Blacklists and black holes: Credit scoring in Europe

Chapter 5 examines the harms and controversies associated with credit scoring practices in Austria, Italy, Hungary, Norway and the UK. The chapter explains the credit scoring process in each country, how these processes are formally governed and how potential harms arise. Austria, Italy and Hungary exhibit secretive and unaccountable credit scoring systems, policed by tightly knit clusters of financial institutions. Norway and the UK are more open, but for very different legal and ideological reasons. Norway’s system is premised on Data Protection Law and subject access rights, whereas the UK’s is premised on Consumer Credit Law, consumer protection and consumer rights. Credit scoring is controversial because it is the means by which economic opportunity is distributed, yet opportunities for challenging these processes are severely restricted.