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Can anybody explain what this is about and what a "credit report" is? I've owned and used bank accounts and credit cards for my entire adult life, that is to s
by etatoby 8y ago
Can anybody explain what this is about and what a "credit report" is?
I've owned and used bank accounts and credit cards for my entire adult life, that is to say, several decades (in the EU) and I've never come across this concept.
- oehpr 8y agoI might be getting your question wrong here but have a listen to this podcast: https://www.npr.org/sections/money/2017/10/06/556212654/episode-798-bad-credit-bureau https://www.npr.org/sections/money/2017/10/06/556212654/epis... I'll give you a quick summary version based on this though. Business owners were looking for a way to tell if the person standing in front of them will likely pay them back. So Businesses go to companies like Equifax that try build credit reports on people and basically ask "can I trust john smith?". Essentially they're big time data brokers. The thing is that when you created and owned accounts with banks and established credit cards, the whole time those banks were funneling your activities to companies like Equifax, who then build these credit reports against you. So even if you never interacted with them, your banks likely told them everything about you. This kind of thing is something you only really find out about if you go looking for it.
- etatoby 8y agoOhh... that's what Equifax does! I could never figure it out from the news articles. Thanks for the link, I'll listen to it. You're right, I don't think I want to go looking into my own reports, until (if ever) I need to. “Where ignorance is bliss, 'tis folly to be wise.”