[whafro]

That's sorta the point – in this case, I have no ability (as a consumer) to "go elsewhere." Aside from the two times I've placed freezes on my credit history, I have no relationship with Equifax, and have never consented in any way to what they collect and share about me.

This contrasts pretty heavily with, say, Facebook – where even though they collect and share plenty of information about me, I'm at least both consenting and continuing to feed them by using a service I presumably find worth the trade-off.

If you are the type of person who gets upset about this dynamic of Facebook, then Equifax should be completely next-level.

[rmdundon]

True, but at least third parties (where they check Equifax, etc.) have a choice. With government, no one has a choice.

I do agree that handling of data could be regulated to some sort, though. Much like how we have agencies, etc. for keeping tabs on companies that handle other things (hazardous materials, food, etc.)

[kerbalspacepro]

You do, too, have a choice with government: you leave. Unless you live in North Korea or a similarly dictatorial state, you have a choice to leave your country.

[dominotw]

> and have never consented in any way to what they collect and share about me.

Dont you consent to credit reporting when you sign up to get credit, though.

You can "choose" to not use Equifax by not getting credit from people who report to equifax.

[lghh]

> Dont you consent to credit reporting when you sign up to get credit, though.

No, I consent to allow creditors to do their due diligence to see if I'm a viable candidate for their product. Equifax is not required in this transaction, it's just beneficial for the creditor, their customer, to use them to streamline that information collecting process. Loans and credit existed prior to credit reporting agencies and will exist long after.

[dominotw]

> No, I consent to allow creditors to do their due diligence to see if I'm a viable candidate for their product.

you do much more than that though , from my card agreement

"We may obtain and review your credit history from credit reporting agencies and others. We may, from time to time, obtain employment and income data from third parties to assist us in the ongoing administration of your account. We may also provide information about you and your account to credit reporting agencies and others. We may provide information to credit reporting agencies about this account in the name of an authorized user. If you think we provided incorrect information, write to us and we will investigate."

> Equifax is not required in this transaction

Thats upto the business to decide, not you. You choose to not get credit from them if you have objections to how they run their business.

[lghh]

>Thats upto the business to decide, not you. You choose to not get credit from them if you have objections to how they run their business.

Regardless of what the business decides, no, Equifax is not required to assess my credit. If the business decides to go to McDonald's to get lunch while they are doing this process, that's not required regardless of what the business decides. It may be nice for them, it may make their process easier, but it's not /required/.

[dominotw]

i agree that its not required.

[obmelvin]

That is not a pragmatic solution. An American adult pretty invariably has to interact with the credit system as part of life.

[dominotw]

Yea i guess the pressure should be on the lenders who use equifax not directly on equifax.

[danvasquez29]

most of the language in those agreements just says "major bureaus" though, not explicitly which. And major transactions will usually pull all three. Trying to pick only lenders which don't use Equifax (or another bureau) may not even be possible for something like a car or home loan.

[tclancy]

How would that possibly work? There are (I think) 3 brokers and creditors tend to share info back to all of them.