If you apply for a loan or credit card while your credit reports are still frozen, the lender will not be able to access your reports or scores and you’ll be denied. The lender won’t be able to run hard inquiries to view the information in your credit files. Depending on the bureau, you may be able to schedule the thaw in advance. Or perhaps you want to thaw it for a month, so you can rate-shop for an auto loan or mortgage. You may want to just thaw it for a day, so you can apply for a particular credit card. Even though thaws are usually nearly instant, Experian™ recommends allowing 3 days for your credit reports to thaw before applying for new credit, as some states may have laws that affect this.Įach credit bureau allows you to unfreeze your report permanently or temporarily. It’s important to remember that after freezing your reports you’ll need to thaw them before you can apply for new credit.Ĭredit reports should thaw within minutes when you make the request online or by phone, but requests by mail will take much longer. Credit BureauĮmail Facebook LinkedIn Reddit Twitter Plan Ahead When Applying for Credit in the Future If you can’t use the online method for some reason, you can also call or mail in your request. Thankfully, credit freeze requests are fairly easy, and the process can be completed online by creating an account with each credit reporting company. You have to lock all three doors individually if you want to be secure. If you have three doors to your home but you only lock one, a burglar can still enter. Think of a credit freeze like a lock on a door. If you’ve made the decision to freeze your credit reports, then it’s essential to do so with all three of the major credit bureaus. There is no single, centralized source where you can freeze all three of your credit reports at once. Request a Credit Freeze With Each Credit Reporting Agency You’ll need to request a credit freeze with each of the major credit reporting agencies separately: Equifax®, Experian™, and TransUnion®. If you mail a request it will take longer. Or, if you know you’ll be applying with a specific lender, you may be able to request a single-use PIN to give to that lender, which will allow one-time access to your credit report.įreezes and thaws will typically take place instantly when requested online or by phone. If you don’t want to fully thaw your report, you can temporarily unfreeze it for a specified time period, giving you a few days to apply for credit cards or loans. If you want to apply for new credit you’ll need to thaw your reports. Fraud alerts require lenders to verify your identity by calling your phone number before issuing new credit accounts in your name, adding an extra layer of security.Ĭredit freezes will last until you request an unfreeze, which is appropriately known as “thawing.” This is in contrast to fraud alerts, which will last for 12 months after you set them. If you don’t want to go all out with a credit freeze, you should consider fraud alerts as part of your credit monitoring strategy instead. When you freeze your credit, only your existing creditors and debt collectors can access your credit reports and credit scores (government agencies can access them too, in response to a court order).Ĭredit freezes do not affect your credit scores in any way, positive or negative. Credit freezes do not prevent you from receiving prequalified credit offers, either (because these come from soft inquiries).įreezing credit reports can be a good strategy for identity theft victims, or anyone who was affected by the massive Equifax® data breach. The Equifax® breach affected over 145 million Americans, and in some cases credit card numbers were exposed.Īfter requesting a credit freeze you’ll be given a personal identification number (PIN), which is used to unfreeze your report. That means they won’t be able to issue a new account in your name, even if your Social Security number was stolen and used. This helps prevent identity theft because if someone steals your information and goes to apply for a credit card, for example, the card issuer won’t be able to check your credit file. A credit freeze, also known as a security freeze, prevents the credit bureau from sharing your credit report with any person or entity without your permission (it prevents hard credit inquiries). Without a credit report pull, no one can obtain credit and open a new account in your name - in most cases (there are some “guaranteed approval” credit cards that don’t require a credit check).
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