Help...credit check for Police Staff job?

Time_to_face_the_music

Applications for the police force state:

A Credit Worthiness Check will be undertaken on each applicant. Applicants to the Police service should normally be free from undischarged debt or liability and able to manage existing loans. The emphasis should be on the sensible management of debt.

This indicates that a serious approach to managing your debt is fine even for a police officer so why would a DMP not be acceptable for a civilian post?

Get to the interview and give it your best!

Flanket

My husband got to the final stages of his police interview process. Passed the entry test, fitness, two panel interviews etc. this process took literally months. Final stage was vetting and he got a two line letter saying our financial situation wasn't satisfactory. We are in a Debt Arrangement Scheme, and over the past 18months we've paid over £21k to our debts. This is apparently not good enough.
We did contact Recruitment before he even submitted his application and he was told to go ahead and apply as the DAS wouldn't necessarily prohibit him from entering the Force. However Vetting didn't see it that way at all and told him not to bother applying again till he was free of the DAS.
I wouldn't hold my breath if I was you. Sorry. :-(

coolcait

Flanket wrote: »

My husband got to the final stages of his police interview process. Passed the entry test, fitness, two panel interviews etc. this process took literally months. Final stage was vetting and he got a two line letter saying our financial situation wasn't satisfactory. We are in a Debt Arrangement Scheme, and over the past 18months we've paid over £21k to our debts. This is apparently not good enough.
We did contact Recruitment before he even submitted his application and he was told to go ahead and apply as the DAS wouldn't necessarily prohibit him from entering the Force. However Vetting didn't see it that way at all and told him not to bother applying again till he was free of the DAS.
I wouldn't hold my breath if I was you. Sorry. :-(

Has your husband asked them to explain why they feel it is unsatisfactory that he is in a DAS is a "government-run debt management tool which allows you to repay your debts through a debt payment programme (DPP)"? (taken from the Scottish government website www.dasscotland.gov.uk).

Seriously, they may not have fully understood what DAS is - especially if they've run a credit check with an organisation which lists DAS in the 'Insolvency' box! [tears hair out]

suburbanwifey

Flanket wrote: »

My husband got to the final stages of his police interview process. Passed the entry test, fitness, two panel interviews etc. this process took literally months. Final stage was vetting and he got a two line letter saying our financial situation wasn't satisfactory. We are in a Debt Arrangement Scheme, and over the past 18months we've paid over £21k to our debts. This is apparently not good enough.
We did contact Recruitment before he even submitted his application and he was told to go ahead and apply as the DAS wouldn't necessarily prohibit him from entering the Force. However Vetting didn't see it that way at all and told him not to bother applying again till he was free of the DAS.
I wouldn't hold my breath if I was you. Sorry. :-(

Yes, this is correct. An application will be refused if there is substantial debt that has to be paid or if an applicant is in a DMP or is a discharged bankrupt. They do have their reasons for this (a previous poster did touch on most of them) and to be honest with you, I think its sad that in your particular circumstances (though not all) I think its unfair but that is how they conduct the selection process and in the great scheme of things I think they have got it right. Someone who owes money is a risk, period.

I personally wouldn't go ahead with the application process any further, a rejection can really knock your confidence, especially when it is for such a reason, which does seem unfair when you know yourself to be an honest person.

There are lots of underlying reasons why an applicant can fail, financial commitments are just one of them.

dfwsometimesoon

suburbanwifey wrote: »

I personally wouldn't go ahead with the application process any further, a rejection can really knock your confidence, especially when it is for such a reason, which does seem unfair when you know yourself to be an honest person.

There are lots of underlying reasons why an applicant can fail, financial commitments are just one of them.

thanks i do agree its not worth going ahead with the interview i kinda feel knowing now that they will credit check and the DMP will be an instant rejection, that i am gonna be wasting their and my time, kinda like applying for the Spanish teachers job and being unable to actually speak Spanish lol...

and yes i do understand that there are many other reasons as to why someone wouldnt be successful it could be very possible i wouldnt need to go through to the vetting stage anyway.

With the actual Police Force the vetting form etc is submitted along with the initial application BEFORE pre-selection.... I dont know why they dont do this with Police Civilian Staff jobs if is an instant rejection reason, seems really silly to me, there were hundreds of applicants and they have shortlisted to 15 for 6 jobs, with me being 1 of them.... maybe everyone else is fully aware NOT to apply for the position if in DMP etc am not sure, the vetting form is issued to be filled in ONLY IF successful at the interview stage .... so u have the job in theory pending checks id be totally devastated if did get to that stage and was advised had failed.... my family OH family and myself and OH have never even had as much as a speeding tic so the family vetting wouldnt be an issue..... unforeseen circumstances with his prev employer of 10 years folding due to the current climate are now causing a knock on effect some 4 months later arghhhhhhh lol

suburbanwifey

dfwsometimesoon wrote: »

thanks i do agree its not worth going ahead with the interview i kinda feel knowing now that they will credit check and the DMP will be an instant rejection, that i am gonna be wasting their and my time, kinda like applying for the Spanish teachers job and being unable to actually speak Spanish lol...

and yes i do understand that there are many other reasons as to why someone wouldnt be successful it could be very possible i wouldnt need to go through to the vetting stage anyway.

With the actual Police Force the vetting form etc is submitted along with the initial application BEFORE pre-selection.... I dont know why they dont do this with Police Civilian Staff jobs if is an instant rejection reason, seems really silly to me, there were hundreds of applicants and they have shortlisted to 15 for 6 jobs, with me being 1 of them.... maybe everyone else is fully aware NOT to apply for the position if in DMP etc am not sure, the vetting form is issued to be filled in ONLY IF successful at the interview stage .... so u have the job in theory pending checks id be totally devastated if did get to that stage and was advised had failed.... my family OH family and myself and OH have never even had as much as a speeding tic so the family vetting wouldnt be an issue..... unforeseen circumstances with his prev employer of 10 years folding due to the current climate are now causing a knock on effect some 4 months later arghhhhhhh lol

Wise decision and I do sympathise with you, it doesn't seem fair. When they do background family checks too a lot of people come a cropper as such, with maybe a distant family member having committed a small crime that the applicant didn't know about etc. The Police do dig pretty deep. If I was you, you've got this far, I'd apply again when you are out of the DMP and its highly likely you would have a good chance of success with your application. Don't give up on your dream of a secure job with prospects with the force, just put it on hold until a more appropriate time to ensure you are accepted xx

Elsewhere

My husband and several others contracted to do computer work for the police (they were not employed directly by the Police Force) and they all had to declare debts, credit cards etc. as part of the vetting. The process was repeated approximately every 3 years.

I remember one of the others forgot to declare a store card once - I don't think he even owed any money on it - and they took away his police pass for two or three weeks and made quite a fuss about investigating the matter.

dfwsometimesoon

suburbanwifey wrote: »

When they do background family checks too a lot of people come a cropper as such, with maybe a distant family member having committed a small crime that the applicant didn't know about etc. The Police do dig pretty deep.

yes i agree totally, another reason as to why i dont understand why they dont issue the vetting form to be filled in along with initial application, seems very backwards really. what if all 6 they choose after the interview fail the vetting process they are then back to square one with time on interviews etc totally wasted.... I initially assumed (hoped, prayed...) the vetting form may not be as strict (ie financially wise) as the actual Police Force vetting form which is why i asked the question.

I actually came across a thread on another board while searching for info that stated a Morrisons supermarket application form includes a section which states a credit check will be performed prior to interview :eek: scary!!

dfwsometimesoon

Apologies for resurrecting an old post... however this info may be useful to others in a similar situation.....

As shown above I initially applied in August and bottled the interview as was in a DMP with Payplan with debt of £35k plus...

However the application is kept with them for 6 months, and they contacted me again in February offering another interview...which I did (nervously) attend.

End of February I heard back from them to say interview was successful and had now moved onto the background, health and finance vetting!! A very, very nervous 3 weeks followed, where I convinced myself was all over...however on 26th March I received a phone call to say all had gone through no problem!!! to say I was shocked is an understatement lol received my contract on the 29th March and started officially this week!!!

I just wanted to post an update for anyone who may be or is in a similar situation. All hope is not lost!!

Many thanks to all posted and said to go for it previously...you were right ty xx

antonic

Congratulations and well done !!

dfwsometimesoon wrote: »

Apologies for resurrecting an old post... however this info may be useful to others in a similar situation.....

As shown above I initially applied in August and bottled the interview as was in a DMP with Payplan with debt of £35k plus...

However the application is kept with them for 6 months, and they contacted me again in February offering another interview...which I did (nervously) attend.

End of February I heard back from them to say interview was successful and had now moved onto the background, health and finance vetting!! A very, very nervous 3 weeks followed, where I convinced myself was all over...however on 26th March I received a phone call to say all had gone through no problem!!! to say I was shocked is an understatement lol received my contract on the 29th March and started officially this week!!!

I just wanted to post an update for anyone who may be or is in a similar situation. All hope is not lost!!

Many thanks to all posted and said to go for it previously...you were right ty xx