topic Re: Why does a criminal background check ding my credit? in General Credit Topics

Why does a criminal background check ding my credit?

trc1962 — Fri, 18 Oct 2013 20:08:41 GMT

I am new to the forum-hoping to find answers to some questions I have. My question is why does a criminal background check ding your credit? I am a teacher and when I applied for a job last summer in a different district they had to do a background check with finger prints to determine I was not a criminal -which is expected. What I did not expect was for it to hurt my credit score. I was not applying for a credit card, loan or borrowing money, I was applying for a job. Is this legal? It doesn't seem write, ding your credit score when you are applying for a job? That should be a good thing. I appreciate any answers or suggestions anyone has-thanks!!

Re: Why does a criminal background check ding my credit?

takeshi74 — Sat, 19 Oct 2013 13:13:12 GMT

Look into section 604 of the FCRA. It lists permissible purposes for pulling credit reports. Employment is one of them. A hard pull does have a negative impact. However, the impact is relatively small and the effect falls off quickly.

@trc1962 wrote:
It doesn't seem write, ding your credit score when you are applying for a job? That should be a good thing.

Don't just assume no matter what the topic.

Re: Why does a criminal background check ding my credit?

RobertEG — Sat, 19 Oct 2013 16:31:20 GMT

A criminal background check per se is not a pull of your CR, it is a check of court/law enforcement databases.

Pull of a consumer's credit report for employment purposes is authorized under FCRA 604, but only if the consumer has been specifically advised, and gives written consent.

It is separately codes as EMP, not as a credit check.

Re: Why does a criminal background check ding my credit?

Anonymous — Tue, 21 Jan 2014 14:19:33 GMT

Every inquiry into your credit reduces your score by a few points. The inquiry can be disputed. In most instances these have not been addressed because the enquirer, unless it is a creditor, has no skin in the game and is not likely to respond to a bureau verification request.

Re: Why does a criminal background check ding my credit?

Anonymous — Tue, 21 Jan 2014 14:20:52 GMT

I recall as a receiver having checked one gentleman's credit about twenty times. His score dropped substantially.