Consumer Blog
One credit bureau offers credit freezes nationwide
TransUnion, one of the three nationwide credit bureaus, announced it will offer consumers the ability to freeze their credit file.
This is a huge announcement. Consumer advocates have been fighting for state laws all over the country giving consumers this right - and the credit bureaus have been fighting like crazy against it.
More than half the states now have credit freeze laws. Missouri is not one of them, but it appears TransUnion is going to allow us to do that regardless. The fee is $10 to freeze or unfreeze, which is about the same as the fee in the states with credit freeze laws. Keep in mind, your credit report at the other two bureaus - Experian and Equifax - will not be frozen. That means if a creditor / lender goes to pull your file at one of those two, it will be available. So ID thieves should hope they go to lenders who use one of those bureaus.
Consumers Union, the nonprofit that publishes Consumer Reports, is already calling on the other two to follow suit. I predict they'll do it - these bureaus compete ferociously with each other, and offer almost identitcal services, products and prices.
Many consumer advocates, including me, believe a credit freeze is the best way to prevent ID theft. I heard one consumer say not having this option "is like someone telling me I can't put a lock on my front door." For background, here is a previous blog post on credit freezes.
Technorati Tags: credit bureau, credit freeze, credit report, identity theft, transunion, moagoconsumer, consumer protection
Posted by on September 20, 2007 4:14 pm :: Comments (1) :: Permalink
1 Response to "One credit bureau offers credit freezes nationwide"
says:
October 15, 2007 2:38 pm
I support the consumer rights involving the prevention of identity theft. However, now that all three major credit bureaus offer the "freeze" and at a cost to the consumer, I believe a well intended remedy is going to create confusion and costs to the consumer and to those who report or obtain information from the bureaus. For example, sending FTC form certified to all bureaus and hope the information is posted within 5 days but what happens if the consumer wants the freeze removed?
