Credit check can torpedo job opportunities

Credit: NBC 10 News

Toby Andrews said he had a job offer as a waiter rescinded because of a credit check.

By: Katie Davis | NBC 10
Published: July 13, 2011

WARWICK, R.I. --

When Toby Andrews interviewed for a job waiting tables at Eleven Forty Nine restaurant in Warwick, he thought he'd found the perfect fit.

"Because it's such a great place to work and so busy. I was ecstatic when I got the job," Andrews said Wednesday.

Andrews was offered the job contingent on a background check, and he figured he would pass with no problem. Then, he got a letter in the mail telling him his offer of employment was rescinded.

The company included a credit check as part of a pre-employment screening.

The check found no criminal record, and he passed a drug test. But Andrews has about $15,000 in student loan and credit card debt, and he has missed payments due to being unemployed.

Andrews said a manager told him that was a red flag.

"But the credit report, I thought that was a little ludicrous. I don't understand why that would have anything to do with my abilities as a server," Andrews said.

Human resources consultant Kathleen Stoddart said four in 10 employers now do credit checks on at least some of their employees.

Companies usually focus on people whose jobs involve handling cash or credit cards.

"They have to say, 'Well this is my business. I have to protect the integrity of my business. I have to protect my consumers,'" Stoddart said.

Amanda Marcello, a vice president at Eleven Forty Nine, told NBC 10 that the screening process is intended to protect customers.

"We pull them because they're handling cash and multiple credit cards," Marcello said. "In this business, there's just so much access to so much information."

"This is a very common practice," she said.

But for job seekers who ran up debt while they were out of work, it can be a frustrating practice as well.

"To presume that because I have bad credit that I'm going to be thief and liar, I think is pretty cruddy," Andrews said. "How is someone expected to get out of debt without a job?"

Companies must notify you in writing if they plan to check your credit and send you a written copy of the report.