Credit freezes available nationwide
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Reactions
The announcement is really good news for consumers in states that
don't provide credit freeze rights or where those rights only apply
to identity theft victims, says Jeannine Kenney, senior policy analyst
at Consumers Union, the publisher of Consumer Reports. She urges
the credit bureaus to make credit freezes even cheaper for consumers.
"The freeze only works if people can afford to use it."
Several consumer advocates said that while charging $10 was better than some state-set prices, fees weren't as low as they should be. There should be a one-time fee of $5 or less, says Ed Mierzwinski, U.S. Public Interest Research Group, or PIRG, consumer program director.
"It should be like the security lock on your house -- you buy it once, and you don't pay every time you use the key."
Removing the freeze should be instantaneous, he adds, just like it is for people who purchase TransUnion's TrueCredit Lock, a credit monitoring service that allows customers to also freeze and unfreeze their credit report instantly online. The service costs $10 or $15 a month, depending on whether the consumer buys monitoring for all three credit reports or just their TransUnion credit report.
People aren't going to use credit freezes unless they're convenient, says Mierzwinski. "A freeze is a consumer right. It should not be a premium product."
In the meantime, 39 states and the District of Columbia have passed credit freeze laws. Prices and procedures for placing and removing credit freezes vary from state to state, so check with Equifax, Experian and TransUnion for more information.
Not for everyone
Some people will find credit freezes burdensome, says Linda Foley, founder of the Identity Theft Resource Center. Until credit freezes can be removed instantaneously, consumers will have to think ahead and remove the freeze several days in advance of any situation where a business needs to check their credit, which poses a problem for getting instant credit.
"It's a personal choice issue," she says, referring to the decision of whether to freeze a credit file or not. "But I'm delighted that they have the opportunity to make that choice."
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