Credit Reports... they aren't what you think

Credit Reports... they aren't what you think

Today on Background Screening tips and tech we talk about, Credit Reports… they aren’t what you think.

Credit Reports seem like the most straight forward search that an employer might request, but they aren’t.

 Misconceptions/Myths:
They should be part of every background check report.
They include a credit or FICO score.
They contain public records like Bankruptcies, judgments & liens.
They are easy to interpret.

Facts:
Credit reports run as part of a pre-employment background check cannot and should include contain a credit score.  Credit reports run on a potential tenant can include a credit score.

Credit reports run as part of a background check do not impact the credit rating of the applicant because the inquiries are soft hits.

If an applicant has a freeze on their credit, you will not be able to pull a credit report. The applicant will have to lift the freeze for a report to be pulled.

GUIDANCE:
Check your state laws to see if there are any restrictions that guide when you can run a credit report on an applicant.

If you will be running credit reports as part of your background screening packages get familiar with how to interpret the information reported so that you can use it to make an informed hiring decision.

Since credit reports no longer include PUBLIC records which include bankruptcies, judgments and liens consider running a Bankruptcy, Judgment, Lien search as a standalone search.

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