Should Your Credit Report Cost You a Job?

Seven years ago, I divorced my husband because he had, without my knowledge, personally guaranteed more than a million dollars in debt for his company. When the company was foreclosed upon, he had to file for bankruptcy -- and so would I. Our credit had been excellent up to that point and since he had deceived me (and there were other problems in the marriage), I opted to divorce him and NOT file for bankruptcy. It wasn't easy, but I not only kept up with my bills, but sometimes his obligations that were originally shared just to try to keep my credit score as good as possible. It was especially difficult when I got a notice that the bank who held the note on one of the boats we owned and which had been awarded to my husband in the divorce wanted permission from the bankruptcy court to come after me when, again without my knowledge, my husband stopped making payments.

With a lot of hard work. I started seeing the light of day. Even met a fellow and we planned to marry -- then he was diagnosed with cancer. He died about 3 years ago. I had trouble getting a mover to come to the city where I was living (it was considered to be "remote") so when one said they would be there in 3 days, I said yes, even though I didn't have a place lined up. I gathered all of my bills and put them in one place with the plan to contact everyone once I had my new address. In my rush, I omitted one bill from a department store.

After I got settled, I suddenly found myself mired in a family feud. My brother, who had always been jealous of me, told relatives several lies that made him out to be a victim and me to be a ogre. Between dealing with the phone calls and hate mail from my family and my grief over losing my fiance, I didn't remember that small department-store bill until a few months later.

I contacted the store and told them my new address. They told me that my account was past due and I owed penalties. I brought the account current and paid the penalties. It was almost 3 months before I received my next bill. The store had recorded my address incorrectly. More penalties for late payment, which I paid and brought current.

Since then, I haven't had any problems with this or any other account, but I just learned that this is on my credit report. I applied for a technical writing position with a bank. The person who interviewed me was very high on me. I would not have access to money or accounts in this position. The hiring person called me 2 days about this being on my credit report and that I'd have to send them a letter explaining why I had this problem. I did that immediately. The hiring manager made it clear that the job was mine if I could provide them with a satisfactory explanation. I told them the same thing I've said here, but haven't heard from them. I'm afraid that I won't.

It seems ironic that I worked so hard to avoid bankruptcy and that one small problem -- which has long been resolved -- might prevent me from getting a job.

tzutzu of MO 5:45PM April 22, 2010