Received Sunday, September 14, 2008. - Perspective & Opinion
I have a question about some security issues. I just got hired by a family who ran a background check on me. I have no problem with that. They also requested my school transcripts (I'm a student), and I have no problem with that either. But the mom approached me and told me that she thought the agency that ran the background check was going to do a credit check but they didn't, and could I please get her a copy of my credit report? She said that it would be free from freecreditreport.com but I politely explained to her that...
A) You can only do that once a year for free, and I already did it for this year;
B) I am only 20 and my credit is not BAD, per se, because I pay all my bills on time, I just don't have a lot of credit history because I'm only 20.
But my main question is this: WHY do employers need to know what my credit is like? I understand that paying my bills reflects on my character, but I don't feel like my personal finances are any of their business. How would she feel if I asked her for a copy of her bank statement so I can make sure that they have enough money to pay me every week? I'm just uncomfortable with them knowing all this personal information about me.
Anyway, even on top of that, she asked me to get a copy of it for her either way. Well, unfortunately, at the moment I'm stone cold broke. My husband is having a hard time getting hours due to the nature of his business and we are barely scraping by. I sure don't have $30 to spend on a credit report. How do I tell my new employer that if she wants me to get it, she'll have to pay for it, without sounding both insolent and pathetic?
48 comments:
Jeeze. Talk about going overboard. I had a woman tell me once that she wanted professional and personal references, a background check, references, school transcripts, credit report and to run drug tests on me JUST FOR WEEK NIGHT BABYSITTING! I actually was willing to go through with all of that despite how ridiculous I thought it was, just because I knew I had nothing to hide. However, when I told the woman my rate for babysitting ($15/hour) she told me that I'm out of my mind and that it was "highway robbery" since her son would be sleeping the entire time. Not for nothing, but I'm a career nanny with amazing references and I'm CPR trained and well worth the $15/hour.
Anyway, my point is that some people are just a bit ridiculous with their expectations, but if I were you I'd approach her in a tactful manner and say that you're not opposed to having a credit check run, but you're curious as to why she would need that sort of information since she already ran a background check. If you're satisfied with her answer, I would tell her that you'd be happy to have the check run, but since money is tight right now and she's the one requesting the information, that you would need to be reimbursed for the bill. Good luck!
I went through an agency once that ran a credit report on me. I think the reason is to make sure you are not in substational debt. You know, so you won't pocket their crystal knick knacks to pay your Visa bill.
I think WE should demand credit reports on employers. I want to know if they are living way past their means or if my paychecks are going to bounce!
excellent point, edie! :)
OP: you said it perfectly and that is EXACTLY the way you should explain it to this woman: "I just wanted you to know that if you require a credit report you will have to pay for the expense because it is not currently in my budget." If she declines, she is a nit-picky cheapskate and you can find another job easily.
Actually you can have your credit check done every 4 months i believe. It's free once a year with one of the 3 companies. Equifax is another one that will do it for free.
I would ask her why she wants your credit report.
It's a bit odd. There is usually a fee to get your actual number so they should pay for that if you feel it's OK to give it to them. I would never give an employer that kind of info even though my credit has nothing bad on it.
I would be so uncomfortable! I really don't feel like it's their business. I would consider moving on to the next position. P.S.- if she wants it I believe it's customary that she pay for it, just like a landlord would. The only people who have the right to invade your financial privacy are those who are offering to extend credit to you or in some way will require $ FROM you.
IMO, this is a sign of things to come! RUUUNNNNNNN!
I think it is good she ran a background check, got your student records (probably just to make sure you were actually a student) and other things because it shows she cares about her children.
BUT I do feel a credit report is a little bit much. I guess she may have a reason to see it, just to check but SHE should definitely be the one who pays for it. Employers pay for things like that, I'm sure they paid for the background test. So if you cannot get it from one of the three free agencies, I would go ahead and tell her she has to pay for it. If she will not, I would bid farewell because it may show what may happen in the future.
I don't think running a credit check is unusual or unreasonable. I was placed by an agency for my last two nanny jobs and they both ran credit checks. Also, when I worked as an admin in a consultant firm they ran a credit check. It's a fairly standard practice, so I do think you need to get over the feeling of it as an invasion of your privacy.
I don't think that you should have to pay for it, however. Umass worded it well, and if she gives you problems about this, I'd look elsewhere and feel I'd dodged a bullet.
All this credit checking by way too many entities seems to be an invasion of privacy. I resent auto insurers using credit information to rate your auto insurance. So long as you pay your insurance premium, I think that's all they need know about your finances. Accordingly, I do not think a credit check is called for in this instance. Sometimes we have to say "enough is enough".
Well, sprak, it's nice that you can make that call, but your new job isn't on the line. The potential employer is completely within her rights to pay for a credit check on a potential employee. That employee can certainly say, "enough is enough" and the employer can say, "I'm going with a different candidate."
OP, this mom isn't out of line at all. You can tell her that you'll give her your social security number, etc. and she can have the credit check run if she would like to get one on you.
I read somewhere that doing too many credit checks in a given amount of time actually causes your credit score to lower... so I would be careful how they check it, OP.
I don't know if ti is true or not, but like I said, it was something I read a while ago. Keep it in mind.
I would tell the lady you dont "feel comfortable" with the credit report info being given out. You mentioned youre married..you might want to tell her that his credit and yours are together and that he also doesnt feel comfortable with it...I am 50 and in debt, I also work hard to pay my bills and have never been asked to show my credit rating or report to anyone. If someone thinks you might steal because you are in debt well I wouldnt want to work for someone with that train of thought...might I ransom the baby for money? Come on people. There are still some things that are private.
Can't you just give her a copy of the credit check you ran this year?
Not that she should have it persay...I'm just saying, you know to make a matter less difficult.
Ha ha ha, sell the baby for ransom, I love it! I agree that asking for a credit check is over the top. Why does it matter if you are in debt or not? Unless to the employer someone with debt is irresponsible and they wouldn't want to employee them. I just can't imagine finding something on someone's credit report that would make me not want to hire them. I would actually see debt as a positive because if they have debt they need the job to pay said debt and would be a heck of a lot less likely to quit and walk away than someone with a cushy savings account that didn't really need the job.
Well, faith, the US Army disagrees with you. If you are a soldier with too much consumer debt the army revokes your security clearance. Why? Because they deem that you're potentially untrustworthy.
When parents hire you they're taking a huge leap of faith and it's not a terrible thing to want to check out as much about you as they're legally allowed. And yes, they are legally allowed to request a copy of your credit report.
If you can afford to start a new job search:
"I am sorry, but I am not comfortable giving you permission to run a credit check on me. If this is a deal breaker, I understand, and I am very sorry this position will not be a good fit for me. I wish you good luck with your search for a new nanny."
Period.
If you have to have the job, you will have to allow the credit check on HER dime.
"Although I am uncomfortable allowing a credit check, I will agree to one being done as long as you pay for the check and use a reputable company, not freecreditreport.com."
Period.
I'm sorry you're in this position, and if she gets nasty, I would absolutely quit, after asking her for HER and her husband's credit report so you can be sure your paychecks won't bounce.
Let's flip the tables. Once you nannies get in the door, you better do everything you can to invade them like they have invaded you. You better photo copy every bill, threatening letter, degree or pay per view porn receipt you see. Leave no stone unturned. Set a trap in their toilet to catch their urine and send it out to sample. Scrape the bowel for their feces and send that to a lab. Record everything they say and do to you. Set up nanny cams in their home to document what goes on. Get a safe deposit box, put everything inside said safety deposit box and continue on nannying. I nanny for two wonderful boys 3 and 8. Their mother is moody and their father is a super scandalous corrupt hedgefunder. We have had disagreements before. I am often correct because they are morally bankrupt, self centered and greedy. When the time comes that they dismiss me (and they will because they have had 14 nannies before me), I am going to write a number down and they better write a check quickly and hand it over. Or I will royally fuck them up, no one will ever want to be photographed next to them on DPC's social diary. They will be blacklisted for sure, possibly even shunned by the entire town.
I don't know. My credit is a wreck but I don't lose sleep over it. It certainly wouldn't make me steal. Maybe that is the exception. Don't hire people with bad credit because they will be anxious and prone to steal. Do hire stoners with bad credit because they will be like "whatevah".
The neighbor's nanny: You sound totally crazy. The things you suggest are all stuff you'd do behind your employer's back. This case is about something a mother is asking for upfront, something that is common and something that the nanny in question can refuse to comply with. Let's try and stay focused on this problem and not just indulge our delusional fantasies.
You may request one credit check per year for free OR get one for free AFTER you have been declined for a loan or credit.
I don't understand why this person feels the need to run your credit if your background check was fine and your student transcripts checked out. I would respectfully and politely decline saying your financial status is really personal. But be prepared to be let go. Best of luck to you.
OP I would use another posters advice and just say that you file jointly for taxess and that your husband does not feel comfortable with other people looking into his finances as well. And nor do you.
She won't respond well but that's just how it is. I suggest you line up another job asap before that conversation. This is an in home job not a office job with an HR person who never interacts with you. It crosses the line. Period. No one in such a small setting needs to know how many credit cards you have had in the last 7 years and how much was charged on each. Which months you had trouble making payments. Your student loan debt etc.
Again, just discuss with her that you and your husband thought about it and that you don't feel it's necessary or appropriate/relevant to your job performance. If she challenges the relevance you should ask her straight out how it is relevant in her opinion.
OP,
You sound waaaay to apologetic and hard on yourself, way too intelligent to be treated this way, and way too mature and responsible to have to put up with it.
As a nanny I would be not only insulted, but afraid for what kind of person the employer will turn out to be. She sounds overly paranoid and/or overbearing, just to ask for that.
I have been a full-time nanny for three solid years and have met with many families for interviews. This one screams NOT A GOOD FIT. Please find another family.
I hope you will take the warning.
7:42....In the 35 yrs I have held down a job in many many different careers, including the Air Force I have never been asked to see my credit. My debt doesnt show how honest I may or may not be and to think because a person is in debt they are more likely to steal is ridiculous. Many rich people steal and people who think they are in entitled steal. People who steal are often not desperate just dishonest.
Almost any job runs your credit. I think it is relevant;it tells you about reliability/honesty and is an indicator if you are under financial pressure and may do something desperate such as steal.
Remember she doesn't know you yet and she is putting a lot into hiring you, which means she wants you!
Emily - it doesn't surprise me that I disagree with the US Army's policy. Just because our Gov't does it doesn't make it correct.
Any employer can make you jump through any hoops they want in order for you to get their job. If you don't like it, withdraw. Say no.
If you do tolerate it or evern if your employers don't know to ask for all of this, do follow the advice in this thread if you are a nanny. Make copies of everything that your eyes get to see that your employers would not want the world to see. Carry a digital recorder with you, save sound files online as wave files. Take pictures of your employers naughty things. This included lingerie, porn and dirty toys. Take pictures of their credit card bills, make photo copies of their mortgage, statements from their creditors and lendors, copies of all of their credit card bills. Make sure that when you walk away you will have the ammunition to walk away with a three figure lump sum.
We are the NNP. We nanny on the UES of Manhattan for the most premier of families. Even the best situations have expiration dates. When dealing with the Richie Riches of the world, remember that is their privacy they value, not yours. Stand on your laurels prepared to violate it.
If you have been wronged by a wealthy NY family, the NNP is here for you. Wrex N effex.
Many of you may not know that your employer is checking your credit. Lots of people just sign all the forms that HR gives them, and frequently one is a release for a credit/DMV/criminal background check. Almost all nanny agencies, especially here in New York, do that as a standard procedure.
OP, it's ok for you to not pay for this report, but you need to try to resign yourself to the fact that, whether you like it or not, employers use your credit as an indicator of what kind of employee you may be. If the job includes handling money or children, they're completely within their rights to run this check.
Nannies, you can say this "crosses the line" all you want, but you don't have the power in this relationship, except to say no--and frankly, at the beginning when they don't know how fabulous you may or may not be, saying no will mean saying goodbye to the job.
Red flag! Run away!
Almost any job that runs your credit (and yes a lot of jobs do these days) is a major corporate entity and you may also do all your checks on them to make sure they are legitimate and financially sound businesses.
Being a nanny is not like my other job and you are taking your own leap of faith as to the type of people you may be working for.
I have said in the past, I do not provide my social security number to any individual who is not going to be writing me a paycheck, issuing me a credit line I want or giving me a loan. And by writing me a paycheck I mean they have already hired me. I do not give my employers permission to run my credit at any time. Yes I have been asked to allow it, yes I have refused and yes it has cost me a few positions in my time. My conversation usually has gone something like this:
Employer: May I have your social security number, so I can run a background and credit check on you.
Me: I'm sorry but I don't provide my SS # to anyone unless it's absolutely necessary. You may have my fingerprints, State provided, digital Driver's License and a urine and/or hair sample.
-The hair sample sometimes confuses them until I explain it is a much more accurate and intensive gauge of possible drug use than a urine test, albeit more expensive.-
I then go on to explain that a truly devious person can easily obtain fake or multiple SS #s, even in this post 9/11 world, however, once you have been convicted of any crime requiring you to be fingerprinted, they're in a nationwide database almost impossible to fake or cover unless yo are in the witness protection program. This usually does the trick. If not, I thank them for their time and consideration and am on my way.
If you don't feel comfortable providing the information don't provide it! If it's just that you don't want the expense of running it then tell her so. Honesty is always the best policy. Good luck!
I agree, red flag! I this is indicative of how you'll be treated down the road if you take this job. If this offends you (which would be justified) then move on...hopefully another job is just around the corner. Background check, sure. But I even thought the transcripts were a bit much...credit report is over the line and no one's business. I have never had my credit checked by an employer. Ever.
Identity theft is a very real and serious thing nowadays! And, what does running a credit check on you do? I am sorry, being in debt does not equal crook! Plenty of people are in debt up their ying yang, doesn't mean they are going to rob someone because of it!
OP, I hope that you feel better by what a lot of these nannies have told you. You should never do what you're not comfortable with. I just think you should be aware that, especially if you are going to work for sometime as a nanny (presumably for wealthier clients as time goes by) a credit check is not an unreasonable request by any stretch of the imagination.
It's nice to have people on the internet on your side making you feel justified in your feelings, but they don't suffer any repercussions if you turn down this job--but you might.
gimmeareak--what does identity theft have to do with it? The OP is talking about a job that she's basically been offered, she's going to have to give them her SS# anyway.
I am just against giving out your SS # willy nilly to anyone who asks. She does not have the job yet, she is still interviewing,so, why give out a SS # so easily is what I am saying.
Hey y'all, this is the OP. Thanks so much for all your advice! I actually do already have the job. She asked me for the credit report at the end of week 1 of work. What I have decided to do is pull up my previous credit report, print out the applicable pages stating that I don't have any public records like bankruptcies against me and that I don't owe anything to any collection agencies. Any personal info such as credit score, how much I owe on my credit cards, I am going to black out. If she specifically needs to know those things, she can ask me for them and if she has an extremely good answer (though I can't think of what one might be!) I will consider giving them to her. I think no court records/collection agencies after me should be enough to prove that I am not going to ransom her kids off to pay my Visa bill :)
That seems like a great compromise, OP. You totally sound like you've got your head on straight and that you can handle a sensitive situation reasonably. I hope your new job goes well!
Great show, OP. I agree with Emily. Hopefully your employer will be satisfied with what you have to offer - I know I would be!
agreed, mrs. and emily: OP has her act together. OP, good for you and please give us a quick update when you can!
I understand the background check, but school transcripts and a credit report? That seems really unnecessary! I would just tell her you can't afford it because it sounds like you really can't. Explain to her your situation (you are just starting a new job, your husband is not getting enough hours, etc.) so she will have to pay for it if she wants it that bad. I don't think that sounds pathetic at all...you are 20 after all.
I am a professional nanny of 13 years and not one person has asked me for a credit report, and if they did I would move on. My criminal history is what is relevant to a nanny position not my debt history. I can't believe people above thought this was ok. There is a line of information that employers should need. Your credit report is no one's business but your own and possibly a credit institution loaning you money. Do what you will but I think this goes beyond the boundaries.
People can believe a urine or hair test goes beyond boundaries, but it doesn't take away from the fact that it's a legal tool a prospective employer has at her disposal.
I bet these same nannies who are crying foul over this would do the same over nanny-cams. You don't want mom & dad spying on you but you also don't want to give them to tools to get a clear picture of your life so that they can begin to establish trust with a new member of their household. That is clear hypocrisy to me.
PAMommy, if you hired a nanny would you want her to say, "Hi, I'll also need a copy of your credit report to make sure you can pay me?" You sure as hell wouldn't do it, I bet. Things like this should work both ways and a credit check just doesn't work both ways.
Also, I am not against nanny cams if the nanny knows they are in use, but it's my personal belief that pop-ins by Mom, Dad, neighbors, and Grandma work just as well.
Actually I would politely decline their request for your credit report. You can and should say that the personal (VERY personal) information you have already given as well as your references and resume should be more than sufficient for them. Your credit is YOURS not someone else's to read. Also, you should know that when you access your credit report, it dings you one point. It isn't much, but it is something, so it is good to only look maybe twice a year at the most, unless you need to for something else.
It isn't so much about your credit report in this case, as it is about setting boundaries. If they can't respect something like this, what are you in for in the future, ya know? If you know your credit score or rating, just telling them should suffice. But like I said, if that still isn't enough for them, ask for their work reviews, their background checks, bank statements (hey you have to make sure they can pay you), etc. Don't let them strip you of your privacy- they will continue to do it if you don't lay down the law now.
It's not an equal comparison to say that the nanny has any rights to the parents credit report in return. Sure, if the nanny was exchanging her precious children for the parents children, or if the nanny were going to issue the parents a credit card, let the parents in her home with access to cash, sensitive info, etc. then the comparison would make sense.
The ONLY OFFICIAL website where you can get your credit report for free is
https://www.annualcreditreport.com/cra/index
Here is some info from their FAQ page ( https://www.annualcreditreport.com/cra/helpfaq ) :
You are entitled to receive one free credit report every 12 months from each of the nationwide consumer credit reporting companies through the Central Source. It is entirely your choice whether you order all three credit reports at the same time or order one now and others later. The advantage of ordering all three at the same time is that you can compare them. (However, you will not be eligible for another free credit report from the Central Source for 12 months.) On the other hand, the advantage of ordering one now and others later (for example, one credit report every four months) is that you can keep track of any changes or new information that may appear on your credit report. Remember, you are entitled to receive one free credit report through the Central Source every 12 months from each of the nationwide consumer credit reporting companies – Equifax, Experian and TransUnion – so if you order from only one company today you can still order from the other two companies at a later date.
Well?
What happened?
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