If you’re like me, life sometimes feels like a juggling act. Work, family obligations, home upkeep, and other commitments all compete for our time and attention.
It’s no surprise then that things like an occasional bill sometimes slip through the cracks. I saw this frequently during a decade counseling people in the security clearance application process. Most of the time it was due to one of two scenarios: a change of address where not all mail was forwarded or a medical bill that the individual erroneously believed was handled by insurance. Both are entirely reasonable oversights, and neither scenario, standing alone, is normally a basis for denying or revoking a security clearance.
Of course, that assessment assumes that the bill in question doesn’t evidence a pattern of irresponsibility or raise questions about the applicant’s credibility. Claiming a $10,000 bill or a litany of smaller debts “slipped through the cracks” probably isn’t going to cut it. But for everyone else, the adequate resolution is most often a reasonable explanation of the oversight and prompt payment once it is brought to the individual’s attention by the government during the background investigation.
That sounds easy enough, but these scenarios implicate a couple avoidable side effects. First, they often cause delay in obtaining a favorable clearance adjudication while the issue is sorted out. Second, they create stress for the applicant. No one wants to receive a letter from their security office saying “we need to talk” – even if it is for something benign like this.
Fortunately, there is an easy and quick solution: checking one’s credit reports at least once per year. Credit reports are where the government obtains its information about clearance-holder delinquent debts; there’s no mystery there except which of the three credit bureaus are checked (answer: all three). There are plenty of services out there that offer credit report monitoring and/or allow access to the credit reports themselves, but most of these services charge a fee for membership or access. That seems to me like a waste of money when there is a free alternative.
Indeed, federal law requires each of the three major credit reporting bureaus – Experian, TransUnion, and Equifax – to provide all of us with one free copy of our credit report annually, upon request. The three bureaus have established a website for that: www.annualcreditreport.com. I’ve used it myself and found it to be simple and convenient. Any delinquent debts reported to the credit bureaus (as most are) should appear with the details necessary for resolution: account number, creditor/collections agency name and contact information, date of delinquency, and amount owed. If information is missing, demonstrating an inability to identify and/or contact the creditor at issue is sometimes sufficient for security officials to deem the issue resolved.
The only shortcoming to www.annualcreditreport.com is the inability to monitor one’s credit in real-time for evidence of fraud or identity theft. If that is a concern, however, there is a free alternative there too: placing a security freeze on one’s credit reports that prevents third parties from taking out credit in the individual’s name.
Given the number of avoidable problems I’ve seen in my career, I recommend that all security clearance holders and applicants take a few minutes to check their credit reports (and freeze their credit profiles if desired/necessary). The due diligence is well worth it.
And for those with more complicated financial histories to clean-up, proactively pulling the credit reports is a good place to start. However, mitigating security concerns in such cases may take significantly more time and effort.
This article is intended as general information only and should not be construed as legal advice. Although the information is believed to be accurate as of the publication date, no guarantee or warranty is offered or implied. Laws and government policies are subject to change, and the information provided herein may not provide a complete or current analysis of the topic or other pertinent considerations. Consult an attorney regarding your specific situation.
