Credit problems, UA, commercial plant?

[dhm0522]

Hey Ya’ll,

This is my first post here so bear with me.  My husband is a union ironworker and has worked several outages, though none for the last several months.  Since he was no longer in the plant he no longer had his clearances, badges, etc.  He is now back at the plant in preparation for the coming outage.  He needs an “unescorted access” badge to work where they need him to be.  He’s never had a problem getting clearance before other than having to once answer a question about a problem with Discover card but he answered truthfully and that was all he ever heard about it. 

Now, for the problem.  He signed all of the releases for the background check, credit check, reference checks, etc.  The only one of these that will be a problem is the credit check.  His background, references, etc. are spotless.  We’ve struggled for several years to keep our heads above water but when he was laid off in September, worked very little in October, November, and December, and was then laid off January 1 and hasn’t worked since, we couldn’t pay the bills.  We’ve barely scraped the mortgage and car payments together out of my salary and his unemployment.  In fact, we’ve realized how far over our heads we’d gotten with debt and we’re in the process of saving up to file for bankruptcy, probably in April.

He’s terrified (and I am too, to be honest) that this recent string of terrible credit reporting is going to keep him from his UA badge which will result in him losing his job and the union bringing someone else in.  We’ve discussed the fact that he’ll probably be called in to talk with security about it and he knows that he needs to just be honest and admit that we were already struggling and the layoff just put us over the edge.

Anything else he needs know or be prepared for?  Since the rest of the checks will be spotless and the credit check will be the only one with a few problems, should he be ok as long as he’s honest about it all?  I’ve read several posts/comments about how credit problems shouldn’t stop access from being granted if they’re a few years old but these are recent and current.  Thoughts?

Thanks!

[Rennhack]

We’ve discussed the fact that he’ll probably be called in to talk with security about it and he knows that he needs to just be honest and admit that we were already struggling and the layoff just put us over the edge.

First: I'm not a security professional, so take this with a grain of salt, but here is my 2 cents:

I think you have nailed it on the head.  Your husband will almost definitely have to talk to security.  They will ask him to explain to them why he isn't a security risk.  Some people are open to coercion due to financial troubles.  Your husband will have to explain why he isn't.

[number41]

I wonder if the "financial crisis" might be having this same effect on a lot more people that haven't mentioned it here?  I can't imagine that it isn't.  I know a guy who had his house foreclosed on just as he got hired.  It didn't affect his UA clearance, but he definitely was sweating it for a while.

[Already Gone]

Credit is a factor in determining eligibility for access, but it isn't necessarily a deal-breaker.  Being in debt is not an indicator of un-reliability in itself.  Having missed payments or filing bankruptcy are going to raise flags, but your explanation of the circumstances should be sufficient.

What would be a problem would be a pattern of amassing debt due to things like gambling, drug use, or some other activity which would present a security risk.  Discover won't coerce a person into doing something illegal in order to satisfy a debt.  A loan shark or drug dealer would.  If your debt was accrued for legal purposes and your problem paying was due to legitimate financial hardship (such as a medical problem or extended unemployment), you aren't much of a security risk.

As always, tell the truth, and you should be alright.  This isn't a guarantee, mind you.  Some of those security screeners are totally unexplainable.  Most of them are reasonable people who know the difference between having difficulty and being a threat to security.

Good luck.

[Content1]

It is more of a problem for your  Q clearance.   I had a set of short outages last Spring that caused me to become a house tech and I had bills related to my traveling and higher income, when the outages got so short I couldn't stay as a traveler and delayed applying for my Q clearance until I pay them off.  I don't know if it would disqualify me but if I can pay them off all the better.   You would be amazed how many creditors I was able to negotiate with with my decreased income, many as high as 50 cents on the dollar and more.  You are definitely not alone and if they denied travelers access due to bills when they lowered our available work suddenly they would have few who qualified left.

[dhm0522]

Just wanted to say thanks for the peace of mind!  I know my husband and I both felt much better after reading your thoughtful responses.  And apparently we worried for nothing, he said they got his badge to him about 9:00 this morning and from what I gathered they didn't even make him talk to security about the credit issues.  Granted, he was in a hurry when we talked so they might have, but I don't think so.  Just wanted to say thanks again for the kind and prompt responses!