@RobertEG wrote:A credit report for employment purposes must be specifically authorized in writing by the consumer before it can be provided to any party, and the party requesting the report for employment purposes must include a certification within their inquiry request that the consumer has provided such written authorization. See FCRA 604(b), subsections (1) and (2).
However, as for the issue of whether record of the inquiry can thereafter be included in credit reports provided to others (i.e., whether it can be considered a so-called hard inquiry), neither the FCRA nor any federal regulations make any such restrictions.
The ONLY type of inquiry that is specifically restricted under the FCRA as to being blocked from inclusion in subsequent credit reports provided to others (i.e., as a so-called soft inquiry) are the promotional inquiries under FCRA 604(c), wherein a creditor can obtain a listing of consumers who meet certain screening criteria in order to offer credit that has not been initiated by the consumer.
I am not aware of any state statutes or regs that legally mandate coding of employment-related inquiries as "soft."
Inquiries are not credit reporting matters, as they are not the furnishing of consumer information to a CRA, they are the opposite.
They are a request to see what others have reported. As such, inquiries are not even covered under the standard credit reporting manual, the Credit Reporting Resource Guide. CRA internal procedures remain unpulblished.
It is thus not a legal issue per se.
The CRAs have unofficial policies relating to certain types of credit inquiries that they routinely code as soft, such as those initiated by the consumer themselves for a copy of their own reports, and those by an existing creditor for internal account reviews. Howver, those policies are not publicly available, are not included in their credit reporting manual, the Credit Reporting Resource Guide, and are not per se legal mandates.
My understanding is that the CRAs do have an informal policy not to include inquiries that are solely for employment purposes, but that is not a legal mandate.
Are states allowed to mandate that type of credit policy or does that fall under federal jurisdiction? I would love to see a proposition on the ballot here in NM/AZ that prevents employers, utilities, and landlords from asking/demanding hard pulls on credit reports. Soft pulls are sufficient for those entities. Im sure most consumers would support such a measure.
@800FICOGoal wrote:
@RobertEG wrote:A credit report for employment purposes must be specifically authorized in writing by the consumer before it can be provided to any party, and the party requesting the report for employment purposes must include a certification within their inquiry request that the consumer has provided such written authorization. See FCRA 604(b), subsections (1) and (2).
However, as for the issue of whether record of the inquiry can thereafter be included in credit reports provided to others (i.e., whether it can be considered a so-called hard inquiry), neither the FCRA nor any federal regulations make any such restrictions.
The ONLY type of inquiry that is specifically restricted under the FCRA as to being blocked from inclusion in subsequent credit reports provided to others (i.e., as a so-called soft inquiry) are the promotional inquiries under FCRA 604(c), wherein a creditor can obtain a listing of consumers who meet certain screening criteria in order to offer credit that has not been initiated by the consumer.
I am not aware of any state statutes or regs that legally mandate coding of employment-related inquiries as "soft."
Inquiries are not credit reporting matters, as they are not the furnishing of consumer information to a CRA, they are the opposite.
They are a request to see what others have reported. As such, inquiries are not even covered under the standard credit reporting manual, the Credit Reporting Resource Guide. CRA internal procedures remain unpulblished.
It is thus not a legal issue per se.
The CRAs have unofficial policies relating to certain types of credit inquiries that they routinely code as soft, such as those initiated by the consumer themselves for a copy of their own reports, and those by an existing creditor for internal account reviews. Howver, those policies are not publicly available, are not included in their credit reporting manual, the Credit Reporting Resource Guide, and are not per se legal mandates.
My understanding is that the CRAs do have an informal policy not to include inquiries that are solely for employment purposes, but that is not a legal mandate.
Are states allowed to mandate that type of credit policy or does that fall under federal jurisdiction? I would love to see a proposition on the ballot here in NM/AZ that prevents employers, utilities, and landlords from asking/demanding hard pulls on credit reports. Soft pulls are sufficient for those entities. Im sure most consumers would support such a measure.
Utilities are in fact extending you credit so there is no reason that should not be a HP if thats what the utility want to do. Rent is usually paid in advance so tenichnally not an extension of credit. However lots of people don't pay on time and the landlord has to attempt to collect just like any other debt so again I don't see a problem with that.
