Credit Freeze & Free Annual Credit Report
Thank you for your recent column about the new rule for establishing credit freezes. That’s one of the few good things about the new banking regulations.
Could you explain the difference between a credit lock & a credit freeze. In any event, my wife & I are “senior citizens” now & are planning on establishing credit freezes on our credit accounts. After setting up the credit freezes, will we still have access to our free annual credit reports from the three credit reporting agencies?
Thank you.
Terry Says
Basically, they are the same thing — only the preferred term now is “credit freeze.” And if you’re not planning to apply for new credit (or life insurance, or auto insurance, or a new job — all of which may require a credit check) then it’s a good idea to freeze your credit report.
You’ll be given a PIN that allows you to life the freeze for purposes of accessing your free credit report, or to allow potential creditors to do a check.
