Credit Checks

[MrWingo]

My list of questions continues as I think of new things.

From reading this site, I've come across many references to credit checks. I'm fairly familiar with the three credit bureaus as I work in a financial institution. My credit is very good for the most part; the only blemishes have been a few periods of time (say, 1-2 months) where CC balances were high.

However, one incident occurred where I had an old library card that I had misplaced. Someone found it and used it to borrow a library book which was never returned. I never found out about it, and I was living in another part of the U.S. from the library in question when this unknown individual used my card. The charge for this book ~$60.00 sat in collections for about four years until I had the sense to run a check on my credit and find it. I paid the library, and they removed it from collections.

I plan to apply in a couple of years, and going forward I'm going to be paying special attention to my credit (even moreso than before). Given that this has been paid off, what effect will it have on a LE credit check? What actions can I take to remedy the effects?

[KPDPOPO]

I am not a LEO, so take what I say with a grain of salt. Trust me when I say, most everyone else does. Anyway, as best I have determined, from this site, as well as through several processes I am currently involved in, most everything depends on the department. A lot of your chances may also depend upon the other applicants you are up against at the time. If it is between you and someone with no blemishes on their credit, the Department may take the other person. However, if that is the only blemish I personally would not be too concerned.

[Bearcat06]

Depends on the department. Around the KCMO area, some do credit checks some don't. Just be honest with them. I would personally check with the departments you are interested in to see if they do or not.
Also, keep up on your credit report. I applied for a federal job and they pulled my credit report, It said that I had 2 bad items and about 20 good ones on there. I checked and I never had credit cards with the companies in question. It took a while but I got that crap pulled off of there.
Good luck....