

More and more employers are pulling credit reports as part of employment screening. These reports can contain all sorts of info including criminal history.

If an prospective employee will deal with money or sensitive documents, a good credit report is all the more important

If the employee will need to be bonded, or have some sort of security clearance, credit reports become essential.

I know several people that work for DOD - part of their employment includes security clearances (high). If they get a "ding" on thier reports (which the Gov't pulls every 1/4), it is ground for termination

[KarmaPhx]

Really? I was always told it was illegal for a employer to discriminate based on credit.

[Greatday]

Originally Posted by KarmaPhx

Really? I was always told it was illegal for a employer to discriminate based on credit.

I don't know who "told" you that but, "they" were wrong. Most employment applications today have statements indicating the right of the employer to pull CR's etc and the prospective employee signs agreeing.

http://www.esrcheck.com/articles/Cre...ob-Hunting.php

http://www.background-checks-systems.com/credit_reports.htm (broken link)

[jaada]

Originally Posted by KarmaPhx

Credit has nothing to do with getting a job, employers do not check your credit.

oh yes they do, my son got an application for the western clothing store here in yuma and they had a paper to sign that would check your credit. it said on the now hiring sign that they are looking for someone with good credit. insane!

[jaada]

to the op, i am not sure about the job situation but as for renting a house you can find houseing that is for rent by owner and not through a property manager.

[amatrine]

My credit is shot due to medical bills. I know how it that feels. With chronic condition and not being able to work, my husband supports us. If will file bankruptcy , it would just come back on next time I am rushed to ER.
We have insurance but the deductible is 5k. So it never ends. All our bills are paid on time , mortgage, car, but we are stuck in a 23 percent interest rate on the car as a result.

I have interviewed for jobs in the past when I was better, and they do this check. They said they want to make sure a persons debt was not so high as so tempt them to steal.


I think it sucks, that I worry about a lean on my house because of my health.
We did every thing rite, I just got sick. Yet we are looked at like scum,
because of the low credit score. The system makes me so angry.
We are about to loose our car since my husbands hours got cut, if someone would refinance to even 13 percent we would be just fine.
The fact that all our mortgage and car payments, utilities etc have NEVER been late in all our years of marriage makes no difference .

Now, on another note, when I had applied for that job, I had 25k in medical debt, and they still offered to hire me. I think the cap was 30k.