I was going for an administration job and reached the second stage of the recruitment/interview process, when the company suddenly turned around and stated that I would have to undergo a credit check. I have been having a few debt problems on the count of my recent divorce from my ex-partner and had to take out a myriad of loans to keep my family home with 2 young children from going under. The company realised my bad credit score and in the end did not offer me the job because of it. I am struggling to pay my rent on the low income job that I am currently doing which I have been in for the last 5 years.... it's not enough and then when there is a glimmer of hope, it got taken away just like that due to a credit check! So I am desperate to know what other people's experiences with this kind of issue has been and the methods you have taken to move past this. How has this affected you? Because quite frankly, it's affected me and the up keep of my children badly....

Hi everyone I need some urgent advice, any opinions really appreciated. Here is my situation: I currently own a property with a single mortgage with Intelligent Finance. I am buying a new property and converting my mortgage to a Joint mortgage with my partner. We have had our offer on the new house accepted. We have both checked our credit reports with Experian and Equifax. Our scores with Experian are 971 and 999 respectively. With Equifax are scores are in the 'Good' and 'Excellent' range. HOWEVER, we have realised that my partner is not, and has never been, on the Electoral Register at the address she is using to apply (although she has 12 years there). We rent a place during the week and she registered on the electoral roll there rather than the address where all her credit cards and bank records are located. Intelligent Finance tell me they use Equifax and that Electoral Roll info is requested through the credit check but they won't advise if this is a primary reason to refuse. However I have seen reports from people on the internet turned down for mortgages purely based upon not being on the Electoral Roll when checks are made with equifax. The advise I need is: - Are IF likely to turn us down despite both having good credit scores as my partner is not on the register? - Do I take the risk and make a joint application now, as our records are currently not linked and if we are turned down I am told we are then linked going forward? - Could my partner use our rental address to make her application where she is on the electoral roll (with the drawback that she has no credit cards or history at that address and we have only been there for 18 months). Would those drawbacks offset the benefit of being on the roll? - Will getting declined mean IF will not lend to either of us again in the future? I want to stay with them as I have an excellent low cost tracker rate. If we add my partner to the electoral roll I'm told it won't be updated until May and then Equifax may not update their records until June or later. Therefore if we try to delay the process we will almost certainly lose the house we have got the offer on and have to wait 3 months or more and start the whole house hunt process again. Any advice appreciated! regards David

Hi, This has been mentioned before by people and appears to be a fairly widespread issue for many seeking employment that have less-than-perfect credit, such as myself. After reading thread: 138485 Credit check to get a job I decided to do a search for an e-petition. A poster within that thread states that the FSA do not require a credit check for an employee unless they need to be an approved person with the FSA. An approved person is usually a person doing a controlled function within a financial firm such as a director or a person giving financial advice. As a result of this, many employers who quote FSA requirements as the reason for credit checking an individual for a fairly low-level position are wrong for doing so. As per the information provided in that thread, there is a workaround for the firm to still perform the credit check, by stating it is a requirement for that person to be competent for the job. This basically means that if you have credit card debt you are probably incompetent to work installing a printer at an FSA regulated firm. This does not make a great deal of sense to me. Anyway, I found an e-petition as I personally do agree this is discrimination. This problem is keeping me in poverty and unable to pay off debts, yet I am a highly capable individual who happens to be in a poor position due to the financial failure of two former employers that were irresponsible. Please sign the petition if you would like to see this practice investigated and hopefully eliminated for everything except those individuals who will be performing a controlled function stipulated by the FSA.It has been created by somebody else and personally I would have worded it better but the point is identical. As I cannot post links, you need to google number 10 epetitions, and do a search for Credit checks until you find: Credit Checks = Legal Discrimination for Employers, petition number 1024. Thanks, Ben

Hi there.. I would like to get some advice in regards to a Vodafone UK problem which seemed to be unresolved after 4 months despite taking the necessary steps/actions as advised/recommended by Vodafone. I feel extorted by them as I am the one to bear the brunt for their mistakes yet I am having to continue to pay them £26 / month. Below is a chronological order of the events. Late-October / Early-November 2011 (1) I attempted to take ownership of my friend's Vodafone account (contract expiring Nov 2012) but my application was unsuccessful due to a failed credit check. I asked for reasons of the failed credit check and was told to contact experian. (2) Vodafone staff also hinted that my old university student halls address (back in 2008/09) was used for the check, and on one occasion, even got my date of birth wrong. I tried to reason with them that the address mistake was not my fault, but I was told to send an email to their credit liaison team to appeal and also to get a copy of my credit report from Experian for which I paid £15. (3) My details were updated at Experian. It seemed that the addresses they have on me are outdated. In addition, I was told that the electoral roll details will be updated in their system in December 2011. (4) I was also informed by Experian that Vodafone rejected my request most probably due to my recent move from Bristol to Leatherhead and that my name had yet to be on the electoral roll. They could not see any other reason for me to be declined credit. (5) I sent out 2 emails to credit.liaison [at] gb.vodafone.co.uk but my emails were not responded. I accepted the fact that I had to wait 90 days to re-apply. Early-January 2012 (1) I called the local town council (Mole Valley) and they confirmed that I am listed on the electoral roll. (2) I called Vodafone w/c 9 Jan 2012 to confirm the details they have on me (including previous addresses). They managed to confirm my date of birth and account number but was not able to confirm previous address as the guy could not access my profile. The reason I was given is "your account is locked for 90 days from Oct 2011". 18 January 2012 (1) Immediately 90 days from Oct 2011, I called Vodafone (08700 719 038) to re-attempt the transfer of ownership. I tried to explain my situation to the lady who answered my call but was cut short. She insisted I first give her the mobile number I wanted to transfer which I did. She confirmed my identity by asking my date of birth and password. I was also asked to confirm the postcode of my current address which I also did. She then put me on hold for 5 minutes, and when she got back, she told me that I had failed my credit check. I told her that she did not even give me the opportunity to confirm my previous addresses but she insisted that she had followed the proper procedures and told me to wait another 90 days before re-applying. (2) I argued that I'm not going to wait another 90 days as I did not authorise her to perform the credit check and asked to speak with a manager. I then spoke to one "Tony Henry", and asked him which address was used for the credit check to which he said "XXX (2008/09 Uni halls address)". I replied that it was incorrect and explained that his staff has not allowed me to verify that. (3) I also told him that I have been paying for the account for the last 3 months by direct debit. He insisted that his staff followed the correct procedure. (4) He said he will speak to his superior "Michelle Stewart" and told me to expect a call within 48 hours (Friday 20 Jan 2012). 24 - 27 January 2012 (1) I never received a call from Vodafone. Instead, on Tuesday 24 Jan 2012, I decided to call them back. I tried to speak to Tony Henry or Michelle Stewart but never got a chance to. I had to re-explained my entire situation (again) to the person who answered my call and was put on hold. I was then told that Michelle Stewart wants me to email her (email address ending with tsc.co.uk) a copy of my credit report, which I promptly did on the day itself. (2) I never received an email from Michelle Stewart acknowledging the receipt of the email. I called Vodafone back on the Thursday 26 Jan 2012 and was asked whether I had sent that email to Michelle Stewart. I replied, "Yes, on Tuesday itself". I was then told that Michelle was away on business and will only be back the next day (Fri 27 Jan 2012). (3) I called on the morning of Friday 27 Jan 2012 and asked to speak to Michelle Stewart. Was again unable to speak to her. I was then told that Michelle Steward rejected my appeal and that she has listened to all my recordings and deemed that Vodafone staff have not done anything wrong at all. I was told to "try again" in 90 days. Additional Information (1) I paid another £15 early this month (Feb 2012) to have another look at my credit report. Spoke to Experian and they cannot find any reason for a rejection. Just so you know, my credit score is 907 with no record of late payments. (2) As of the latest credit report (8 Feb 2012), Experian told me that the last credit check performed on my account was October 2011. They also confirmed that there were no credit checks performed by Vodafone on me this year (2012). --- I would be really grateful if someone can provide me with some advice on how to deal with this problem. Suggestions to just cancel my direct debit with them are not an option. The contract with Vodafone ends in Nov 2012 and I'm paying £26 a month now and I am not able to move my personal (O2) number to Vodafone as I am only the authorised contact and not the owner of the account. Thank you for your attention. Please do not hesitate to contact me if further information is required. I have copies of the emails I sent to Vodafone. Really appreciate your time. Eugene

I routinely check out companies that telepest me and looky looky here: Can anyone spot the problem?

Hi all; thanks for taking the time to read this. We are looking to move to a new town, and by reasons of luck and chance, we've never rented with an agency before. We've found a home we like, but it's with an agency and they are requiring a £200 credit check before advancing our application. My husband is baulking at the cost. Is there any way to get a credit check independently and hand it over to them, or is that pointless? Is an expensive credit check something we just have to accept? Thanks.