How to freeze your credit

United States law. Other countries differ. A credit freeze, under the federal framework lenders and bureaus implement after the Economic Growth, Regulatory Relief, and Consumer Protection Act amendments to the Fair Credit Reporting Act, lets a consumer block most new-credit pulls of a file at a nationwide bureau. Placing or lifting a freeze is free. Each bureau keeps its own freeze, so a freeze at one bureau does not freeze the other two. A freeze does not stop the consumer from seeing their own report, and it does not stop a furnisher from updating an existing account.

A fraud alert is a different object. It tells a user of the report to take extra steps to verify identity. An initial alert and an extended alert for identity-theft victims have different durations under the statute. An alert is a flag on the file. A freeze is a gate on access. Neither is a dispute under 15 U.S.C. §1681i, and neither deletes a tradeline.

Existing creditors can still see a frozen file in situations the statute carves out. A freeze is a control on new applications, not invisibility. If an account was already opened, the inaccurate item is a dispute problem. The freeze is what makes the next application harder.

A “lock” inside a bureau app is that company’s product. A freeze is the statutory mechanism. They are not synonyms. Place the freeze yourself, at each bureau, rather than paying someone to do it.