Are you freezing your credit? What about your older teens?

[Prairie~Phlox]

I did for dh & I, I'm having dd 19 and most likely the 16 & ~18 year old.  They all have quite a bit of money saved up and do not need their credit ruined.  It's free in our state to.

[Janeway]

I think I should but did not think of it until you mentioned it now.

[shawthorne44]

The thing that REALLY ticks me off, is that there is a fee to freeze your credit and that equifax is still charging it.  

 

Ponder that for a moment.  

Three credit agencies and three people, charge is $10 per person per agency.   So, $90 we will be out of pocket.   

 

[Pawz4me]

I'm doing it for all of us (me, DH, DS21 and DS19). We're at a place where it seems like it would be worth the little bit of hassle of unthawing it if/when needed. It's free in our state. I don't know if I'd be willing to pay to do it or not.

[Annie G]

We're still thinking about it. In our state it will cost us $30 per person to freeze and also $30 per person to unfreeze. Since we plan to buy a different house in the next year or so, we'll need to unfreeze it at least once.  So we're still deciding. 

 

When dh got his last job they did a credit check, so if he looks for another job, I wonder if they still do that. It's been 23 years since he changed jobs, so you know, things *might* have changed. g  But if so, he has to unfreeze his for them to do the check. 

 

It irritates me that Equifax is still charging us to do that. 

[Homebody2]

The thing that REALLY ticks me off, is that there is a fee to freeze your credit and that equifax is still charging it.

 

Ponder that for a moment.

 

Three credit agencies and three people, charge is $10 per person per agency. So, $90 we will be out of pocket.

I agree. This makes me very angry. It should be free to do this for everyone at all three credit agencies, especially now with all of these breaches. It should be an easier process to both freeze and thaw our credit, too.

 

I'm calling our rep and senators to let them know. It's about time we the consumers had more power to control our information since it's obvious that no one else is going to.

[SparklyUnicorn]

What will freezing do?  I read it means people can't check your credit, but does this also mean they can't provide information that becomes part of your credit history?  That is the part I wonder about.

 

 

[Ailaena]

 

I'm just going to desperately hope the information was acquired by an organization dedicated to creating anarchy in our government and society and, therefore, will fix my credit and possibly erase my student loan debt :D

 

Also, they still often do credit checks for all kinds of jobs :/

[Ailaena]

What will freezing do? I read it means people can't check your credit, but does this also mean they can't provide information that becomes part of your credit history? That is the part I wonder about.

It also ensures no new accounts are opened.

[J-rap]

For those of you who are freezing your credit, do you know for certain that you have compromised information? Did you contact Equifax or did they contact you?

[Prairie~Phlox]

For those of you who are freezing your credit, do you know for certain that you have compromised information? Did you contact Equifax or did they contact you?

 

No, but basically it's a 50/50 chance that your info was included, that's too high for me to risk, freezing it will eliminate anyone taking out a loan or credit in our name.  We won't be buying anything, anytime soon, so it is worth it for us, plus we live in a state that it's free to do so.

[TravelingChris]

OUr info was not compromised in this one.  It was twice with the OPM but that was most likely a hack by a foreign government maybe for spying or something like that.  I am getting my adult children to see if they were hacked. If so, I think they will have to wait for equifax to offer the free monitoring.   What I want to discuss with dh is possibly getting lifelock.  

[shawthorne44]

I 'heard' so take that with a grain of salt, that the site that tells you if you were part of the hack just returns a random answer.   

Victims of Identity Theft can freeze their credit for free.   Seems like that is all of us now.   

We have all the debt we need and are paying down what we have, so I'd been idly thinking of doing this anyway.  

[SparklyUnicorn]

Ok, but besides the cost, there has to be some other cons to this.  What are they?  If not, why wouldn't everyone do it?  KWIM?

 

 

[Guinevere]

If you freeze your credit, can you still use your credit cards? I am totally ignorant about all of this.

[PinkyandtheBrains.]

This was helpful information about freezing credit. 

 

 

https://www.consumer.ftc.gov/articles/0497-credit-freeze-faqs 

[Liz CA]

If you freeze your credit, can you still use your credit cards? I am totally ignorant about all of this.

 

From what I am hearing you can use your existing cards / credit lines but not open new ones.

 

[Homebody2]

Ok, but besides the cost, there has to be some other cons to this. What are they? If not, why wouldn't everyone do it? KWIM?

The con is that you have to thaw your credit each time you need to have a credit check. This costs money in most states. It's a hassle, but worth it to most people who don't plan on getting loans or lines of credit often.

[SparklyUnicorn]

seems besides cost there are no major cons

 

https://www.bbb.org/blog/blog_new-posts/2016/09/26/how-to-freeze-out-identity-theft/

[Liz CA]

Ok, but besides the cost, there has to be some other cons to this.  What are they?  If not, why wouldn't everyone do it?  KWIM?

 

Because you cannot establish new credit nor can people do a credit check. This is a hassle for some business owners or people who are contemplating buying cars / houses on credit.

[Homebody2]

For those of you who are freezing your credit, do you know for certain that you have compromised information? Did you contact Equifax or did they contact you?

My information was compromised, and so was my husband's. Our credit was already frozen.

[Pawz4me]

If you freeze your credit, can you still use your credit cards? I am totally ignorant about all of this.

 

Yes, existing cards. You can't apply for a new one w/o unthawing your credit.

[Hilltopmom]

Well, Ds is a senior & will be needing college loans next fall, so if we all freeze now, he'll have to unfreeze then, at least.

 

For us, we bought a new house last year & have newer cars, so should not need new credit anytime in the near future. So, maybe we will freeze.

[JumpyTheFrog]

A few things people might not realize:

 

-When you think you need to thaw it, find out which credit agency they check. Sometimes the creditor will tell you and you only have to unthaw that agency, which saves money (if it costs money in your state).

 

-When you thaw, you can specify it to refreeze automatically on a certain date. Then you won't have to pay for it to be frozen again.

 

-You can continue to use all current lines of credit and they continue to report to agencies, even when your credit is frozen. So nothing about your credit score changes. It just means people can't open new cards or take out mortgages in your name (or in another name) using your number.

 

-Children may have a higher risk of having their identity stolen than many adults, although it may be that their identities tend to be stolen by relatives. States are beginning to allow children's credit to be frozen, but I believe the process is more complex.

 

[goldberry]

They continue to charge because they don't make money when your credit is frozen. They make money by giving out your information to companies for marketing. Yes it is angering and frustrating.

[JumpyTheFrog]

Ok, but besides the cost, there has to be some other cons to this.  What are they?  If not, why wouldn't everyone do it?  KWIM?

 

Why doesn't everyone do it? The credit agencies and worthless credit monitoring places don't want them to and neither do other businesses. They make money by making it easy for people to impulsively apply for credit. 

 

Think of it this way, if you want to stick it to the credit agencies, freeze your credit. Then also fill out the form that stops pre-screened credit card offers from showing up in your mailbox.

 

ETA: Here is a link to an article about ending the unsolicited credit card offers. Opt out and reduce Equifax's ability to make money of your info: http://clark.com/story/optout-credit-card-offers/

Edited September 11, 2017 by HoppyTheToad

[RegGuheert]

It seems a bit silly to me to reward these credit agencies with a windfall for being complete screwups.

[Guest]

How does one find out if his or her information was part of the breach? Or are you just assuming odds are good you were breached?

[Alice]

A few things people might not realize:

 

-When you think you need to thaw it, find out which credit agency they check. Sometimes the creditor will tell you and you only have to unthaw that agency, which saves money (if it costs money in your state).

 

-When you thaw, you can specify it to refreeze automatically on a certain date. Then you won't have to pay for it to be frozen again.

 

-You can continue to use all current lines of credit and they continue to report to agencies, even when your credit is frozen. So nothing about your credit score changes. It just means people can't open new cards or take out mortgages in your name (or in another name) using your number.

 

-Children may have a higher risk of having their identity stolen than many adults, although it may be that their identities tend to be stolen by relatives. States are beginning to allow children's credit to be frozen, but I believe the process is more complex.

 

 

I froze mine and dh's. I looked into doing it for our kids, although they are all young. It was difficult to find information on it. As far as I could tell, one agency allowed you to do it online for a kid under 14. The other two required you to send in info for kids under 14. They wanted a copy of my driver's license, a copy of the kid's social security card, a copy of the kid's birth certificate, a copy of something showing our address. All in order to prove identity. I'll just say I didn't feel exactly comfortable sending all that in by mail. :) 

[Ann.without.an.e]

What breach?  Man, I live under a rock sometimes  :confused1:

[Pen]

How do we find out if we are affected or not?

 

[Ann.without.an.e]

So, if I put in my 6 digit ss and last name, it says we are potentially at risk.  Then it leads me to what seems like a sign up.  Are they wanting me to buy protection?  This seems like a set up y'all?  Like a conspiracy to make money  :confused1:

[SparklyUnicorn]

So, if I put in my 6 digit ss and last name, it says we are potentially at risk.  Then it leads me to what seems like a sign up.  Are they wanting me to buy protection?  This seems like a set up y'all?  Like a conspiracy to make money  :confused1:

 

Supposedly they (equifax) is offering free protection services for a year, BUT then you agree that you have "settled" with them and cannot collect on a class action suit (if any are started which I am 100% sure they will be).

[SparklyUnicorn]

What breach?  Man, I live under a rock sometimes  :confused1:

 

One of the companies (they are not the only one) that maintains information about your credit (Equifax) was hacked. 

[Joules]

I'm working on freezing for dh, ds, dfather and myself.  That's 12 freezes.  I did eight online.  Experian insisted on snail mail for everyone except me, so I have to come up with utility bills, copy licenses and all.  Transunion couldn't do ds either, but I think that may be because he only has one credit card so they may not even have a file for him.

 

I really really hate this!!!

Edited September 11, 2017 by Joules

[SparklyUnicorn]

We've been offered protection services from other breaches.  So far we haven't taken anyone up on it.  We started off applying for one and they asked for so much private information it felt less secure to give all of that out in one place than the information anyone potentially got from the breach.  What is to stop anyone from hacking one of these protection services who hold tons and tons of information about you?!

 

 

[Ravin]

I just signed up for the year of free credit monitoring. I see no point in freezing my credit if no one is actually trying to misuse my data.

[Guest]

I just signed up for the year of free credit monitoring. I see no point in freezing my credit if no one is actually trying to misuse my data.

With whom did you do this? This is what I would rather do.

[shawthorne44]

If you sign up for the credit monitoring, make sure you make an appointment for yourself in a year to cancel it.  Because they will charge you automatically next year.  

 

That "free credit monitoring" also annoys me.   That isn't any better than the offers you get when ordering something by phone from TigerDirect.   They are making it out like a big thing they are offering, when really it isn't anymore than you could get beforehand.  

 

[Jean in Newcastle]

The local news have been warning people to read the fine print on the free credit monitoring.  By signing the free credit monitoring agreement you are also agreeing to not sue them in any class action suit and to not receive any compensation if any is awarded. 

 

 

[MommyLiberty5013]

A few things people might not realize:

 

-When you think you need to thaw it, find out which credit agency they check. Sometimes the creditor will tell you and you only have to unthaw that agency, which saves money (if it costs money in your state).

 

-When you thaw, you can specify it to refreeze automatically on a certain date. Then you won't have to pay for it to be frozen again.

 

-You can continue to use all current lines of credit and they continue to report to agencies, even when your credit is frozen. So nothing about your credit score changes. It just means people can't open new cards or take out mortgages in your name (or in another name) using your number.

 

-Children may have a higher risk of having their identity stolen than many adults, although it may be that their identities tend to be stolen by relatives. States are beginning to allow children's credit to be frozen, but I believe the process is more complex.

 

I agree. It's a lengthy process to freeze Childrens credit. I've looked into it. They want copies of birth certs, parents' IDs, and other info to verify who is freezing on the kids' behalf. That's fine (makes total sense) but it's harder to do. My credit is frozen. I think it's $6 per agency in MN to thaw it. But when you thaw, you can select for how long (a few days up to six months).

Edited September 12, 2017 by MommyLiberty5013

[CadenceSophia]

Because we've had so many breeches in the last few years, we've had continual free monitoring. I think it might have been with different companies but we are with credit karma right now. They email with any change to my credit report and periodically if my credit score changes for any other reason.

[JumpyTheFrog]

Clark Howard is advising all adults to set up free monitoring with Credit Karma (but none of the companies that eventually charge) and then freezing their credit. This is the worst data breach ever he said. The hackers got names, addresses (current and previous), SSNs, and even driver license numbers on about 2/3 of the adult population. Also, millions of credit cards numbers were stolen. Monitoring alerts you after the fact, meaning after damage is done. A freeze is like a nasty guard dog that keeps the criminals out. (Although it still doesn't prevent someone from filing taxes and claiming a refund in your name.)

 

I guess I have a hard time understanding why people wouldn't want to freeze their credit. I'd rather prevent someone using my info for a mortagage than go through the hassle after it happened.

[JumpyTheFrog]

I do understand hesistating to freeze children's credit. The amount of info that needs to be sent in seems like a risk in itself.

[JumpyTheFrog]

http://clark.com/personal-finance-credit/credit-freeze-and-thaw-guide/

 

You can only freeze your credit for 7 years at a time in these states: KY, NE, PA, and SD.

[SeaConquest]

I just monitor our credit for free with Credit Sesame, Credit Karma, Capital One, and USAA.

[Valley Girl]

I'm working on freezing for dh, ds, dfather and myself.  That's 12 freezes.  I did eight online.  Experian insisted on snail mail for everyone except me, so I have to come up with utility bills, copy licenses and all.  Transunion couldn't do ds either, but I think that may be because he only has one credit card so they may not even have a file for him.

 

I really really hate this!!!

 

Regarding the insistence on snail mail... I froze things by phone and got an automated message at one of the bureaus that the freeze couldn't be processed for DH that way. I waited a little while, called back and was able to get it processed without a problem. Maybe try that way? I'd hate to have to send all that paperwork!

 

Edited September 12, 2017 by Reluctant Homeschooler

[StephanieZ]

Yup, I did it last night. All 4 agencies, dh and me both. Done. 

 

I haven't suggested it to my 20 year old, but probably should. She probably won't get around to it, though. 

I'm confident my younger kids are still "ghosts" credit-wise, so no need there . . . but dd bought a car in January, and when she did, she was still a "ghost" (dh cosigned and co-titled, so not an issue), but now that she's made payments for 9 months, she's probably no longer a ghost . . . 

 

I guess I should tell her to do it . . . But, damn, it's hard to get her to pay her water bill on time (flaky . . .), and that's just one more thing (rather 4 more things), and I can't see her pulling it off successfully. And, I'm certainly can't do it w/o her . . . and she's 800 miles away, so, well, maybe at Thanksgiving, when she's here . . .

 

 

[Annie G]

 

I guess I have a hard time understanding why people wouldn't want to freeze their credit. I'd rather prevent someone using my info for a mortagage than go through the hassle after it happened.

 

Our youngest daughter is just starting her independent life. So she needed a credit check when she got her own phone plan, will need one to rent an apartment, maybe to get utilities, will need one if she ever buys a car (insurance will do one). Since she's building her credit she'll probably get a credit card in the next year or so. I don't even know what else she might need a credit check for.  I think banks use ChexSystems and since that's not one of the big three I guess it's not an issue. 

 

So I can see where a young person might not  freeze credit because of the hassle and expense of unfreezing. In our state it's $30 to freeze and unfreeze.  If she unfreezes it every time she needs to, the cost will add up. But if she unfreezes it for an entire year or so (I think it'll take that long for her to launch and get everything in place), she's at risk. 

 

All of this assumes that these kinds of credit checks can't be done while it's frozen (insurance, apartment, etc). 

 

When we relocate we'll have to unfreeze ours, too.  Probably for a few months as we sell this house and buy the next, and then set up new accounts in a different place. 

[mytwomonkeys]

I did the free credit monitoring. It had the option to lock my credit, which I did. I can unlock it at no charge and re-lock should I need too. Equifax has stated (after receiving a lot of heat) that you can still be part of a lawsuit even if you sign up for free credit monitoring. But honestly, even if I couldn't sue them, I'm fine with that. Half of America was breached - the settlement isn't going to buy much of anything for me. Once my year is up, we may freeze our credit still... the information stolen can be used for years to come.

 

Upthread I read that after a year we will be charged. How can they charge me if I don't cancel at the year mark? Did the fine print state this? Will they bill me? I didn't give any debit card information.