Utah is doing credit checks for contractors licenses. Bad credit and they can pull your license. I think this is more important for contractors that buy materials that go into their work that must be paid for. I think there is financial responsibility to surveyors licensing but I've never really heard of them checking the credit report to verify. I wonder if this isn't in our future. Seems like the credit report is everywhere anymore.
Sorry young fellow...we've checked with Sallie Mae...you owe on some student loans!
Pay them off and we will let you take the FS test...No FS...no PS...
DDSM:-(
[sarcasm]You don't qualify to work and earn a decent wage, you are too poor.[/sarcasm]
Insurance rates are affected by your credit rating, too.
It is sad that it is becoming the norm to measure a person's moral fiber by how well he or she manages finances.
Rome is burning and I think I hear a fiddle..
I think it's ridiculous. A credit score is nothing more than an "I love debt" score. It doesn't tell anyone how wealthy you are, just that you are good (or bad) at the debt game.
I don't think it's such an awful idea, believe it or not credit history generally reflects a persons integrity and character, how you might ask..., it reflects the persons ability to deliver on promises made and determination to follow through on their promises.
Credit reports reveal if someone says what they mean and means what they say, and does it.
I know there are a million reasons why a good person could get bad credit, I understand that perfectly, no system is perfect but the general intention is to measure someones integrity, which is an exact quality required of a good trustworthy professional and what you want to know about someone before lending them money.
It's in the bible...
First or Second Condiminiums, I think:
"Thou Shalt Balance Thy Checking."
If a Contractor, Employee, Surveyor, whomever cannot handle their own money, how well do you think they will handle yours?
The problem is a credit report tells very little about how one handles their money, only how they manage their debt.
Hypothetically, if I had two credit cards with a $10,000 limit and an outstanding balance on one of $6,000 and the other of $4,000, then paid off and closed the $4,000 account, my credit score would drop because my debt to available credit ratio would rise.
"Credit reports reveal if someone says what they mean and means what they say, and does it.
[sarcasm]And we all know that your "debt to available credit ratio" is a fine indicator of whether you will do what you say.[/sarcasm] 😉
> The problem is a credit report tells very little about how one handles their money, only how they manage their debt.
>
> Hypothetically, if I had two credit cards with a $10,000 limit and an outstanding balance on one of $6,000 and the other of $4,000, then paid off and closed the $4,000 account, my credit score would drop because my debt to available credit ratio would rise.
Actually, it does tell alot about how someone handles their money, due to the fact that report is over an extended time frame, if someone has excellet credit for years you could assume they have a good handle on their personal financial situation overall and can predict their own ability to perform on their promises.
"...The problem is a credit report tells very little about how one handles their money, only how they manage their debt..."
Definition of 'Debt'
An amount of money borrowed by one party from another.
Money (Assets) and Debt (Liabilities) are two sides of the same Balance Sheet.
Why Do Insurance Companies Use Credit Reports and Scores?
“…The primary reason is to determine if they even want to do business with you and/or under what terms. Despite what many believe, how you manage your credit is very predictive of what kind of insurance customer you’ll be. It’s predictive not only of your likelihood of filing claims but also predictive of how profitable you’ll be. If it weren’t, insurance companies wouldn’t spend the money buying millions of credit reports and scores each year…”
If I don't handle my money well, I'm probably going down regardless. That is my problem. Clients can probably check my credit report, lenders can check my credit report, everyone can check my credit report and decide if they don't want to hire me. But can I be a responsible, professional and conscientious surveyor as far as boundary is concerned if I don't handle my money well? I think I can. Please don't take my best possible way to turn my life and debt around because of a bad credit report. There are guys with good credit reports that may or may not be good surveyors. Maybe they're good at making money but will not do a thorough boundary survey if thy find it is not going to reap their bottom-line profit. I don't think you should take someone's license away because it "appears" that they may not handle their finances well, any more than to take it away because it "appears" that they may hold profit above integrity. If someone doesn't pay back a debt, then they should be held liable for that, and if someone makes money for not doing a professional job, then they should be held liable for that.
I think credit ratings should be used ONLY for decisions on issuing more credit, if the credit-issuing business wants to use them, and aren't necessarily the best indicators even for that.
There may be a correlation between credit rating and integrity, but it's only a correlation and one does not prove the other. The old book _How to Lie With Statistics_ quotes the high correlation between the salaries of Presbyterian ministers and the price of rum to demonstrate that mathematical correlation does not necessarily mean there is an actual relationship.
A credit rating is just a number companies compute from some algorithm and sell. It shouldn't be allowed to rule our lives. What next? No membership in organizations without a credit check? Can't work in a school if you have bad credit? No driver's license if bad credit? You can't fly because your credit rating suggests you might do something desperate? Let's not allow this to happen.
I saved up for years (I was single) before I bought a small house - no mortgage. I eventually got a couple credit cards because you really needed them for travel. I used to have to remember to charge something now and then to keep them active (I buy gasoline on them since the stations started requiring prepayment).
So I didn't do much for years to establish a credit record. My mother still does not have a credit card. It is unfair that we might pay more for insurance, or I be excluded from things, just because we prefer to not have debt.
I agree, This ill advised requirement would likely have the opposite effect, and would be detrimental to a free market economy, in the end limiting competition and removing potential job growth.
Subcontractors can lien property although they don't have a contract with the owners.
I assume that is why the Contractor's license board looks at credit reports.
Typically Land Surveyors will lien their own clients (first party) and probably don't in most cases anyway.
"...Let's not allow this to happen..."
What an interesting statement on business accumen.
