Who Can Access Your Credit Report?

Find Out Below!


Employers«  Back to Home


Employers often use credit reports to conduct
background checks of job applicants and to assess current employees for promotions or job reassignments. Before ordering your credit report, employers must first get your written authorization and provide certain disclosures. Many employers never look at credit reports. And those that do often will not be concerned about your financial problems. If you do have some negative information on your report, you might want to discuss it with the employer before he or she sees the report.



Government Agencies «  Back to Home


Government Agencies request your credit report to determine whether you are eligible for public assistance. They do this to look for any hidden income or assets you might have, not to see if you have unpaid bills. The law also allows state and local government officials to get reports to help determine whether you can make child support payments. But not all government agencies can look at your credit report. For example, district attorneys cannot look at reports to investigate criminal or civil cases, and the Immigration and Naturalization Service (INS) cannot get a report for an immigration proceeding or for reviewing citizenship applications.



Insurance Companies «  Back to Home


Insurance Companies can look at your credit report. Usually, they are not interested in your credit history but instead may ask about your medical history or about any insurance claims you have filed. A credit bureau cannot provide an insurance company a credit report that contains medical information unless you consent.



Collection Agencies «  Back to Home


Collection Agencies can look at your report when trying to collect an overdue debt from you. They mainly do this to try to locate you or find out more about your assets.



Judgement Creditors «  Back to Home


This title takes effect upon the expiration of six months after the date of its enactment, but section 809 shall apply only with respect to debts for which the initial attempt to collect occurs after such effective date.



Potential Creditors «  Back to Home


Potential Creditors are allowed to review your report when you apply for credit. Although this is a broad category, there are some restrictions. For a new transaction, you must have made an offer or otherwise initiated a credit transaction before the creditor can look at your report. It is important to be careful when you are shopping around, especially for cars. Dealers will try to get you to sign an authorization so that they can look at your report and size up your financial situation before beginning their sales pitch. This request will then appear on your credit report and may negatively affect your credit. (See Chapter 4, Section A, for more information about credit inquiries.)



Landlords and Mortgage Lenders «  Back to Home


Landlords and Mortgage Lenders are also allowed to review your report. You can expect mortgage lenders to scrutinize your report very carefully before offering to lend you money to buy a home.



Utility Companies «  Back to Home


Utility Companies can request your credit report. However, there are special rules that prevent utility companies from denying you service in many circumstances, even if you have bad credit.

How Can Bad Credit Affect Your Life?
Find Out Below!


Renting

Bad credit can diminish your choices in the rental market, but in cities where landlords can pick and choose their tenants, even having no credit history can prove inconvenient. To rental companies, an applicant with no credit history just isn't worth the risk.


Employent

The Society for Human Resource Management reports that 96 percent of companies do background checks. Keeping your financial record clean could mean the difference between getting hired and not. Not surprisingly, credit checks are more common at banks and the like, but there is no one standard for checking histories among different industries. While one defaulted payment isn't likely to raise red flags, a history of irresponsibility may, especially because most companies are screening applicants for productivity problems caused by major debt or for the likelihood of theft.


Insurance

Insurers routinely base their premium rates on credit histories. Whether it's for car, health, or homeowner's insurance, these companies hold fast to their belief that credit is the best predictor of whether someone will file a claim in the future. For car insurance, for instance, 82 percent of insurers use credit when deciding to accept applications for coverage, according to a 2004 report by the Texas Department of Insurance, and when determining rates, they often rely on credit scores even more than the applicant's driving history. Good credit can equal significant cost savings when it comes to insurance.


Cellphone and utility companies

Bad credit often leads to trouble when applying for even the most basic of services. If your report shows a habit of defaulting on payments, some providers from gas and electric to cellphone will deny you service outright. And if they do accept your application, you'll probably be forced to pay a significant deposit, find a cosigner, or pay higher rates. Not all utilities and phone companies check credit, but it doesn't hurt to ask if they do.

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