Consumer credit reporting bureau Experian has announced that it will be offering its customers in 50 states and the District of Columbia, the chance to freeze their credit histories starting November 1. Experian is the second firm after TransUnion to offer consumers the option of freezing their credit histories.
By freezing histories, consumers can block access to their reports by new creditors. The company said that it would be charging $10 every time a consumer wants to freeze his/her history temporarily or permanently.
"It will be one option among a broad range of fraud-assistance tools we already provide to consumers so that they may make the choice best suited to their situation," said Kerry Williams, group president of credit services and decision analytics business at Experian. "Now that a national model for file freezing has emerged, Experian is offering this option to help prevent consumer confusion."
TransUnion was the first company to offer this option, which will come into effect starting October 15. The last of the big three, Equifax has also indicated that it will be offering this freeze option to consumers, but as yet has not disclosed anything concrete.
File-freeze laws are in existence in 39 states, but Alabama, Alaska, Arizona, Georgia, Idaho, Iowa, Michigan, Missouri, Ohio, South Carolina, and Virginia do not have these laws in place.
"All three credit bureaus should be commended for extending the security freeze to those states that don't already require this identity theft safeguard," said Jeannine Kenney, Senior Policy Analyst with Consumers Union. However Experian did caution that freezing histories did not mean other would not acquire credit under consumers' names, but it was the best way to prevent identity theft.
