4 ms·

Forgive my ignorance, I only (sort of) know how this works in the United States. How do Belgian creditors verify the creditworthiness of an applicant who claims

Forgive my ignorance, I only (sort of) know how this works in the United States. How do Belgian creditors verify the creditworthiness of an applicant who claims to be the individual identified by a particular credit history? Am I wrong to presume the Belgian National ID is not used for identification and verification by Belgian creditors? I also wonder (just thinking out loud, not part of my question) what would prevent US creditors from shirking the responsibility and withholding the required resources to establish an identification and verification system which does not rely on a national ID (different from a Social Security number). EDIT: remove extraneous word, add parenthetical to last sentence.

kmm 9y ago
There is a governmental agency, part of the national bank, that keeps track of credit. Information is kept for three months after a successful repayment of credit, one year after a delayed yet complete repayment, and 10 years after a default. Only credit information is kept, nothing regarding defaults on rent, unpaid medical bills etc... Getting a record of your own credit history is completely free, either online, by writing a letter, or just stopping by the bank. Yes, national ID is used for that purpose. I've only very rarely heard of identity theft by strangers, there are many hoops to jump through, like photo ID and a physical letter sent to the corresponding address for verification. What would prevent that? Privacy laws. Keeping and sharing blacklists is not forbidden but regulated in Europe. Creditors also are obligated to use the central credit agency.
vadimberman 9y ago
I'm not Belgian, I just had to deal with them extensively, so I can't reply. But the credit score is not related to the existence of the national ID. I know that the monstrous institutions thriving on the FICO score are an exception. In most countries, it's the usual payslips, bank statements, stuff like that. No one needs weird stuff like secured credit cards or asking their relative to "piggyback" on their credit score. I know that the US credit agencies tried to "educate" the local business communities in some countries on the importance of the credit score and are currently occupying a small obscure niche.

kmm 9y ago

There is a governmental agency, part of the national bank, that keeps track of credit. Information is kept for three months after a successful repayment of credit, one year after a delayed yet complete repayment, and 10 years after a default. Only credit information is kept, nothing regarding defaults on rent, unpaid medical bills etc... Getting a record of your own credit history is completely free, either online, by writing a letter, or just stopping by the bank. Yes, national ID is used for that purpose. I've only very rarely heard of identity theft by strangers, there are many hoops to jump through, like photo ID and a physical letter sent to the corresponding address for verification. What would prevent that? Privacy laws. Keeping and sharing blacklists is not forbidden but regulated in Europe. Creditors also are obligated to use the central credit agency.

vadimberman 9y ago

I'm not Belgian, I just had to deal with them extensively, so I can't reply. But the credit score is not related to the existence of the national ID. I know that the monstrous institutions thriving on the FICO score are an exception. In most countries, it's the usual payslips, bank statements, stuff like that. No one needs weird stuff like secured credit cards or asking their relative to "piggyback" on their credit score. I know that the US credit agencies tried to "educate" the local business communities in some countries on the importance of the credit score and are currently occupying a small obscure niche.