John Richards wrote:
- quote -

Yes, and I have done that in the past. Previously, once a fraud alert
was placed in your file it was in effect for a number of years (the
exact time varied with the credit bureau). Now, they are only in effect
for 90 days. Considering the hassle to contact these bureaus, the fact
that there are three of them and also that you and your spouse might
want to have the fraud alert done, it becomes a big pain. Currently, to
have the alert stick for a 7-year period, you have to prove that you
are already a victim of fraud.

"Elle" <honda.lioness[at]nospam.earthlink.net> writes:

- quote -

It's nearly impossible to "avoid the need for personal credit".

Even if you don't actually borrow any (more?) money yourself
(ie. your mortgage is paid off, you don't use credit cards, etc),
your credit still gets checked when you apply for jobs, when
you turn on utilities, etc.

Moreover, the "freeze" isn't about your own use of your
credit, but, rather, about protecting your credit record
from being abused by someone *else*.

- quote -

And the credit industry strongly opposes governments forcing
them to allow these freezes. They are the single most powerful
tool a consumer has at protecting his credit, identity and
privacy - all of which the credit bureaus and others want
to be as open (and, sadly, as easily abused) as possible.

- quote -

This is not one of those plans. Google on "credit report freeze"
and read. Some 16 states have passed laws which allow individuals
to freeze their credit reports with the various bureaus so that
the information can only be accessed in strictly limited
circumstances. Usually, a freeze may only be put on for an
individual who has *already* been a victim of identity theft
free of charge, but in many states, one may pre-emptively freeze
one's credit for a fee.

I'd sure prefer if my mortgage (hell, even my property title)
weren't openly accessible to the public. I'm really sick of
all the "refinance with us!" crappola mail - most of which
hasn't involved anyone doing a credit check first.

If we ever did have any privacy (and really, did we?), that
horse has long since left the barn.

--
Plain Bread alone for e-mail, thanks. The rest gets trashed.
No HTML in E-Mail! -- http://www.expita.com/nomime.html
Are you posting responses that are easy for others to follow?
http://www.greenend.org.uk/rjk/2000/06/14/quoting

"Elle" <honda.lioness[at]nospam.earthlink.net> wrote in message
news:epBoh.8726$yx6.2508[at]newsread2.news.pas.earthlink.net...
- quote -

And what about your nosy neighbors sending in your pre-approved credit card
forms? Freezing your credit score may prevent this.

I'm not one to use credit score either. I use credit cards but have them
paid off in 7 days, buy cars with cash etc. The only debt I will prolly
apply for in my life will be a mortgage at this point.

Of course landlords do credit checks now. in fact what reputable landlord
outside of family or personal reference does not do a credit check? And so
insurance companies. When did you sign a new policy with a credit bureau
check? And so do some employers......

Do you pay alimony to a former spouse or child benefits? credit bureau
checks........ And of course anyone who wants a margin account or to short
term borrow money to top up tax deferred investments.. Again to me
personally I could care less about credit score except for potentially
insurance and most certainly a mortgage. But to others I can understand the
need to protect their credit bureau score.

And yes the credit bureau are making a fast buck "protecting" you but what
is the alternative?

You can have a free fraud alert flag put on your credit bureau files:
http://www.fightidentitytheft.com/flag.html
Credit grantors are supposed to honor the fraud alert flag by
making it much more difficult to open a new account in your name.

--
John Richards


"pixel_a_ted" <pixel_a_ted[at]yahoo.com> wrote in message news:1168301605.395878.74230[at]s80g2000cwa.googlegroups.com...
- quote -

"pixel_a_ted" <pixel_a_ted[at]yahoo.com> wrote in message
news:1168301605.395878.74230[at]s80g2000cwa.googlegroups.com...
- quote -

That seems to be typical (except the 7 year limit). See
http://www.consumersunion.org/campai...3484indiv.html

The good news is that you only have to wait until you're 65, and then it's
free (in Pa. :-)

- quote -

I recently checked into this for a relative in NY. Here's the NY page:
http://www.consumer.state.ny.us/security_freeze.htm

Essentially (in NY) you have to write to each of the credit reporting
agencies separately. Of course, each one has different info that it wants.
The NY page gives links at the bottom to "freeze" pages at each agency.
These pages in turn give pretty complete info for every state.

Mark Freeland
BnetOnewsX[at]sbcglobal.net

What exactly is meant by "freeze" here?

Instead of spending this money on credit security systems
and this so-called "freeze," I suggest avoiding the need for
personal credit.

The NY Times the other week ran quite an article purporting
that the credit industry is more out to make buck with all
these alleged protection plans than it is interested in
actually protecting. The article even suggested it does not
pay them to provide too much protection.

My state (PA) has recently passed a law allowing consumers to put a
freeze on their credit bureau files. I initially welcomed this law, but
now that I look into it I am not sure it was implemented in the best
possible way.

The law allows a credit bureau to charge a fee up to $10 to put the
freeze in place. So if you do this with each of the three major bureaus
for yourself and your spouse, that's $60. If you want to remove the
freeze temporarily, a bureau can charge up to $10 to do that. When you
reinstate the freeze, that's another $60, and even if you never ask to
have the freeze removed, it has a lifetime of seven years.

So I am wondering, for purposes of avoiding identity theft - in
particular someone else applying for credit in your name - whether it
is better to do the freeze or just to subscribe to a credit monitoring
service. I don't plan to apply for credit any time soon, but it's
possible I might want a different credit card some time in the future,
and credit reports are checked for other things like applying for a new
cell phone service, insurance, etc. Another option is just getting a
free credit report once a year from each bureau.

Also, does anyone in another state know how the credit bureaus are
actually handling the freezes, i.e., what are the actual fees and how
convenient is it to do (web site, letter, etc.).

Thanks.