5 ms·

Also they don't really need a credit history if they're given housing/car to start, and cash for secured accounts.

by rdl 11y ago

nommm-nommm 11y ago
Credit history affects you in many non-credit ways.
- grecy 11y ago
  I moved to North America, which means I had "no credit rating" which is the same as the worst possible. It was annoying for a couple of things - Had to put down a $1000 deposit to get a $1000 credit card - Had to put down a $400 deposit to get a cheap cell phone That's it. What else were you thinking it impacts?
  - icelancer 11y ago
    Insurance rates, home ownership (you are only provided an apartment under WITSEC), jobs often pull credit histories for background checks...
    - grecy 11y ago
      > Insurance rates I never encountered that - if they were checking my credit, they never told me, and my rates were no different than friends with good credit. Is it legal for them to do that? >home ownership Obviously I wouldn't qualify for a mortgage right away, but that goes without saying when you have the worst credit rating possible. >jobs often pull credit histories for background checks Really? They can do that? Wow. If they did that to me, it apparently didn't hurt my chances, I've always been offered jobs I've applied for.
      - acheron 11y ago
        Really? They can do that? Wow. If they did that to me, it apparently didn't hurt my chances, I've always been offered jobs I've applied for. You usually have to sign something when you apply giving them permission, so if you didn't do that then it probably didn't happen. Though in any case I doubt "no credit history" would be a bad sign for an employment offer; they're likely only looking for specifically negative events.
        nommm-nommm 11y ago
        The Fair Credit Reporting Act requires anyone who pulls credit history from you to get your permission first.
        grecy 11y ago
        >I doubt "no credit history" would be a bad sign I was told multiple times at the bank it was equivalent to the worst possible credit rating.
        acheron 11y ago
        For some types of credit, it could be. I had trouble getting a credit card with no credit history too. But potential employers aren't looking at it for that, they're just looking for specific negative things.
        nommm-nommm 11y ago
        It depends on what they are looking for if poor credit score would be the same as no credit history. If someone wants to extend you credit (this includes cell phone and cable service) no credit score would be the same as poor credit score. Employers who do a background check are not looking to extend credit to you. They are usually looking to both verify your identity (did you lie to them on your resume?) and looking for negative stuff in your credit history. In that case having no credit history probably won't be a problem. Local and national laws dictate what employers are allowed to take into consideration when doing a background check. The credit reporting services themselves are subject to the Fair Credit Reporting Act. Almost every job I've ever had included some type of background check. For each I had to sign off for a third party to do the check. It totally depends on the company, and the industry and probably the geographical location.
      - nommm-nommm 11y ago
        You have to give an employer permission for a credit check. Companies outsource that to a third party. You'll have to sign off on it or you won't get the job. Company specific, obviously. A background check done by a third party for employment purposes will include credit history. If you didn't sign off on a background check they didn't pull your credit history. That being said, they don't actually do the background check until after you've accepted the job. They say "this offer of employment is contingent on passing a background check." I hear they may be doing away with this in some places. RE: Insurance. Take it from Esurance. https://www.esurance.com/info/car/myth-your-credit-score-doesnt-affect-your-insurance-rate https://www.esurance.com/info/car/myth-your-credit-score-doe... >Many U.S. car insurance companies use credit-based insurance scores to help determine risk. (Unless you live in Massachusetts, Hawaii, or California, where the practice has been banned.) And studies have shown that there's good reason to use credit-based scoring in developing rates. >In 2003, The University of Texas (PDF) conducted an analysis based on 175,647 policies. They found that those with lower credit scores tended to incur more car insurance losses and higher claims payout, and thus posed greater risk to auto insurers. >The Federal Trade Commission (PDF) also undertook an independent study to understand the relationship between credit history and risk. Like The University of Texas, they found that credit-based insurance scores are effective predictors of risk. You aren't ever going to get an apartment in my neighborhood without a credit history. Once again, you'll have to give permission for a landlord to run a credit check but your other alternative is not renting the place. Around here all the landlords have hard credit score thresholds. Though they probably would accept someone without a credit history if they had very high income.
        icelancer 11y ago
        > Though they probably would accept someone without a credit history if they had very high income. This is variable around here. My business was turned down from a 3 year lease because of a minimal Dun & Bradstreet crossection and a short history of being in business... despite the fact we were earning 7 months of lease costs in revenue per 28 days... and we offered to pay the first year of the least in full, in cash. In a seller's market, landlords invent ridiculous reasons to not rent you stuff - especially in commercial space.
    - _delirium 11y ago
      Landlords often pull a credit report before renting apartments also. Mostly they're looking to filter out people who stiffed a previous landlord (which can show up as an account in collections), but a blank history may or may not satisfy them. The prevalence of this varies by area and type of landlord; corporate-owned complexes are more likely to routinely pull credit reports, while individuals renting out houses/apartments are less likely to.

Also they don't really need a credit history if they're given housing/car to start, and cash for secured accounts.

by rdl 11y ago

Also they don't really need a credit history if they're given housing/car to start, and cash for secured accounts.

nommm-nommm 11y ago

Credit history affects you in many non-credit ways.

grecy 11y ago
I moved to North America, which means I had "no credit rating" which is the same as the worst possible. It was annoying for a couple of things - Had to put down a $1000 deposit to get a $1000 credit card - Had to put down a $400 deposit to get a cheap cell phone That's it. What else were you thinking it impacts?
- icelancer 11y ago
  Insurance rates, home ownership (you are only provided an apartment under WITSEC), jobs often pull credit histories for background checks...
  - grecy 11y ago
    > Insurance rates I never encountered that - if they were checking my credit, they never told me, and my rates were no different than friends with good credit. Is it legal for them to do that? >home ownership Obviously I wouldn't qualify for a mortgage right away, but that goes without saying when you have the worst credit rating possible. >jobs often pull credit histories for background checks Really? They can do that? Wow. If they did that to me, it apparently didn't hurt my chances, I've always been offered jobs I've applied for.
    - acheron 11y ago
      Really? They can do that? Wow. If they did that to me, it apparently didn't hurt my chances, I've always been offered jobs I've applied for. You usually have to sign something when you apply giving them permission, so if you didn't do that then it probably didn't happen. Though in any case I doubt "no credit history" would be a bad sign for an employment offer; they're likely only looking for specifically negative events.
      - nommm-nommm 11y ago
        The Fair Credit Reporting Act requires anyone who pulls credit history from you to get your permission first.
      - grecy 11y ago
        >I doubt "no credit history" would be a bad sign I was told multiple times at the bank it was equivalent to the worst possible credit rating.
        acheron 11y ago
        For some types of credit, it could be. I had trouble getting a credit card with no credit history too. But potential employers aren't looking at it for that, they're just looking for specific negative things.
        nommm-nommm 11y ago
        It depends on what they are looking for if poor credit score would be the same as no credit history. If someone wants to extend you credit (this includes cell phone and cable service) no credit score would be the same as poor credit score. Employers who do a background check are not looking to extend credit to you. They are usually looking to both verify your identity (did you lie to them on your resume?) and looking for negative stuff in your credit history. In that case having no credit history probably won't be a problem. Local and national laws dictate what employers are allowed to take into consideration when doing a background check. The credit reporting services themselves are subject to the Fair Credit Reporting Act. Almost every job I've ever had included some type of background check. For each I had to sign off for a third party to do the check. It totally depends on the company, and the industry and probably the geographical location.
    - nommm-nommm 11y ago
      You have to give an employer permission for a credit check. Companies outsource that to a third party. You'll have to sign off on it or you won't get the job. Company specific, obviously. A background check done by a third party for employment purposes will include credit history. If you didn't sign off on a background check they didn't pull your credit history. That being said, they don't actually do the background check until after you've accepted the job. They say "this offer of employment is contingent on passing a background check." I hear they may be doing away with this in some places. RE: Insurance. Take it from Esurance. https://www.esurance.com/info/car/myth-your-credit-score-doesnt-affect-your-insurance-rate https://www.esurance.com/info/car/myth-your-credit-score-doe... >Many U.S. car insurance companies use credit-based insurance scores to help determine risk. (Unless you live in Massachusetts, Hawaii, or California, where the practice has been banned.) And studies have shown that there's good reason to use credit-based scoring in developing rates. >In 2003, The University of Texas (PDF) conducted an analysis based on 175,647 policies. They found that those with lower credit scores tended to incur more car insurance losses and higher claims payout, and thus posed greater risk to auto insurers. >The Federal Trade Commission (PDF) also undertook an independent study to understand the relationship between credit history and risk. Like The University of Texas, they found that credit-based insurance scores are effective predictors of risk. You aren't ever going to get an apartment in my neighborhood without a credit history. Once again, you'll have to give permission for a landlord to run a credit check but your other alternative is not renting the place. Around here all the landlords have hard credit score thresholds. Though they probably would accept someone without a credit history if they had very high income.
      - icelancer 11y ago
        > Though they probably would accept someone without a credit history if they had very high income. This is variable around here. My business was turned down from a 3 year lease because of a minimal Dun & Bradstreet crossection and a short history of being in business... despite the fact we were earning 7 months of lease costs in revenue per 28 days... and we offered to pay the first year of the least in full, in cash. In a seller's market, landlords invent ridiculous reasons to not rent you stuff - especially in commercial space.
  - _delirium 11y ago
    Landlords often pull a credit report before renting apartments also. Mostly they're looking to filter out people who stiffed a previous landlord (which can show up as an account in collections), but a blank history may or may not satisfy them. The prevalence of this varies by area and type of landlord; corporate-owned complexes are more likely to routinely pull credit reports, while individuals renting out houses/apartments are less likely to.