New laws, new consumer rights

Food experts do not recommend its use in ground or pork shoulder, but starting September 21, 2018, consumers can safely freeze, thaw and then freeze again.

This is their credit file.

Thanks to a new federal law – the Economic Growth, Regulatory Relief, and Consumer Protection Act – consumers will be able to contact the three major credit reporting agencies and instruct them to freeze a consumer’s credit file for free. By limiting access, credit freezes make it more difficult for identity thieves to open new accounts in a consumer’s name.

But once a consumer freezes, what happens if they want to lift the freeze so they can finance a purchase? This is another feature of the law.

Not only can consumers freeze their credit for free, they can also lift it for free. Credit bureaus are required by law to do this as quickly as possible. If a consumer requests a freeze online or over the phone, the credit reporting agency must implement the freeze by the next business day. If a consumer wants to unfreeze — for example, to buy a new phone or refrigerator — it must be done within an hour.

What does this mean for your business? Once the freeze is free, it is likely that more people who are interested in purchasing goods from your business on credit will be frozen. The law simplifies the process of unfreezing, but there will be an initial adjustment period as consumers get used to the system of freezing, unfreezing and refreezing their credit files. Under the new law, the Federal Trade Commission and credit reporting agencies must set up web pages to make it easier for consumers to take advantage of their new rights. These links will be effective after the law takes effect.

Please follow the FTC Business Blog and Consumer Blog as we post more information on this topic.