Nasty credit and getting hired??

[hopefulha-y-n]

Hello Gentlemen, and Ladies. I was wondering if anyone could give me some insight as to how a poor credit history affects your chances of getting hired. I know i've made poor decisions when it came to money, but i'm just wondering if even after attempting to fix things, would it be enough to get an opportunity at a LE career? I know bankruptcy is bad, but is it worse than a bunch of bad stuff on the report? I have a clean military and criminal background, for what its worth.
I apologize if this topic has been beaten to death in the past, but i'm new on here and truly appreciate any advice.
Thanks!

[Piggy]

You'll need to have it clean for at least two or three years minimum before you can get hired somewhere. They take it very seriously.

[phantasm]

corruption hazard.

[hopefulha-y-n]

Thank you. I figured the corruption possibility would be a concern for agencys. So do you think 2-3 years after fixing the debts? Or after bankruptcy?
Thanks again for both of your input.

[jmwilso3]

What is considered bad credit? I am 21 and have $20,000 of debt in college loans... so does that affect me also?

[Piggy]

You can have a million dollars worth of debt. As long as you make the payments on time, the debt is not delinquent, not going into default and creditors aren't contacting you....no problem.

If for some reason you can't make the payments on the college debt, don't wait too long. Contact the creditor, contact a consumer counselor, do whatever you can do to lower your payments. Take out a different loan with a lower interest rate....you get the picture. Keep your credit good!

[hopefulha-y-n]

Yeah, I never realized how important it is to keep your credit in good shape. My dad defaulted on a parent loan from 10 years ago. I was unaware of it until last year when I started having my checks garnished. I called the company and am now making payments on the loan. I never kept a good eye on my credit report and am paying now. Just time and discipline in making payments is my best bet now?
Thanks again all!

[charlesp1980]

I am a new member to this forum and saw your post. I am not a police officer, but I have the same hopes as you in becoming one one day.
A lot of times if the debt is at least 7 years old most companies are not allowed to legally collect on it (with the exception of student loans). Sometimes companies will resell your debt to another company and some fly by night collection agency may try to collect on that debt.

When you pull your report, dispute some of the old items. You will be surprised but especially credit card companies and most personal loan companies will send a letter to the credit reporting agency saying that the debt is too old and they cannot verify it and to please remove it.

I used to work at Fleet now known as Bank of America in the credit department and any disputes that came in 5 years or older almost 99.9% of the time got removed. If you happen to pay on debt that is lets say 6 yrs old and 11 months, once the payment comes through it could extend the period of time on your report. With old debt it will not hurt your credit as bad as new debt. It's usually better to let some of the old debt just fall off and focus on keeping all your current items free and clear and up to date.

I know this is further off topic, but you are allowed to request if any collection agency is trying to collect a debt, that they are properly licensed for the state they are collecting from, and the state they are trying to collect in. Most states give a window of 60 days reply, failing to do so means you could take them to court if they persist on collecting debt they did not verify their license to collect on.

[Hockey9019]

What they all said.

I'm playing on the I'll give you 85% less of what I owe you to close this account. They don't want to play nice I see. My credit is blacked up enough, I have plenty of time now to play their game.

But yeah, student loans are expected.

[hopefulha-y-n]

Hey Charles, thanks for your input. I never realized you could do that. It appears that if I pay down some of the lower amount debts, my score drops!! Anyone know why?
I passed the DPD test yesterday and now have to work on the BG packet. That things a beast huh?

[hopefulha-y-n]

Hey Hockey.. I'm thinking of applying at Detroit PD. You know aything about their hiring? They focus hard on credit issues?
Thanks!

[noelchabanel]

Hey Charles, thanks for your input. I never realized you could do that. It appears that if I pay down some of the lower amount debts, my score drops!! Anyone know why?
I passed the DPD test yesterday and now have to work on the BG packet. That things a beast huh?

They don't likely care about the score, they care about your responsible spending habits.

When you close or stop using older open accounts it lowers the average age of your credit accounts, lowering your score in the process. If you want to raise the score to buy a house or something, keep an old card open and use it only for gas or groceries, then pay it off when they send you a bill. It actually helps the score to have a small balance on the cards. Just be sure to stay within your budget.

[hopefulha-y-n]

Thanks for the good advice!