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Gov Job Offer + Problem with Credit Report
Posted: Tue Jan 13, 2015 8:39 pm
by Anonymous User
I will start working with a state agency next year (3L currently) and I ran my credit report and found an existing collection balance (medical billing). The state agency mentioned that they will be running the regular background check, fingerprinting and running my credit.
My options are:
a. Pay off the collections right now. Problem is that even if I pay off the collections, the credit report won't reflect the change until several weeks down the line.
b. Wait for the state agency to run my credit and explain the situation if they say it's a problem.
c. Add a written addendum to my credit report, explaining the collections situation.
Has anyone ever been no-offered from a government agency because of bad credit?
Re: Gov Job Offer + Problem with Credit Report
Posted: Tue Jan 13, 2015 8:58 pm
by Anonymous User
Anonymous User wrote:I will start working with a state agency next year (3L currently) and I ran my credit report and found an existing collection balance (medical billing). The state agency mentioned that they will be running the regular background check, fingerprinting and running my credit.
My options are:
a. Pay off the collections right now. Problem is that even if I pay off the collections, the credit report won't reflect the change until several weeks down the line.
b. Wait for the state agency to run my credit and explain the situation if they say it's a problem.
c. Add a written addendum to my credit report, explaining the collections situation.
Has anyone ever been no-offered from a government agency because of bad credit?
This can be a serious problem, at least for federal government employment (not sure about states but assume it's similar). You need to pay the collections off right now. Then, even if it shows up on your credit report you can tell the investigators that you paid it off and show proof. Usually, it's only outstanding collections that are an issue, not ones that have been paid off.
Re: Gov Job Offer + Problem with Credit Report
Posted: Wed Jan 14, 2015 1:32 am
by desperate4lawschool
I concur with the other reply. Pay it off right NOW. If it comes up later, you can show them proof of payment and explain. More likely than not, it wouldn't be a problem. As a government employee, it is my understanding that they are looking for potential conflicts of interest and whether someone could use that debt to coerce you. I'd honestly be more worried about your bar application, rather than the background check.