> Imagine trying to rent a house or get a loan without a credit check or police check. You mean like how it usually is? (UK) None of the places I've rented ev

> Imagine trying to rent a house or get a loan without a credit check or police check. You mean like how it usually is? (UK) None of the places I've rented ever required a credit check. That includes a couple relatively recently when I was briefly nomadic thanks to recession. When I was a landlord for a few years I did not credit check. I've only rented once in the South East, perhaps it's different for letting agencies and landlords down there. Police check? For what? Only potential employers can ask for a criminal record check, and only some of those are allowed fuller details. Loans check credit history, for sure, but before loans were pushed credit checks were not a thing. You had to rely on the local bank manager, who would usually try and dissuade you from borrowing too much. Quite the reverse of what we have now. So perhaps all Western nations are not as far ahead as you appear to believe.