ADA - the rules may be different in different countries. Remember many countries do not have credit bureaus. I was told that by signing the form, we authorize CIC to do all sorts of check on us (i didn't really read what i was signing anyway), and in some countries, that may be enough to do a check. Who knows. The laws with regard to privacy are much stricter in the US.
This is my understanding but the rules might have changed in the last couple of years.
In the US, banks are allowed to check your credit score without your consent but if they do, they have to make you a fair offer of credit. Remember, those credit card products that we used to get in mail all the time, they send it because they know our score. Nowadays, I get one offer per day. Gone are the days when I used to get 5 per day lol.