Congressman: Employers use scores, and utilization ratio importance

From a letter to the Comptroller of the Currency, United States Department of the Treasury:

"The credit utilization ratio is an important element in a consumer’s credit score, and the higher the credit utilization ratio, the lower the credit score. A lower credit score can have far-reaching unrelated effects, such as eligibility for employment or life insurance."

Dennis J. Kucinich, member (D-OH), U.S. House of Representatives
October 29, 2009

Dissonance with the legislator's message

1. Exactly how "important" the credit card utilization ratio is is unknown.
2. The consumer reporting agencies do not provide credit scores for employment purposes.
3. Treasury, the recipient of the letter, itself, claims that credit scores are used in employment screening.

Blogs Dandelion Salad, AllBusiness.com, TradingMarkets.com parrot the congressman with no question. Using attribution to something called "Congressional Documents and Publications/ContentWorks via COMTEX," the story on TradingMarkets.com states, "Credit scores are now used in writing insurance policies and even in determining employability."

Despite the evidence, so it goes-- another page in the credit score Bleak Account.