WASHINGTON (Legal Newsline) -- District of Columbia Attorney General Karl Racine has introduced legislation that could temporarily prevent fees from credit bureaus when consumers wish to put a freeze on personal credit, according to a statement on the attorney general's website.
The Credit Protection Fee Waiver Emergency Amendment Act of 2017 and the Credit Protection Fee Waiver Temporary Amendment Act of 2017 would require credit reporting companies to offer free credit freezes to District of Columbia residents, in light of recent data breaches such as what happened to Equifax.
“One way for consumers to protect themselves from identity theft in the wake of a big data breach like this one is to freeze their credit,” Racine said. “District consumers – especially lower-income residents – shouldn’t have to pay for Equifax’s mistakes, so our bill prohibits credit reporting agencies from charging consumers to protect themselves.”
Racine is also teaming up with other state attorneys general to look into to the Equifax breach, which may have affected up to 143 million people in the United States.