Pre-employment background checks

StellyWelly91

Hey i have recently secured a job offer with co-operative bank as a customer service advisor, basically i have passed the telephone interview stage & have been given a start date for training. But i have been told there doing pre-employment background checks, i have never had any CCJ's & I've never been declared bankrupt but my credit score is low.. will this effect me getting the job? I really want this job! Has anyone been through this? Can u give me some insight.. why would they give me a start date if I've not officially got the job yet?

TELLIT01

People can have low credit scores for any number of reasons, so that won't automatically have a negative effect on your employment prospects. Things like poor repayment history might have an effect, as they could be concerned about your personal financial management and how that might affect your ability to do the job.

Undervalued

StellyWelly91 wrote: »

Hey i have recently secured a job offer with co-operative bank as a customer service advisor, basically i have passed the telephone interview stage & have been given a start date for training. But i have been told there doing pre-employment background checks, i have never had any CCJ's & I've never been declared bankrupt but my credit score is low.. will this effect me getting the job? I really want this job! Has anyone been through this? Can u give me some insight.. why would they give me a start date if I've not officially got the job yet?

It could possibly do I'm afraid but it is up to them how they view this. Some financial institutions will take the view that it makes you, statistically, more susceptible to temptation.

It is all a case of degree and their own policies.

[Deleted User]

StellyWelly91 wrote: »

Hey i have recently secured a job offer with ....... bank as a customer service advisor, basically i have passed the telephone interview stage & have been given a start date for training. But i have been told there doing pre-employment background checks, i have never had any CCJ's & I've never been declared bankrupt but my credit score is low.. will this effect me getting the job? I really want this job! Has anyone been through this? Can u give me some insight.. why would they give me a start date if I've not officially got the job yet?

Of course they can give you a start date, they can also push it back or bring it forward accordingly.

Years ago the first time a job withdrawal happened from another 'financial institution' it was Friday and I was due to start on the Monday - after being told references had taken and cleared. It wasn't a bad thing it spurred me on really and they did briefly tell me when I could re-apply. I also met the hirer years later in a non financial setting and the outcome was even better.

My last experience was in December when you have to do these things when job hunting after declaring bad history I was then separately asked to write a statement, though that was before any offer of an interview so I do think you have to get past hurdles early days and you are probably asking to late. You might be ok, here's hoping.

I did briefly get in somewhere via an agency... with full declaration made again before any selection process. Though this wasn't a customer role and my work would be triple checked (I ran after a few days I think it got to me)

rtho782

Generally a low credit score isn't an issue, CCJs, Defaults, etc are.

I had quite a bit of outstanding debt years back and managed to get a job with a bank.

StellyWelly91

What are defaults? I don't know how advanced the checks are that they do but a friend of mine who works at the same bank said they accepted her & she had a CCJ last year.. I'm just so impatient to find out.. they have told me what shifts i will be working and the pay also.. just need to wait for these checks to come back to see if I've successfully got the job. Fingers crossed!

StellyWelly91

Hi, just an update.. my checks came back and apparently i had a CCJ for over £1000 (this is what i got told over the phone by the recruitment agency) i was then told i could of worked if it was under £1000! I then does my own checks & it turns out they made a mistake, the CCJ was for £179 so should they still allow me to work? Also this CCJ was issued last september at my old address which I haven't been in that address since last June!

TBagpuss

There isn't any 'should' - they are entitled to not take you on either way, But if you are certain that the amount o the CCJ is wrong then you could contact them with that information and evidence, and see whether they are willing to reconsider, if their policy is that a lower sum would not prevent you being offered a job.
You may need to contact the court so you have proof

As it is only £179, you could also clear it, now you know about it.

It having gone to an old address is not relevant, for most purposes, court documents are validly served if they are sent to your last known address, it is your responsibility to make sure that you keep your address updated / get post redirected as appropriate. If you had proof that you had notified the company you owe the debt to, of you new address, before they started proceedings against you you might be able to argue that there was an issue with the process, but even then you might struggle.

Mersey_2

You can check you're own credit report (there's a few free possibilities including Clearscore).


You can challenge an incorrect entry and add explanatory notes, but it'd be too late to remove or have a Judgment set aside - even a J in default because you moved and didn't receive the docs. It's deemed acceptable service to send a Claim Form to a Defendant's last known address.