Now at what point exactly during a routine traffic stop does a police officer have any rational need for somebody's ****ing Credit Report?? ...Or employment history for that matter.
-Stoic Joker
And why do prospective employers need access to an applicant's credit report?
-app103
Sometimes in financial institutions, or other jobs where fidelity bonding is the norm, or for procurement officer-type positions, the justification (if you want to call it that) is to attempt to have some assurance the person in question doesn't have "factors" in their life that may affect their decision making or integrity when dealing with (or being around) large sums of money.
There's pros and cons to the argument. But in my experience people with no financial problems aren't all that less likely to do something stupid than most people burdened with serious personal financial problems.
I think most people are basically honest - or they're not.
People who get caught often present their financial problems in an attempt to explain or justify a theft or other malfeasance. Which probably led to the belief that a credit report is also a good indication of somebody's "character." Truth is, all a CR really does show is how often you're able to pay your bills on time.
Perhaps there's a link between bill paying and one's character. But if there is, it's a pretty tenuous one IMHO. 
-40hz
My first encounter with this practice was back in the 80's, when submitting an application for a cashier job at a well known discount retailer. They were in the practice of accepting applications, whether a job opening was available, or not. And they would not tell you if one was available, or not. And every application had to be accompanied by $20 cash, to cover the costs of the credit report check, non-refundable.
I was given a similar excuse when I asked why. I thought it was rather offensive, the idea that people that have had a hard time paying their bills due to unemployment, and young people with no credit history, were automatically labeled as thieves, unworthy of a ~$4.00/hr minimum wage job in a junk store.
I think the real thieves in this case was the company, sucking $20 bills out of the pockets of the unemployed, without telling them if they even had any openings. And I told them that, as I tore up my application and walked out.
I have been a bonded cashier, without having to pay to submit a job application, first. The bonding took place after hire, with the employer absorbing any and all costs involved. I didn't have to pay and sign papers giving them the right to snoop into my private info, just to have my application tossed in a pile for 90 days, just in case there might be an opening.
But crap like this has become much more common, making job hunting for crappy minimum wage jobs much more expensive than it used to be (even for jobs as a dishwasher in a restaurant). You want to know why so many people can't seem to get off welfare or unemployment? Among other things, maybe they can't afford job hunting, at a cost of $20-$50 per application, for jobs that may not even exist.
