[mss103]

My husband died suddenly in 2004. He left a lot of debt, and minimal life insurance. At the time of his death, we lived in Maricopa County, Arizona, and Arizona is a community property state.

Last year, I resigned from my position, and moved back to the NYC area. I have been looking for a new position in NYC for about 7 months, and am in final rounds of interviews for a position I think will be offered to me.

Of course, any offer is contingent upon a background/credit check, and my once-good credit is now HORRENDOUS. Half of my accounts are showing in good standing, half in collection/chargeoff.

I don't want to debate the ridiculousness of basing a hiring decision on a credit report, as I do not believe personal credit issues have any bearing upon one's honesty as an employee or the likelihood of someone to steal. I am certain that Ken Lay had a FICO of 1000, yet I am also certain that I never robbed anyones retirement accounts!

There is also a QUASHED judgement that appears in Maricopa County Civil Court records. Here is what it says:

Case number XXXXX was failed on 01/13/2005 and is styled Citibank South Dakota NA (Plaintiff) vs. John Doe and Jane Doe (Defendants). The cause of action is due to a garnishment of wages in the amounts of $7,965.53. On 10/13/2004, a default judgment was issued. On 05/07/2005, a release and quash of writ of garnishment was entered.

This Citibank account was my husband's, but we were both named in the complaint. Truthfully, at the time the complaint was filed, I was too overwhelmed with the other stuff going on in my life, and I did not respond until I received the judgement and the garnishment order for my husband's wages. At that time, I wrote to the plaintiff's attorney and included a copy of the death certificate. Is there any way to get this OUT of the public record, or at least get my name off of it???

Also, do you have any suggestions for handling questions from potential employers regarding my crappy credit status? It's not as if I'm in this situation due to a gambling or drug problem--it was the sudden death of my spouse and subsequent year of unemployment.

Comments appreciated.

[Hedwig]

I would be very honest and up-front with employers. In fact, you may want to bring it up instead of waiting for them to mention it.

Just say that when you check my credit report you will see some problems. I want to let you know up front what is going on. Then spell it out.

They should consider your honesty in making the decision. If they don't, maybe you don't want to work for them anyway.

[Qtip]

Originally Posted by mss103

My husband died suddenly in 2004. He left a lot of debt, and minimal life insurance. At the time of his death, we lived in Maricopa County, Arizona, and Arizona is a community property state.

Last year, I resigned from my position, and moved back to the NYC area. I have been looking for a new position in NYC for about 7 months, and am in final rounds of interviews for a position I think will be offered to me.

Of course, any offer is contingent upon a background/credit check, and my once-good credit is now HORRENDOUS. Half of my accounts are showing in good standing, half in collection/chargeoff.

I don't want to debate the ridiculousness of basing a hiring decision on a credit report, as I do not believe personal credit issues have any bearing upon one's honesty as an employee or the likelihood of someone to steal. I am certain that Ken Lay had a FICO of 1000, yet I am also certain that I never robbed anyones retirement accounts!

There is also a QUASHED judgement that appears in Maricopa County Civil Court records. Here is what it says:

Case number XXXXX was failed on 01/13/2005 and is styled Citibank South Dakota NA (Plaintiff) vs. John Doe and Jane Doe (Defendants). The cause of action is due to a garnishment of wages in the amounts of $7,965.53. On 10/13/2004, a default judgment was issued. On 05/07/2005, a release and quash of writ of garnishment was entered.

This Citibank account was my husband's, but we were both named in the complaint. Truthfully, at the time the complaint was filed, I was too overwhelmed with the other stuff going on in my life, and I did not respond until I received the judgement and the garnishment order for my husband's wages. At that time, I wrote to the plaintiff's attorney and included a copy of the death certificate. Is there any way to get this OUT of the public record, or at least get my name off of it???

Also, do you have any suggestions for handling questions from potential employers regarding my crappy credit status? It's not as if I'm in this situation due to a gambling or drug problem--it was the sudden death of my spouse and subsequent year of unemployment.

Comments appreciated.

Mss103,

Welcome to the board! I am sorry to hear about you husbands passing and your credit problems. I am not certain what can legally be done, since there is a judgment. But you came to the right place and I am certain other will point you on the right direction.

As far as clearing your inaccuracies, there are many things we can do; they will not help you in the short term as credit restoration takes a little time. But we are willing to help you.

For starters I would contact all credit bureaus and remove all your previous mailing addresses. Equifax is the easiest, simply call them and tell them you want to dispute your old addresses on the credit file. After you get outdated addresses off then you could dispute the judgment. Some people have been successful getting the judgment removed this way.

[mss103]

Thank you for your responses.

I just wanted to clarify that the judgement does NOT appear on my credit report. It only shows up in a search of civil court records. (Which I also think is ridiculous for employers to check--what business is it of theirs if I'm divorced or suing the plumber???)

The only way the judgement is showing is as "quashed."

Thanks again!

[Hedwig]

The reason they check records isn't to see if you're divorced or suing the plumber. They want to know if there is a judgement against you that may cause your salary to be garnished. They want to know if you have a criminal record for things like assult which could mean you would have problems in the workplace.

Just because there is an entry doesn't mean they won't hire you.

If you handle money, they want to know if you have judgements or a lot of people after you, because those type of people are often desparate and more likely to embezzle funds.

They do look at things in context and often ask you to explain. Sometimes the fact that you are embarrassed by something or try to hide it means that someone could try to blackmail you with the information to try to get you to steal something--money or information--from your employer. That's why I said mention it upfront. That way they know you have already admitted it. So later, if someone says "if you don't get me that secret formula from your employer I'll tell them XYZ" you can tell them to pound sand, because your employer knows.

[jlynn]

I have to agree with Hedwig. After a divorce many moons ago, my ex wrecked my credit. I was apply for a job at a bank, and had to sign authorization to pull my credit. I was up front with HR.

"Sure, go ahead and pull my credit. My ex has wrecked it, so if there is anything that the bank finds concerning, please do not hesitate to ask me, as I would be happy to explain." Now, this was almost 20 years ago, but hopefully there are still some humans in HR departments today.

BTW - your employer does not need to know that AZ is community - you just should be straight to the point. These were my deceased husband's accounts.

[roybean]

Human beings in HR dept???? I don't know as folks are so mechanical nowadays, like they can't make a decision by themselves or use their own head.

[Hedwig]

There are a few humans out there--not many, but a few.

[roybean]

Bring them hither, so I can put my hand on them. Not being sarcastic, but I am finding that you have to or need to know someone.


The last time I applied for a job (thru school) and they do these mandatory checks now, even on students. Not that I was worried about anything other than my messed up credit report, it just so happened that the lady who interviewed me and did my paperwork was from my hometown and we got to talking. She ended up giving me her phone number and saying, "Come on over for dinner because I don't meet many people from home."

[Hedwig]

See--there was a human, after all!!