[jacquesm]

The whole 'credit ratings' thing is uniquely North American anyway.

It's only because you let it happen, in most other countries a bureau that keeps that kind of privacy sensitive information on individuals would be against the law.

[DrJokepu]

Credit ratings are just as prevalent in England as in North America. They are less heavily used in other countries but most countries have some sort of inter-bank debtor black list.

[maigret]

Yep - for example Germany has, it's called "Schufa" http://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Schufa