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Will Your Credit Report Disqualify You For a Job?
coondoggie writes "Two companies that fired workers and rejected job applicants based on background checks, without informing those people of their rights, have settled with the FTC for $77,000 in civil penalties. Most experts we talked to think this case is just the tip of the iceberg. The companies — Quality Terminal Services and Rail Terminal Services — were charged with violating provisions of the Fair Credit Reporting Act, which requires employers to get permission to look at individual credit reports. If you don't get a job because of information in your report, the employer must show you the report and tell you how to get a copy from the consumer reporting company. There is no charge for the report if you request it within 60 days of getting notice that you did not get a job."
I can't tell if you're trying to be witty, but I'll just assume you're ignorant of the facts. In the United States, more than 60 percent of all personal bankruptcies are attributable to medical bills. If you weren't aware of that, you might want to watch the news sometime. We have this new president over here, see...
Breakfast served all day!
Err ... no?
I've visited the US many, many times, and I didn't see the streets crowded with leprous scabious tramps.
That's because you haven't looked in the right places. Granted, you'll not find many victims of leprosy, which usually requires extended contact with another infected person plus a few other factors. But if you look at the homeless population, you'll easily find signs of less than ideal medical care.
If you get picked up in an ambulance and taken to the emergency ward, they can't expect you to pay for that, surely?
Oh yes they can. They'll bill the heck out of you. And of course they'll make that bill high enough to pay for all the other people who couldn't pay their bill before you. If you can't pay, they'll do the same to the next person and your credit gets shot to hell. If you're not insured but can pay, you'll probably end up bankrupt. If you're insured, well, have fun fighting with your insurance company over what's covered and what not.
Moral of the story: Don't visit the US without travel health insurance. Ever.
It seems you share a common misconception that the Bill of Rights protects you from private companies and individuals. It doesn't.
The Constitution is about defining (and, supposedly, constraining) the powers of government, particularly its power to wreak havoc in people's lives. It's not about whether a prospective employer can perform a credit check.
For the TSA case you mention, you might have a point, because there the employer is the government and is obligated to respect due process. A private employer? Nope. Unless you have an employment contract, they can kick you to the curb for whatever reason they like, or for no reason at all. The exception is that there are laws to prevent discrimination, so they can't fire you (or decline to hire) for being Ukranian or Buddhist or whatever. If for instance you get arrested, even if you never get charged with a crime, and your name appears in the paper, you can be fired. That's not discrimination.
Somewhere most Americans picked up this quaint idea that the law requires employers to treat employees fairly. Perhaps because there are a number of laws that do exactly that: anti-discrimination laws, the Americans with Disabilities act, laws regarding workplace safety and overtime pay... But as of today there is no law against discrimination with respect to criminal record, or credit history, or musical tastes, or political activities, or any of a million other criteria that are utterly irrelevant to the performance of the job but for some reason might matter to an unjust employer.
Except as required by law, rights don't enter into it. If you want more rights, talk to your state legislator about outlawing this stupid and offensive practice of reviewing credit reports.
[Sir Garlon] is the marvellest knight that is now living, for he destroyeth many good knights, for he goeth invisible.
I'm a mortgage broker and can sympathize with some of these points, here's some advice based upon the previous post...
"You'll notice that paying your bill in full each month is actually counted as a negative against your credit scoreot true"
Not true, low "utilization" which is the percentage utilization of available credit is a positive for your score (generally try to have 70% or less of your credit line available on each card and in aggregate)
"as does shopping around for loans (generating lots of inquiries),"
shopping for mortgages or installment loans generally count as a single inquiry if they happen in a short period of time (2-3 weeks). Going to 5 different retail store (which is not "shopping around") and opening cards will hurt your score.
consolidating debt (which means opening new lines of credit), closing unused credit cards (bad move, shortens your average length of time that credit has been established)
If you want consolidate or move to a card with a lower interest rate (or 0% promotion), open the new card, transfer the balance, leave the old card open but destroy it or put it in a drawer (take it out of your wallet). Do not close the old account (shortens your avg. length of time that credit was established). When you pay off the new card, then close that one if you wish and break out the old one.
Best advice I have: pay everything on time (paying double the minimum balance every other month will ruin your credit)... never go 30 days late. Try to keep any balances on revolving accounts (store cards) at 30% or less of the credit limit. Lastly, don't keep getting new cards just because you can (or can get an additional 10% off at Target, etc.)
Here it is; not tons of detail because it happened in 2003 and most of its residue has been erased from the memory of the internet:
http://www.usatoday.com/money/workplace/2003-09-04-janitor_x.htm
--Insert catchy
No, I'm not saying that. I'm just saying that any hospital will try to bill the patient, regardless of who built it and runs it.
Where do people go who can't afford private healthcare?
The emergency room, mostly. Of course, they'll still be billed, and if they can't pay, the hospital tries to recoup these losses by charging all the other patients more. Since that's more difficult if the patient actually has health insurance (due to contracts/agreements with the insurance provider), they'll mostly do that to anyone who's uninsured.
If the answer is "nowhere", how can that system possibly work?
See above.
It sounds like your healthcare system needs fixing,
I don't live in the US, but man, have you been completely out of the loop on US politics? Sorry to ask so bluntly, but ...
I'm a victim of Identity theft. Some thieves got my name, address, date of birth and SSN, filled out an online form and got a credit card in my name. (Despite the mother's maiden name being wrong. Thank you very much Capital One!) The only reason I found out about it was that the thieves tripped up. They paid to have the card rush-mailed to them and *then* they changed the address from my address to theirs (or at least a drop box of theirs). The card was mailed out before the address change went through and landed in my hands.
I never did catch the thieves (slow working police who weren't prepared for an ID theft case and an uncooperative Capital One), but I learned how to prevent ID Theft: Freeze your credit. Then the thieves can't open any new lines of credit in your name. The only downside is that you can't open up any new lines yourself without first "thawing" the credit file temporarily. (Did that when I bought my new car.)
As a side benefit, people can't look at your credit file either. So jobs can't run background checks without your prior approval and banks can't pre-approve you for credit card after credit card that you don't want or need.
Here's some more information on credit freezing: http://www.consumersunion.org/campaigns/learn_more/003484indiv.html
My sci-fi novel, Ghost Thief, is now available from Amazon.com.
Do most countries provide free health care (hell, even low cost care) to foreign travelers?
For non-European visiting foreigners, for example Americans visiting Britain, if you go to hospital you will be charged, but if you do not have medical insurance and do not have funds to cover it, it is highly unlikely that persuing the cost would be "in the public interest" and would in most cases simply be written off. I certainly wouldn't advise Americans to turn up in Accident and Emergency with a credit card in your wallet but no health insurance. That'd end up being expensive (by British standards).
As a non-EU citizen visiting the EU, if you require non-emergency treatment, such as a doctor's visit, you can only get it if you have medical insurance. You won't even get an appointment without it.
But presumably you will either be able to afford private medical insurance, or your government will provide subsidised or free medical insurance. If not, you won't be seen for non-emergency stuff, simple as that.
Some Commonwealth countries (former British Empire colonies and islands that have kept the Queen as their head of state, or have other close formal ties with Britain) also qualify for free treatment under the NHS. America is not one of those (you should have thought of that before you wasted all that tea).
If you are a European citizen, all hospital care within Europe is free. You do not need pirvate medical insurance. If you are visiting a foreign country within the EU, then all you need is your passport and an EHIC card, and your home country's health service will be cross-billed. Been there did that, when my daughter fell down some steps in France in June and needed two stitches.
As an EU citizen, once you're admitted to state-run hospital, there is no charge for anything. (Well, there are payphones, and you can pay extra to rent your own TV, buy candy from vending machines etc. But everything from basic meals and drinks, to medicine, to surgery, is free.)
For an EU citizen visiting a doctor, it varies. Either it's free and you just turn up (eg. UK) or you visit the doctor and then claim the vast majority of the costs back from the government (eg. France).
If the doctor prescribes medicine, then in some countries like the UK have a flat-rate charge (UK: about 7 quid per item per month, or you can get a pre-pay subscription for a tenner a month if you use more than one item per month on average), whilst other countries (eg. France) have a subsidy system where cheaper items are bought entirely privately (eg. asthma inhalers, antihistamines) but you can claim back costs for more expensive items (eg. antivirals, antibiotics).
The doctor may refer you to hospital to see a specialist. As soon as you touch hospital, it's all free. However if your condition is not urgent, there may be a long wait. Sometimes a VERY LONG WAIT.
The main use for private medical insurance is to jump these queues and to allow you to see an outpatient specialist straight away. Usually this would be at a private hospital, not a state-run hospital. In some European countries, all hospitals are private so everyone uses the same buildings, it's just a question of waiting for an appointment. In the UK, there are usually (but not always) separate NHS versus private hospitals.
Most medium and big towns have a state-run hospital, although it won't necessarily cover all services (eg. my local Winchcombe hospital doesn't have an Accident and Emergency ward; I have to travel to Tewkesbury or Cheltenham). Only really big cities (eg. Birmingham) or very rich towns (eg. Cheltenham) will have private hospitals.
Ambulance, fire and rescue call-outs are free, but if there is other non-medical insurance covering the accident (such as buildings fire insurance covering a fire, or motor insurance covering a car crash), then the i
Andrew Oakley - www.aoakley.com