credit history

[Chris_25]

My question and concern is my credit history. I currently owe about $2,000 in past bills that are in collections. i'm currently working on paying them off. will this hurt my chances of becoming a police officer?

Also everything else in my background is good. I did army reserves didn't complete all my enlistment though and recieved an general under honorable conditions discharge.
no criminal history
GED
23 credits of college
2 tickets in the last 3 years
no real problems in employment, never was fired. just lay offs, company shutdowns, and voluntary quits.

if any problems please let me know all informations is greatly appreciated thank you

[SnapShawt]

If you can show that you've made arrangements to pay your debts and proof that you are indeed doing so, then you should be good. However, realize there may be other candidates with stellar credit histories who would of course be looked at more favorably.

The military discharge status is another issue however. You'll have to explain that one.

[mcsap]

Dump cable TV and trips to McDonalds and get the bad debt PAID OFF !! Are you working a 2nd job to do this ?

Now is not the time to have collections after you !! Why didn't you complete your military obligation ??

[Chris_25]

I didn't complete my military obligation due to two reasons. One was i was having financial problems and also i was newly engaged and getting ready to have a baby. I wanted to be able to be there for my baby not deployed over seas for 18 months. i've had friends who have come back from overseas and they end up with divorces and there kids not knowing who they are and i didn't want that for my family. I already have a 6yr old son and i'm not in his life as much as i would like.

So I plan on getting a second job and paying off all my bills within 6 months. so if i do that i should be good then?
I got the best discharge for my situation the only discharge better is a honorable. i didn't think it would be a problem

[Chris_25]

I have seen that a lot of departments just say you just can't have a bad discharge. Mine isn't considered to be bad eventhough i didn't fulfill my contract and some might say its a selfish decision that i made but i was struggling financially at the time and was jobless so i did what i had to do. Now i'm just hoping it wasn't a decision that will regretfully keep me from being a police officer. All i have ever wanted to be was a police officer so whatever i have to do i will do. work 2 or 3 jobs to pay off bills if i have too and i already work out everyday. so any info or advice you have for me on my dumb choice will help considerably thank you guys

[Stub]

My question and concern is my credit history. I currently owe about $2,000 in past bills that are in collections. i'm currently working on paying them off. will this hurt my chances of becoming a police officer?

Also everything else in my background is good. I did army reserves didn't complete all my enlistment though and recieved an general under honorable conditions discharge.
no criminal history
GED
23 credits of college
2 tickets in the last 3 years
no real problems in employment, never was fired. just lay offs, company shutdowns, and voluntary quits.

if any problems please let me know all informations is greatly

appreciated thank you

I didn't complete my military obligation due to two reasons. One was i was having financial problems and also i was newly engaged and getting ready to have a baby. I wanted to be able to be there for my baby not deployed over seas for 18 months. i've had friends who have come back from overseas and they end up with divorces and there kids not knowing who they are and i didn't want that for my family. I already have a 6yr old son and i'm not in his life as much as i would like.

So I plan on getting a second job and paying off all my bills within 6 months. so if i do that i should be good then?
I got the best discharge for my situation the only discharge better is a honorable. i didn't think it would be a problem

I have seen that a lot of departments just say you just can't have a bad discharge. Mine isn't considered to be bad eventhough i didn't fulfill my contract and some might say its a selfish decision that i made but i was struggling financially at the time and was jobless so i did what i had to do. Now i'm just hoping it wasn't a decision that will regretfully keep me from being a police officer. All i have ever wanted to be was a police officer so whatever i have to do i will do. work 2 or 3 jobs to pay off bills if i have too and i already work out everyday. so any info or advice you have for me on my dumb choice will help considerably thank you guys

If I were on the hiring panel, you would get no sympathy from me regarding your explanation of your credit history or your military service.

[Chris_25]

who said i was asking for sympathy? they asked for an explanation of why i didn't complete my service and that is the reason. nobody said you have to like it. you know if your gonna reply to someone's question why don't you give them advice they can use not stupid comments. so next time if your gonna reply, reply with useable info or advice. I'm not trying to be rude but i think your reply was a off the wall comment and doesn't help anyone. I thought people's goals on here were to help not slam somebody for why they did something or just assume stuff

[retdetsgt]

My dept wouldn't hire you unless they've dropped the standards in the last few years (and they may have). But credit rating is a sign of maturity. No dig intended, just what is. They're not impressed by someone who got over their head in debt unless there is a substantial reason. And even then, the reason probably won't cut it.

The discharge though would take it out. Too many people honorably fulfilled their military obligation. Everybody that doesn't has an explanation.

[Chris_25]

i'm not too bad in debt though. i can get out in a couple months but i still don't see why my discharge is so bad. its not a bad discharge. its general under HONORABLE conditions. its the second best discharge in the whole military. I know your not digging on me and i appreciate your advice but i'm still confused to yet what is so wrong with my discharge. its not for misconduct or drugs like a lot of people have gotten. some people are just not cut out for the army or the lifestyle. thank you for your advice. its just alot of departments say the just don't want people with other than honorable, dishonorable or bad conduct discharges. and mine is above all those

[retdetsgt]

Chris,
It's not just how much you owe, but what is your credit history? What is your credit rating? If this is a one time incident and it's over a very short period of time, that's one thing. But if you have a history of being in debt and struggling to pay bills, (e.g. paying minimum payments most of the time), that can be a killer.

As far as the discharge, a general discharge covers a lot of things, including those who simply can't adapt to the military. It was an obligation that you didn't fulfill. I realize you see it as fully justified and I'm not going to argue that. Sometimes family has to come first, but there can be a price for that too. You really won't know for sure until you apply and I advise you to do that. At least call the personnel office of any dept you're thinking about and ask them. Only they can say for sure, but police are paramilitary and the general consensus is that anything but honorable is frowned upon.

Good luck in your endeavors.

[Chris_25]

ok i will do that. well the majority of the bills i have were from 5 to 7 years ago that i didn't know were on my credit report until i found out about annual credit report.com and then i foung all these bills from long ago and currently i have like two bills i've missed payments on due to just not making enough money and having to pick and choose between bills. it sucks i know but i'm looking for another job with more pay to fix this problem maybe i'll have to wait a couple years and build up my credit but if my discharge is gonna hinder me then maybe i should seek a differant career. Hey man i thank you for your advice and your honesty thanks again. I will call the pd and talk to them and see what they say. you have a good night

[armydiver]

While I have never been involved in the background/hiring process yet, I couldn't help but chime in on this one. I'm guessing you joined the military AFTER 2001. By doing this, you fully understood that the country was at war and you would more than likely have to deploy overseas. This is, after all, the reason the military exists. I'm not sure where in the job description it says "sit on your *** in the states getting you college paid for without having to serve overseas." If you find that, let me know cause I got screwed. You made a commitment to serve your country, then once you realized that you might ACTUALLY have to do it, you **** the bed, tucked tail and ran. I'm in Afghanistan right now surrounded by guys who are missing their child's births, first steps, first words, birthdays, you name it. But they're still doing their job. What's so much more important about your family than their's that you get to quit and think its "not that bad"?

You say that you also had to get out due to financial reasons. Either you never brought it up to your chain of command or they just suck at life and never told you about the AER program. The Army Emergency Relief program is designed for individuals who are in your exact situation. You could take a NO INTEREST loan to cover your necessary financial needs and keep your head above water. Your poor spending habits or lack of income are no excuse to re-nig on your enlistment. You also could have done TDY or Active Reserves. Staying in your home town doing work with a recruiter or your home station getting paid full time active duty wages. Or you could have gone straight active duty and gotten full benefits for your family, your housing paid for, and a steady decent income. But then we go back to the problem of you not wanting to deploy.

Now despite my personal disgust with your choice, I will tell you what I do know that can help your situation. Your discharge "General under Honorable conditions", can be upgraded very easily to an Honorable. After 1 year you may write a letter to the VA stating the situation that warranted your early release and requesting an upgrade. Depending on your explanation and their kindness, you may receive the upgrade. Should this not work, you can still re-enlist and redeem yourself by actually serving a full enlistment. By doing this, you can easily fix both your financial problems and your discharge problems. The army is giving ludicrous amounts of money to brand new, untrained, off the streets people willing to serve. (while those of us with multiple tours and years of experience get **** for twice the length of time, but thats another argument for another time) The average bonus given to a new enlistee is 25 thousand or greater. This will cover your items in collection easily as well as give you a chance to quit picking which bills you will pay. You will also receive full benefits for your family, a house for them to live in, and a chance to make something of yourself. You stated that "all I've ever wanted was to be a police officer" and "I will do whatever I have to do". Here's your chance to prove it. Why not join the army as an MP? Your sad excuse for prior service and, from what I saw, lack of college won't get you anywhere. With your current situation, you can't beat this. Hate me for what I've said, thats fine. You know I'm right. I challenge you to find a better option given your current situation.

ArmyDiver

[Stub]

I currently owe about $2,000 in past bills that are in collections. i'm currently working on paying them off. will this hurt my chances of becoming a police officer?

...I did army reserves didn't complete all my enlistment though and recieved an general under honorable conditions discharge....if any problems please let me know all informations is greatly appreciated thank you

So I plan on getting a second job and paying off all my bills within 6 months. so if i do that i should be good then?

so any info or advice you have for me on my dumb choice will help considerably thank you guys

You did solicit feedback, didn't you?

who said i was asking for sympathy? they asked for an explanation of why i didn't complete my service and that is the reason. nobody said you have to like it. you know if your gonna reply to someone's question why don't you give them advice they can use not stupid comments. so next time if your gonna reply, reply with useable info or advice. I'm not trying to be rude but i think your reply was a off the wall comment and doesn't help anyone. I thought people's goals on here were to help not slam somebody for why they did something or just assume stuff

Although you may not have liked my response, it's intent was constructive. An answer to your question was in it. As a representative of the law enforcement community, I would not find your actions particularly noteworthy, nor would you get favorable consideration from me or many of my peers who share the same values.

If I choose to "slam" you, as you suggested, the word "sympathy" would not have been contained in my response. :D

Good luck in your pursuit of your career aspirations. You are going to need it.

+1 on comments provided by retdetsgt and armydiver.

[inkking]

I was deployed in 2004. My daughter was born the day I borded the plane to Iraq. The first time I saw my daughter was when she was four months old on leave for two weeks. When I returned from deployement she was already a year old. I came back to a horrible marriage that didn't workout and ended in divorce. As a bi-product of that divorce I am now claiming bankruptcy. I do however have an Honorable discharge and fullfilled my obligation at all costs. (Hopefully I'll be able to pull off getting on with a department.)

Point of the story is that you need to take care of those bills quick. Also get that discharge upgraded if possible. The way it looked to me was that you cannot fullfill your obligations to the Army a military type organization wich is just like any police organization. Very looked down upon to crack under pressure. I would assume that the any department would belive you would do the same thing to them once times got ruff. Best of luck to you, If you really want it you will not let anything stand in your way.

[Chris_25]

I wasn't afraid to go to iraq or going to war and i didn't know anything about the help programs the army had no one told me ****. i don't take offense to your statement and most of what you said is true to an extent. I was gonna enlist as a mp but i had bills in collections and they said i couldn't get the clearance i needed. in no way am i saying that my family is more important than anyone serving for our country. And no i don't want to go back into the army sorry, i'll just choose a differant career choice. i do although appreciate your advice and information maybe if i would have known about those programs i would have done that and saved my financial situation.

No i don't hate you for what was said, you said the truth except for the part of iraq i mean ya i didn't want to be away from my family, call me selfish but thats the choice i made and its done and over with. when i first joined i didn't care about going over seas cuz i was single and didn't have anything going for myself. but i don't need to go into anymore detail. the choice was over with awhile ago so i'm not gonna go back and forth on it cuz its done and over with.