As of August 1, 2008, Georgia consumers will have the ability to freeze their credit file with all three major credit bureaus. The cost of the freeze will be $3.00 per bureau with a total cost of $9.00 to place a freeze with all three bureaus, Equifax, Transunion, and Experian. There will be no charge for victims of identity fraud and senior citizens age 65 and older. Consumers will have the ability to unfreeze their credit file at any time and will have access to their credit file within 15 minutes of the request (in theory). However, there will be an additional cost of $3.00 each time a temporary lift or "thaw" is requested.
Georgia is one of only four states currently in the nation that allows for consumers to freeze and unfreeze their credit file on-line. Rest of the nation will have access to all three bureaus to initiate a freeze and unfreeze on-line by November 1, 2008.
You can initiate the credit freeze or thaw by contacting the following credit reporting agencies. The links provide direct links to credit freeze section of their web page.:
Experian Security Freeze
P.O. Box 9554
Allen, TX 75013
www.experian.com
1-888-397-3742
Equifax Security Freeze
P.O. Box 105788
Atlanta, GA 30348
www.equifax.com
1-800-685-1111
TransUnion Security Freeze
P.O. Box 6790
Fullerton, CA 92834-6790
www.transunion.com
1-888-909-8872
Comments(3)