Canada Day: Reuters claims Fair Isaac told it employers can use credit scores
Thomson Reuters in 2011 on the employers using credit scores in jobs and hiring myth. The news agency said Fair Isaac (FICO) confirmed the information.
Last year, when another Thomson Reuters writer stated that the head of Fair Isaac said that employers use credit scores (the writer even used the word "fact"), I posted a comment on the story, saying, "In 2008, when I asked FICO about its claim that employers use scores, a spokesman said that the company bases its claim on 'anecdotal information gleaned from public sources such as published articles.'"
Thomson Reuters did not clarify the piece.
Earlier this year, another Thomson Reuters writer claimed, "Lenders, landlords, employers and insurance companies all use these automated scoring systems to assess the riskiness of their potential customers, so having a low credit score can cost you an apartment, an insurance policy, a mortgage loan, or several thousands of dollars in higher interest costs."
The writer replied that her source was VantageScore. VantageScore replied, "Thank you for alerting us about this and rest assured last week we informed Ms. Stern that we have updated our information to reflect that employers use credit reports and not credit scores."
Thomson Reuters did not correct the piece (indeed, titled "What you need to know now about credit scores").
The consumer reporting agencies all state that they do not provide credit scores for employment purposes. See their statements at http://www.creditscoring.com/influence/government/employment.htm. So, if the consumer reporting agencies do not provide credit scores for employment purposes, then how could the employer access your score?
From: Lauren Young Sent: Wednesday, May 25, 2011 5:26 PM
To: greg@creditscoring.com
Subject: Reuters letter
Hi Greg,
I'm the personal finance editor here at Reuters, overseeing John Wasik's contributions as well as Linda Stern's personal finance coverage.
I was forwarded your email about John's most recent column. Coincidentally, I had a meeting with Mark Greene, president of FICO today, so I asked him to respond to your letter.
He confirmed that credit scores -- as well as reports -- can be accessed and used by employers as well as landlords. They are also used by auto companies, insurers and, obviously, banks.