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Sponsor of vetoed ID theft bill lauds credit bureaus for voluntary action Wednesday, Oct 24, 2007 By John Lyon Arkansas News Bureau LITTLE ROCK - State Rep. Dawn Creekmore successfully guided her bill to allow Arkansans to "freeze" their credit reports to thwart identity theft through the Legislature this year, only to have Gov. Mike Beebe use his veto power to kill the measure. The option will soon be available anyway. The three credit bureaus, TransUnion, Experian and Equifax, have said they will begin allowing consumers in all 50 states to request credit freezes. "What they're doing is exactly what my bill would have done," Creekmore, D-Hensley, said Tuesday, noting that the change is coming only a few months after her bill would have taken effect. A credit freeze prevents a person's credit report from being accessed without the person's consent, preventing identity thieves from opening accounts or obtaining credit in the person's name. More than 30 states have passed credit-freeze laws, but the option has not previously been available nationwide. Beebe did sign one security-freeze bill into law during this year's regular legislative session. Part of Attorney General Dustin McDaniel's legislative package, the measure differs from Creekmore's bill in that it applies only to people who have been victims of identity theft. Creekmore's bill would have made credit freezes available to everyone, which the credit bureaus have now agreed to do nationwide. Beebe spokesman Matt DeCample said Tuesday the governor stands by his veto of Creekmore's bill. "We felt there was language in the bill that could be taken advantage of by people who take part in identity theft," he said. But the governor has no problem with credit bureaus voluntarily offering credit freezes to everyone, his spokesman said. "If they feel things have gotten to the point where they're secure in expanding who can access that, and they think it's a safe operation to have, then that's an additional tool, and that's always good," DeCample said. The Arkansas Bankers Association opposed Creekmore's bill. Ken Hammonds, president and CEO of the association, said Tuesday he still has reservations about making security freezes available to people who are not victims of identity theft. "I just don't know that it's good for everyone, because I think people may start trying to turn it off for different reasons - for divorce, for loans coming due," he said. "And I'm afraid it may cause them problems. You start doing that with a loan that you have at a bank, you start turning your credit off and on like that, you may cause yourself some trouble in the credit field." TransUnion adopted its new credit-freeze policy Oct. 15. Experian and Equifax plan to have their policies in place Nov. 1. TransUnion and Experian will charge a $10 fee to enact, temporarily lift or remove a credit freeze, except in states that mandate lower fees. The services will be free for people who have been victims of identity theft. Equifax has not said how much it will charge. If it charges the same as the others, the cost to have all three credit bureaus freeze a credit report would be $30. "From talking with victims who have been victims of identity theft and their finances have been affected, $30 is just a drop in the bucket compared to the thousands of dollars that they're out," Creekmore said. Last week, a state legislative panel approved an interim study on security freezes. Creekmore said Tuesday the voluntary action by the credit bureaus is "a great thing," but she plans to sponsor legislation in 2009 that would make freezes more consumer-friendly for Arkansans. "I'm going to offer a 'quick thaw' for consumers, which will basically enable anyone to raise that freeze or lift that freeze in a matter of 15 minutes," she said. Creekmore also favors reducing the fee to enact a freeze to $5 and eliminating the fee to lift or remove a freeze. "Also, I'm looking at offering it free of charge to senior citizens and those that are active in the military, and I want to make sure that any Arkansan that wants to initiate this freeze can do so either by regular mail, phone or electronic means," she said. |
