East Coast residents finally have access to free credit reports from the Big Three

This is by way of the Washington Post, which has a good story about how today, 1 September, 2005, is the first day that residents of the East Coast can finally get a free credit report from the major credit reporting agencies through Annual Credit Report.com. Here's their story:

Today, residents of the Washington area and the rest of the East Coast can finally order one free copy a year of their credit report from each of the three national credit bureaus.

The annual free credit reports were mandated by Congress two years ago to reduce the incidence of identity theft by encouraging consumers to regularly check their credit histories for suspicious activity, such as a new credit card account that was never requested.

Editorial note: two years to implement a basic database query system? Sheesh.

But consumers should be prepared: Getting the reports may not be easy. The Federal Trade Commission has received nearly 2,100 complaints from consumers about the program since it was launched on the West Coast last year. Nearly 80 percent, or 1,641 consumers who complained, said they were unable to order the free reports, either online or over the telephone. Another 435 said they ordered the reports but never received them. Many of these latter requests were made by mail.

Typical is this complaint filed last month: "EXTREMELY difficult to find how to request free report. Once I did find it, I completed the on-line request form, then was told I had to request the report by mail. They are making the process complicated." This complaint, and others, was obtained by The Washington Post under a Freedom of Information Act request.

In some cases, consumers have complained that they were asked to pay a fee before they could get their reports.

Editorial note: there's no fee. What they saw was the credit reporting agencies trying to get you to sign up for a credit monitoring service that has a fee. You can say "no", but it's not at all obvious how to do so...

Still others say the credit bureaus have incorrect information on file, making it impossible for them to get their reports. One July complainant, for instance, noted that she couldn't get a report because "they said my birth year did not match the birth year on the report. My birth year is 1951. What other number could I enter?"

More worrisome to consumers is being told they can't get a free report because they already received one. "Consumer states that she has not ordered her credit report and is concerned about who obtained her annual credit report," says a July 22 complaint. The consumer has tried repeatedly to call the credit bureau "but has been unable to reach anyone" -- another concern that appears repeatedly.

Editorial note: I know that problem! After repeated attempts to contact a live human at Experian a few months ago, I finally just gave up.

It's unclear how many credit histories have been requested or issued under the new free-report program. The three major credit bureaus -- Equifax, Experian and TransUnion -- declined to disclose any numbers, saying such information was proprietary. As a result, it is impossible to say what percentage of consumers have encountered difficulties.

Joel Winston, associate director of the Federal Trade Commission's Financial Practices Division, said "many millions of consumers" have received their free reports but declined to disclose the precise number because he said such data are considered confidential under the law.

This story continues on the Washington Post Web site...