Forum
|
|
Forum
|
     | Thursday, December 09, 1999 - 12:14 pm  Hi, I've been curious about something. People in European nations, when they seek credit, who provides information to the lender? Are there Credit Bureaus over there? Their morgages and bank loans are probably determined differently than their credit cards... Does any know how things work in the EU? Thank you!!
|
| | Thursday, December 09, 1999 - 11:10 pm Funny you would inquire. I've been meaning to bring up this subject for a while. It so happens that I have relatives in Germany. When I last visited in April 98, there was no such thing as scoring and credit reports as WE know them. Whether people buy a house or a car, their first and best bet is their BANK. The banks look at their customers' banking habits. In Germany consumers used their bank accounts 30 years ago to pay utilities and any kind of bill. Every company in Germany has their bank account numbers on their letterhead. It's a direct bank transfer, from account to account, something they still haven't figured out how to do in the US. Well, they have, but they charge us $15 or $20 on each end of the wire transfer. The German banks look at employment and income, CHARACTER, ABILITY and WILLINGNESS to repay the loan. The COMMON SENSE approach is applied. If you're old enough, you might remember the times when one had to list credit REFERENCES on the loan applications here. In Germany you don't slander consumers (as via credit reports in the US.) Businesses sell their bad debts just like here, and it's a lot more difficult to file for bankruptcy in Germany. But the reporting seems much more accurate. Businesses don't use the threat of bad credit in disputes. During the 4 weeks I was in Germany I didn't meet a single person who had a dispute over credit reporting. People didn't know that there is a credit report, IF there is one. While banks are banks ANYWHERE, in business to make money, they are, like all corporations, much more regulated in Germany. For example, merchants HAVE to put price tags on all merchandise on display in a store's window. And unlike here, where you can write to the FTC till your fingers fall off, the German regulators take ACTION. I.e. they impose FINES, and hefty ones at that. The US government supports Corporate America's only objective: Maximizing profits with late charges and whatever garbage and frivolous fees while minimizing operating expenses. I doubt I would have had to sue Loan America for a fraudulent late charge and credit reporting in Germany. There is no way that Mellon Mortgage (see Finance Forum) would be allowed to operate in Germany. Can you imagine a law requiring the BUSINESS to supply the proof of a late payment? The business having to keep the envelope with the POSTMARK as evidence of the late payment? Innocent until proven guilty? The government FINING a business for violating accounting standards and defrauding their customers? There's a lot I don't like about Germany, but when it comes to consumer rights, they're way ahead of us. I hope I NEVER have to be a United States slave again, with all the "pro activity" I'm supposed to be doing free of charge for corporate just to survive as a working human being. I'll rather eat rocks, cacti and sand! Or move to Mexico .... Can you imagine that Germany survived the TREMENDOUS COST of re-unification WITHOUT Credit Scoring? You read this forum and might think it's impossible to do biz without Scoring. It's all bull! (The proof comes with the next recession, and it might just kill you.) Scoring is a way for biz to make a quick buck, it doesn't work and won't last, for too many reasons to get into here. With the international banking mergers, I'm sure that they'd LIKE to bring those oh so profitable American business practices to Europe. The credit bureaus and Fair Isaac are targeting these markets and are doing a lot of business overseas. Check their web sites for their marketing strategies. I was amazed to see the phone sex ads on German TV, the soaps, the commercials in general, sooooo American. The number of English words in everyday German conversation has dramatically increased. Yet, not one German could understand the Americans' fascination with Monica and blow jobs. They haven't been brain washed long enough? I doubt that Scoring will be used to decline loan applications in Germany. Oh, and a friend of mine's Dad is a retired IRS agent in Germany. He is the most conservative and honest person I know. He is highly educated and travels extensively throughout Europe and the States. My friend told me last week that he has not a single credit card. Can you imagine THAT????? Christine
|
| | Thursday, December 30, 1999 - 04:47 pm From http://members.aol.com/victcrdrpt/index.html (VCR.org) "Equifax Stock falls 18% as Europeans Reject Credit Reports NYSC trades of Equifax (EFX) dropped a full 18% on August 20 as analysts hinted Europeans are not accepting credit bureau proposals to destroy privacy. Further updates on the European Data blockade are coming soon." Does anyone have more info?
|
| | Monday, January 24, 2000 - 11:06 am What a wonderful world it would be if with every bill you received from anybody that reported to a CB, you got an exact list of which bureaus they would report your history to, and exactly what that history was (as of the date of the bill). Credit bureaus would have to send you a letter showing ANY entry and give you 10 business days to respond (dispute) BEFORE it was posted. (Years ago, TRW sold a membership plan (I think it was called CREDENTIALS) that did something very similar - report ADVERSE entries AS they were being added to your report (at leaset you knew about them before you went to apply for a loan)). Just imagine - no surprises, fraud would be caught before the fact (except for "instant credit" - I have no idea how to prevent those "before the fact"), credit "repair" clinics would go out of business because people would catch their errors up front, and, best of all, THE CREDIT BUREAU REPORTS WOULD BE MORE ACCURATE AS A WHOLE - everybody wins!
|
| | Monday, January 24, 2000 - 02:37 pm Wow, I already have that from http://www.consumerinfo.com but yes, it would be nice if credit grantors disclosed up front if they reported and to whom they reported (or at least if you called up and asked someone would be able to give you an answer that was accurate).
|
Credit Forum CreditCourt Forum 2003 Credit Suit CreditFactors Order Credit Reports |