[adrr]

FICO score isn't used for employment and I doubt it is used from renting. Employment based credit pulls gives employers a stripped down credit history allowing employers to see total debt, late payments, payment history etc. As for renting, it would be discriminatory against certain religions that forbid debt. If you don't have debt, you can't have a credit score.

Edit: People really need to know the difference between FICO score and credit history. You can't challenge algorithm of a FICO Score number. You can challenge incorrect data on your credit report.

[caymanjim]

At least in the US, you are wrong on both accounts. Employers regularly check credit history, and every apartment rental agency I've ever dealt with has as well. They might not have an explicit numeric FICO threshhold that they use (or at least admit to using), but that's just semantics. They will pull your credit history, and if they don't like what's on it (or if you simply don't have one), they won't deal with you.

I lived outside the US for years, and even when I'm in the US, I don't participate in the credit market. I'm completely unable to rent apartments in NYC unless I work out an unofficial sublet arrangement (and get treated like a second class tenant at risk of eviction at all times), and even in the suburbs, it severely limits my apartment choices. The only reason it hasn't hurt me with employers (that I know of) is because I have a solid resume and references.

[turtlebits]

You should be able to do what most people with not to great credit do, prepay some amount of your total lease. Credit is to show that you pay on time. It makes total sense you're not able to rent without some validation that the landlord will get paid.

[nraynaud]

everybody prepay some amount on the lease, credit score or not.

[caymanjim]

Alas it's not really like that. The NYC rental market is incredibly tight. Most places already want a deposit plus first and last months' rent, which really just means double the deposit. Even if you have the cash for yet another deposit on top of that, they often won't entertain the idea. It's easier if you can deal directly with a landlord; agencies will generally have nothing to do with you. That and proof of a job/income should be way more than enough proof, but it's still not.

I'm a capitalist and a bit of a left-leaning libertarian, so I'm not saying landlords shouldn't have the right to act like this, or that I think the government needs to step in and regulate it. If I owned a property, I wouldn't want the government telling me whom I can rent to (more than they already do). Just providing examples of the creeping social credit system we have. I don't think it's about financial security once you're already asking for three months' rent just to move in; the financial part is pretty well covered by then.

[turtlebits]

The government has little to no say in who you rent it to. If I as a landlord want 100% of rental term up front, that's up to me and has no bearing on credit score, that is just a metric that helps me make a decision.

[r00fus]

Employers don't only check your credit history, they check your background history using 3rd party verifying services (HireRight, Sterling, etc), which usually include credit checks.

[adrr]

This is a discussion on a social score. Would you argue that what you do on social media is the same as a social score? Difference being semantics.

[moate]

Okay, so you admit that employers pull FICO scores, but that they then just go "well, we've seen it and now we won't use it in any way to influence any decisions whatsoever"? When why are they pulling it? That doesn't make any sense. It's a very safe assumption that if they're pulling it, they're using it for some reason (either current or future) relating to their decision to continue your employment.

As for renting: Do you have any examples of cases in which "religion" was used in conjunction with credit scores to successfully argue discrimination? Because I believe it's pretty standard to pull credit checks on renters before they sign a lease, and again, I'm going to (not so) boldly assume the landlord is then using that in their decision making.

[adrr]

They don't pull FICA scores. When I worked at financial company. We pulled credit history looking for negatives events as required by regulations dealing with securities/FINRA.

[moate]

So you're just over here arguing semantics? "FICO" vs "credit history" is the "Kleanex" vs "tissues" debate of the credit world. A FICO score is just a brand name credit history product. The point, that your previous credit events can be used against you in employment and renting, stands the same.

Is your point that it's JUST the detailed credit history and not "the detailed credit history + FICO" score, because that just seems like a pedantic point to make (and also, impossible to prove. There's no reason someone couldn't obtain your FICO score for these reasons)

OP point still stands: your credit history can be used against you in renting and employment. You've not disproved this point.

[adrr]

Thats like saying a social credit score is the same thing as your social media postings.

[moate]

I'm tapping out here if you're just going to keep going in on semantics my dude. You're not addressing the real point, that your credit score can be used against you in housing and employment, you're building a semantics straw man and attacking that.

I don't care about the relation between FICO score and credit history. It's tangential to this discussion.

[cronix]

Landlords and property management companies absolutely use FICO in the US. It's a strong indicator on whether you'll pay your rent on time, which is the largest payment most people make. From what I've seen, there is almost always a credit check run on people applying for a rental. When my credit wasn't so great, I had to pay several hundred extra for the deposit.

[mieseratte]

> As for renting, it would be discriminatory against certain religions that forbid debt. If you don't have debt, you can't have a credit score.

I've had credit-history checks done alongside criminal-background checks done for a number of apartments. One of my landlords told me it was a "negative event check," i.e. do you routinely miss payments, rather than an credit-worthiness check before a loan.

Just like I've occasionally had a startup ask me if I have a wife and kids in an interview, I'm sure there exist landlords that use a credit-check less judiciously.

[tanilama]

I remember they required a check over credit history to decide whether you are eligible for renting.

I don't think there is law to forbid agencies to do this.