Title: Free Credit Freeze Act
Policy area: Finance and Financial Sector

Summary:
Free Credit Freeze Act
This bill amends the Fair Credit Reporting Act to prohibit a consumer reporting agency from charging a consumer a fee for placing, temporarily lifting, or fully removing a credit freeze. A consumer reporting agency must place a credit freeze on the consumer's file upon a consumer's request, prohibiting a consumer reporting agency from releasing any credit information without the consumer's permission.

[Congressional Bills 115th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 3878 Introduced in House (IH)]

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115th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                H. R. 3878

To amend the Fair Credit Reporting Act to provide access to free credit 
                       freezes for all consumers.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                           September 28, 2017

    Mr. Ben Ray Lujan of New Mexico (for himself, Mr. Langevin, Mr. 
Cardenas, Mr. Nadler, Mr. Beyer, Ms. Kaptur, Ms. Norton, Mr. Brendan F. 
   Boyle of Pennsylvania, Mr. Bishop of Georgia, Ms. Michelle Lujan 
     Grisham of New Mexico, Mr. Capuano, Mr. Butterfield, and Mrs. 
 Napolitano) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the 
                    Committee on Financial Services

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
To amend the Fair Credit Reporting Act to provide access to free credit 
                       freezes for all consumers.

    Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``Free Credit Freeze Act''.

SEC. 2. PROVIDES ACCESS TO FREE CREDIT FREEZES FOR ALL CONSUMERS.

    Section 605A of the Fair Credit Reporting Act (15 U.S.C. 1681c-1) 
is amended by adding at the end the following:
    ``(i) Credit Freeze Fees.--
            ``(1) Definition.--In this subsection, the term `credit 
        freeze' means a restriction placed at the request of a consumer 
        or a personal representative of the consumer, on the consumer 
        report of the consumer, that prohibits a consumer reporting 
        agency described in section 603(p) from releasing the consumer 
        report for a purpose relating to the extension of credit 
        without the express authorization of the consumer. A credit 
        freeze shall not apply to the use of a consumer report by any 
        of the following:
                    ``(A) A person, or the person's subsidiary, 
                affiliate, agent, subcontractor, or assignee with whom 
                the consumer has, or prior to assignment had, an 
                account, contract, or debtor-creditor relationship for 
                the purposes of reviewing the active account or 
                collecting the financial obligation owed on the 
                account, contract, or debt.
                    ``(B) A person, or the person's subsidiary, 
                affiliate, agent, subcontractor, or assignee, to whom 
                access has been granted pursuant to a request by the 
                consumer for purposes of facilitating the extension of 
                credit or other permissible use.
                    ``(C) Any person acting pursuant to a court order, 
                warrant, or subpoena.
                    ``(D) A Federal, State, or local government, or an 
                agent or assignee thereof.
                    ``(E) Any person for the sole purpose of providing 
                a credit monitoring or identity theft protection 
                service to which the consumer has subscribed.
                    ``(F) Any person for the purpose of providing a 
                consumer with a copy of the consumer report, or credit 
                score of the consumer upon the consumer's request.
                    ``(G) Any person or entity for insurance purposes, 
                including use in setting or adjusting a rate, adjusting 
                a claim, or underwriting.
                    ``(H) Any person acting pursuant to an 
                authorization from a consumer to use their consumer 
                report for employment purposes.
            ``(2) Prohibition on fees.--A consumer reporting agency 
        described in section 603(p) may not charge a consumer a fee to 
        place, temporarily lift, or fully remove a credit freeze.''.
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