The option to freeze your credit report is required by law in the United States. Under the Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA), credit bureaus are required to provide consumers with the ability to freeze their credit reports free of charge. This means you can place, temporarily lift, and remove a freeze on your credit report at no cost. It also means that a credit bureau is prohibited from charging a fee for placing, temporarily lifting, or removing a freeze on a credit report.
Don’t lock your credit bureau accounts. Instead, freeze them. Freezing and locking a credit bureau account are similar in that they prevent new credit applications from being approved using your personal information. However, there is a key difference. A freeze is a more secure option as it completely restricts access to your credit report and requires a PIN or password to temporarily lift or remove the freeze. A lock, on the other hand, is typically offered by the credit bureau itself and can be easily unlocked by the consumer. Additionally, a freeze is often free, while a lock may come with a fee. In summary, freezing your credit bureau account is better than locking it because it provides a higher level of protection and does not require payment.
Additionally, the Economic Growth, Regulatory Relief, and Consumer Protection Act (EGRRCPA), signed into law in 2018, requires credit reporting agencies to allow consumers to freeze and unfreeze their credit reports for free, making it easier for consumers to place a freeze on their credit reports, and make credit freezes available to minors.
A lock is not defined or governed in law or regulation. Credit locks are typically offered by the credit bureaus themselves rather than by federal or state law, and they are not required to be provided to consumers for free. Credit locks can be purchased by consumers as a paid service, and they may come with a monthly or annual fee. The terms for a lock can be changed unilaterally by the bureau without notice.
Additionally, credit locks may have different terms and conditions compared to credit freezes, such as the level of security they provide, the ease of unlocking them, and how long they last. The FCRA doesn’t have specific regulations for credit locks. Still, it requires credit reporting agencies to provide accurate and complete information to consumers about the services offered, including credit locks and their terms and conditions. Nor are locks covered under the EGRRCPA.
Walt Houser 