Bill Would End Fees For Personal Credit Freezes

In the wake of the Equifax data breach, state lawmakers of both parties propose a bill to end a fee to place or remove freezes on personal credit reports. Senate Republican Patrick Testin of Stevens Point says it does not make sense to charge people to be “in control of their own information and their own data.” The Federal Trade Commission says credit freezes stop all access by potential lenders to your credit report — a common step for victims of identity theft. They can also order free fraud alerts, in which creditors must verify your identity before they can see your report. Testin says the fee is only about ten dollars for a credit freeze, but it adds up when it’s given twice to each of the three major credit bureaus — and the F-T-C website says some states charge the fees, but it does not say how many.