In a Few Days, Credit Freezes Will Be Fee

Later this month, all of the three major consumer credit bureaus will be required to offer free credit freezes to all Americans and their dependents. Maybe you’ve been holding off freezing your credit file because your home state currently charges a fee for placing or thawing a credit freeze, or because you believe it’s just not worth the hassle. If that accurately describes your views on the matter, this post may well change your mind.

Freezing Your Credit Will Be Free Later This Year

Soon you won’t have to pay to freeze your credit. As part of a new bank deregulation bill passed by Congress on Tuesday, the new law will make it so consumers can both place and remove credit freezes at no cost, a process that currently costs between $2 and $10, depending on where you live, and needs to be done at all three credit bureaus in order to be effective, Lifehacker reports. Interest in credit freezing rose last year when the Equifax hack exposed the personal information of about 148 million Americans.