You're first comment suggested that I wanted to go back to some glorious past where credit reporting was better. I didn't say this and if you misinterpreted tha

You're first comment suggested that I wanted to go back to some glorious past where credit reporting was better. I didn't say this and if you misinterpreted that from "Credit existed before reporting agencies", that's a shame. It seems what you jumped to was that I think that it's better in the past, which I didn't say and don't mean. What I meant is that it is possible to evaluate peoples credit one-by-one without having it all pre-gathered up front by a central reporting agency. This is more expensive, but I am fine with that. The way it would work is similar to how it already works with underwriting. You submit a lot of paperwork on your account histories, rent payments, any leases or other contracts you are in now or recently, etc. These documents establish your creditworthiness. For example, this is how I got a car loan. I had no credit score at all, but a bank was willing to give me a loan because they saw a bunch of docs saying I pay stuff on time and that I have a good job that pays enough to pay off the loan. And also it wasn't what I focused on in my original comment anyways. I focused on the bad data, mis-categorization, and underreporting. Edit: Maybe this helps clarify things... if credit agencies exist: do better by... - improving process for removing incorrect info - stop encouraging people to use credit cards - track rent, utilities and other good behavior better else: it's not a disaster because underwriting already requires all the docs needed to establish creditworthiness