Can CC provider call my employer to confirm my employment status?

ferry

Just curious to know if its usual for a credit card or loan company to call your employer after making an application to confirm certain details made on the application like length of service or income?

Would any special authorisation need to be given for them to be able to do this or does this happen anyway just by making the application?

I'm not in the market myself for any credit but i'm just curious...

Cheeers
F

opinions4u

Can CC provider call my employer to confirm my employment status?

Yes, they can.

The declaration on the application form gives them this right.

eddddy

I think that the most they would try to do in a phone call is establish that you actually worked at that location. E.g. ask the switchboard operator "Is this the correct number for Mr Ferry? Can you confirm your company name and postal address?" (and judge whether it sounds suspicious - e.g. if a 10 year old answers the phone and then calls his dad, who then confirms it's HSBC head office, it might be flagged as suspicious!)

I would hope that no HR department would respond to somebody that called out of the blue and said something like "This is ABC bank. Can you tell me Mr Ferry's salary and how long he has worked for you?"

Even though you have given the CC company consent to contact your employer, your employer should check with you before replying to any enquiry (in case it's a scam).

At the very least, the HR dept should ask your consent before giving out info like that over the phone. If you were applying for a mortgage or large loan, the bank might write to your employer asking for this info. But again, the HR dept would still check with you before replying.

Obviously, if you did not give the HR dept your consent to reply, the bank would almost certainly decline your application.

chattychappy

I got a call from Barclaycard wanting to check that somebody worked for me. I asked who they were enquiring about, put them on hold and then asked the staff member if they minded my talking to them. She said to tell them what I like - but in fact Barclaycard only wanted to confirm she worked for us.

Had they wanted to know more, I probably would have insisted they asked by letter or fax - so as to be sure I was supplying the information to Barclaycard. I can imagine some companies would insist that all such enquiries are put in writing, if nothing else to avoid arguments later about who said what and to whom.

jonesMUFCforever

I would agree that a telephone call would be a no no - for both parties involved as posted above.

opinions4u

Very simple really.

1) Verify the phone number of the employer is accurate.
2) Ring the employer and ask to speak to Mr Applicant.

If a positive response confirms Mr Applicant works there, you have verified that he works where he says he works.

chattychappy

opinions4u wrote: »

Very simple really.

1) Verify the phone number of the employer is accurate.
2) Ring the employer and ask to speak to Mr Applicant.

If a positive response confirms Mr Applicant works there, you have verified that he works where he says he works.

True, but of course in some companies the staff member won't be contactable via the switchboard that answers the phone. They might even have been seconded to another company or work on different sites. Ie the personnel/HR number supplied by an applicant won't necessarily be a number through which they could be contacted. An obvious example would be armed forces.

PNPSUKNET

some car finance companys including letting agents get you to sign a consent to disclose form.

is_the_kettle_on

Good question. I have been off travelling for a year so I have no job at the moment. So if I applied for a financial product and said I was still employed is the rather low-tech approach of the bank calling the number I give on the application the only way employment can be established? In this age of credit files is there not a more robust way of checking? Maybe via inland rev, or national insurance?

One assumes though that any fictitious info I give them would constitute fraud.

chattychappy

is_the_kettle_on wrote: »

Good question. I have been off travelling for a year so I have no job at the moment. So if I applied for a financial product and said I was still employed is the rather low-tech approach of the bank calling the number I give on the application the only way employment can be established? In this age of credit files is there not a more robust way of checking? Maybe via inland rev, or national insurance?

One assumes though that any fictitious info I give them would constitute fraud.

At the moment, there is no access to HMRC records for credit reference purposes.

Banks into which you pay salary will sometimes use this information when considering an application or pro-actively offering credit cards.

Yes, in general lying to obtain credit is an offence under the Fraud Act 2006. There are other risks too - getting recorded on so-called fraud prevention databases.

brewerdave

My old Company HR Dept. would only let us confirm that "Mr X is currently employed by ABC PLC" - Any more info. eg salary would have to be supplied by the employee - copies of their payslips would only be supplied to the employee personally.