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"I want a way to legally opt out of other such companies collecting and aggregating private data about me." The problem is this also means you will be complete
by swalsh 7y ago
"I want a way to legally opt out of other such companies collecting and aggregating private data about me."
The problem is this also means you will be completely opting out of the credit system. No more morgtgages, no more credit cards, no more car loans.
I'm afraid it's kind of a necessary evil.
- deleted 7y ago[deleted]
- bittercynic 7y agoMaybe not - If a substantial number of potential borrowers are able to opt out, then lenders might start to find it worthwhile to find a way to accommodate them.
- kube-system 7y agoYou can already opt out of that system, but you have to pay for that privilege. There is already a good number of lending options available to the many (millions?) of people disenfranchised from the traditional banking system. Usually that means offering strong collateral. But the terms of those options aren’t too great because trustworthiness and risk have a strong negative correlation. And those who can prove their trustworthiness almost always prefer to do that rather than pay extra.
- soulofmischief 7y agoI understand and embrace this.
- Spellman 7y agoTechnically you can still get loans and credit. It's just a lot harder and requires more underwriting and proof instead of having a single, handy Credit Score number attached to you from various agencies.
- thedanbob 7y agoI wonder. When I bought my first house it was a very simple process because my finances were very simple. For the second, which I’m still in the process of finalizing, it’s been an absolute nightmare. Both my wife and I have credit scores above 800, but add just a few unusual financial elements to the mix and the underwriters start having aneurysms. Take away those nice shiny credit scores and I imagine many banks would flat out refuse to touch us.
- blackflame7000 7y ago> a few unusual financial elements to the mix Isn't this the definition of a red flag? All you are is a profile to them so any unusual activity is going to draw scrutiny whether it's warranted or not. They have to do due diligence.
- thedanbob 7y agoWhich is totally fair, I get that. It’s kind of my point: anything financially out of the ordinary, plus the massive (to them) red flag of no credit history, would be a very difficult obstacle to overcome in getting a loan.
- mikeash 7y agoIt’s a convenient evil. Finance isn’t the only area that uses reputation judge people. I imagine we’ve all been asked for references when applying for a job or an apartment. Jobs and apartments manage to get by without a centralized score. Mortgages predate credit scores by centuries. It’s demonstrably not necessary.
- ed312 7y agoMany, if not all medium to large companies do in fact pull a limited credit report as part of the screening process. Also, there is far more regulation on mortgages these days. E.g. I can get a massive home loan from a banker I've never met before because of credit bureaus.
- mikeash 7y agoMany do, many don’t. And they’d keep on hiring just fine if they couldn’t. As for getting a loan from a banker you’ve never met, my point exactly. They’re a convenient evil.
- deleted 7y ago[deleted]
- JelteF 7y agoIn the US yes, in a lot of other country in the world they don't have a credit score as crazy as this. The only thing that's registered in the Netherlands for instance is how much you have to pay every month in interest and if you have failed to pay any of the bills for loans you have. This is submitted to the government and requested and updated by banks.
- jvanderbot 7y agoIf you force it to be optional, we will at least introduce choice. A market emerges with those that opt-out. Referral-only credit?