Following on the heels of Washington and other states that have approved credit freeze laws, the nation’s three leading credit bureaus recently announced they will provide all Americans with the opportunity to freeze unwanted access to their credit history. But before you rush to sign up, there are some things you should know. Each bureau has different procedures to request a freeze and some older adults may want to wait until September 2008. That’s when a new state law takes effect that allows anyone age 65 or older to freeze access to their credit files for free. Unless you’re an identity theft victim, you’ll pay $10 to each of the bureaus to freeze your credit now; that’s $30 total. To help clear up the confusion, we've updated Web site with new information and a chart that compares new and old laws and explains application procedures.
Posted by Holly Martinez on Mon, 2007-12-10 05:48
Categories
Recent Posts
Blogroll & Consumer News
Product Recalls
- Olympic Mountain Products Recalls Tealight Wax Warmers Due to Fire and Burn Hazards; Sold Exclusively at Costco (Recall Alert)
- Keurig Recalls MINI Plus Brewing Systems Due to Burn Hazard
- James Trading Group Recalls Croker Kids Fleece Panel Hoodie Due to Strangulation Hazard (Recall Alert)
- Comfort Research Recalls Vinyl Bean Bag Chairs Due to Risk of Entrapment, Suffocation
- BRP Recalls Ski-Doo and Can-Am Kids’ Hoodies Due to Strangulation Hazard
Resources
- Access WA Consumer Site
- Attorney General’s Consumer Protection site
- Better Business Bureau
- Consumer.gov
- Federal Citizen Information Center - Consumer Action
- Federal Trade Commission’s Bureau of Consumer Protection
- Washington Department of Financial Institutions Division of Consumer Services
- Washington Department of Revenue Business Database
- Washington Labor and Industries’ Contractors Database
- Washington Secretary of State Office’s Charities Database
- Washington Secretary of State Office’s Corporations Database
- Washington Office of the Insurance Commissioner
- Washington Utilities and Transportation Commission Consumer Guide