That was an overly simplistic response. We do have credit scores in the US, and defaulting on medical bills can (but doesn't always) impact someone's score.
Without a high score, you don't get the best interest rates on loans. Or, might not be eligible for a security clearance (government work) or jobs in some industries (banking and other "high trust" fields). Or might not be able to rent an apartment.
But, the other response wasn't incorrect. We don't have debtors prisons (unless the debt is owed to the government, then they might be able to jail you).
Credit score is another thing I have hard time comprehend. I wanted to borrow car outside of EU and was not unable to because there was no record on me with some private company that stored data about credit cards. That was wild experience - like some social credit in China. I just prefer rule of law than these hacks on society.
How do they track credit-worthiness inside the EU? I thought Germany had something equivalent? Maybe it's government-managed instead of private? Not that I like the US system, but it sort of makes sense (barely).
>How do they track credit-worthiness inside the EU? I thought Germany had something equivalent?
It's funny that your parent says "I just prefer rule of law than these hacks on society", when Germany's credit check institution, Schufa, acts like that, not super different to China's social credit score he mentioned.
You can't get a rental in China with a bad credit score, and like that, good luck getting a landlord in Germany to lent you his property with a bad Schufa.
Without a high score, you don't get the best interest rates on loans. Or, might not be eligible for a security clearance (government work) or jobs in some industries (banking and other "high trust" fields). Or might not be able to rent an apartment.
But, the other response wasn't incorrect. We don't have debtors prisons (unless the debt is owed to the government, then they might be able to jail you).