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Comment by c4n4rd | Hacker News Reader

I have no business dealing with "credit bureaus". I did not give them my information or consenting for them to store my information on their system.

So, I have been told constantly to "correct" my information with them - FUCK THEM! They bought/stole my personal information - I have no business with them.

Call me naive, but I wish more people would not give a damn about them either.

When I needed a loan to buy my house, I spoke directly to the loan officer face to face and told showed them all documents they needed and told them that if they need to consider my approval based on "Credit Score", I did not care.. I showed them the mistakes and mis-information they have in my credit report and -when he asked me to call them to fix it - I told him that I would not do that because I do not consent them holding my information. Two days later, the load officer called me to tell me my application was approved.

People need to do this more often.

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Thanks for your comment, my sentiment exactly.

Opting out of the entire thing is the best way to eliminate this scam. It is absolutely stupid that in the US your financial life is dictated by an opaque algorithm and an entrenched bureaucracy.

If you live carefully you don't need credit at all, ever, except for possibly buying a house as you said. All other purchases... car, food, etc are easy enough to save up for... and if not, just do without until you can. Such a lifestyle sucks if you are used to instant gratification and living beyond your means (been there) but you can sleep better at night.

If more people followed your advice we would surely be better off... even in the circumstance of buying a house as you said, they will find a way... they are after all paid on commission :)

"It is absolutely stupid that in the US your financial life is dictated by an opaque algorithm"

It's not 'an opaque algorithm'. I'm assuming the US is similar to the UK, in that banks/lenders use credit bureaus for access to data. That data is then fed to the lenders' own systems for processing (to create a score, check against certain criteria etc.).

If banks did not have such reliable access to your credit status and history, they'd be less likely to give you a loan, and offer credit on worse (for the borrower) terms.

In the US, the main number that everyone is concerned with is the FICO score, and the algorithm is a secret. Most lenders do not generate their own measures of creditworthiness but rather just use FICO

Also even if you don't want to borrow money here is a list of things in the US that are increasingly based off of FICO:

1) car insurance 2) employment 3) wireless phone contracts 4) copper phone lines

I'm sure there are more... but you get the point I hope

Precisely. And if you are denied something based on the credit bureaus' negligently constructed profiles, sue them for libel.

Their whole system is based on an antiquated idea of singular "identity" that only worked when it was one small part; it simply doesn't scale. Some arbitrary facts about a person do not form a legitimate authorization mechanism!

The only way things are going to change is for people to realize they have absolutely no responsibility for a third party being defrauded.

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