The legislation, the Freedom from Equifax Exploitation Act, would force credit reporting firms such as Equifax, Experian and TransUnion to let people freeze and unfreeze their credit for free, banning fees that are currently charged. Depending on where a person lives, those fees range from $5 to $10 per request per credit reporting firm. "Our bill gives consumers more control over their own personal data and prohibits companies like Equifax from charging consumers for freezing and unfreezing access to their credit files. Passing this bill is a first step toward reforming the broken credit reporting industry." The bill would also require all credit reporting firms to refund any fees they charged consumers for freezing their credit after the Equifax breach, the lawmakers said.

Source: Los Angeles Times September 15, 2017 18:00 UTC