(Washington, DC)  --  U.S. Rep. Steven C. LaTourette (R-Concord) today announced that Ohioans will have access to free credit reports annually beginning March 1 thanks to several identity theft provisions he was able to include in a larger fair credit bill that is now law.

 The Fair and Accurate Credit Transactions Act, which became law in December 2003, contains many landmark identity theft provisions authored by LaTourette and Congresswoman Darlene Hooley (D-OR).  The identity theft provisions, including access to free credit reports, were initially contained in LaTourette and Hooley’s Identity Theft and Financial Privacy Protection Act, which was merged into the larger fair credit bill.

 One of the key identity theft provisions is access to a free credit report annually from each of the three nationwide consumer reporting companies.  LaTourette said consumers used to have to pay about $9 for each of the three reports.

 LaTourette said the Federal Trade Commission has been in charge of rolling out the program to provide free credit reports, and free reports were first available to western states in December 2004.  They are being phased in based on geographic region, and Ohio is one of 12 Midwestern states eligible for the reports beginning March 1, 2005.  This is the second batch of states to get free reports.

 LaTourette said Ohioans will be able to receive a free report annually from Equifax, Experian and TransUnion, all nationwide consumer reporting companies.  You can learn how to obtain a report by going to www.ftc.gov and clicking on the “Information on Free Credit Reports” icon on the left hand side of the page.  You can also order a report by calling the following toll-free number:  877-322-8228.  In addition, you can complete an Annual Credit Report Request Form (available online) and mail it to:  Annual Credit Report Request Service, P.O. Box 105281, Atlanta, GA 30348-5281.  LaTourette said anyone ordering a free report will have to provide their name, address, Social Security number, and date of birth.  In addition, you may have to provide additional information that only you would know to verify your identity, such as your monthly mortgage payment.

 LaTourette said he decided to champion the issue of identity theft after being contacted by a constituent from Madison, OH, who had been victimized by a band of identity thieves.  Maureen Mitchell testified about her experiences before the House Committee on Financial Services, of which LaTourette is a member.
 
 “Maureen had to fight tooth and nail to clear her good name and restore her credit, and before this change in law, she would have had to pay for copies of her credit reports in order to determine the extent of the damage that had been done by identity thieves,” LaTourette said.  “We’ve now changed the law to better protect consumers and to make it much easier to spot instances of identity theft before it gets out of hand.”

 LaTourette said Mitchell was the catalyst behind many of the identity theft provisions that are now law:  the right to a free copy of your credit report annually; improved accuracy of credit reporting procedures; and requirements that credit bureaus share information provided by consumers so they don’t have to make multiple calls to report that they’ve been victimized.  In addition, new obligations are imposed on banks, credit unions, credit card companies and other issuers of credit to prevent identity theft and to ensure accuracy. 

 “Thanks to changes in the law, creditors have to take precautions before extending credit to a consumer who has a fraud alert in their files.  If your bank knows you’ve been victimized they have to share it with your credit card companies, and vice versa,” LaTourette said.  “Maureen Mitchell had fraud alerts from here to the moon and they were consistently ignored.  Thieves continued to open new accounts and buy luxury cars using her name and her credit.  Under the new law, a fraud alert is a genuine safety net rather than just window dressing.”

 Another change in the law from LaTourette is the way credit and debit card receipts are printed.  Merchants are now prohibited from printing more than the last 5 digits of a payment card on a receipt.  In addition, financial institutions are required to reconcile potentially fraudulent consumer address information before making an address change and extending credit.

 “Maureen Mitchell has lived in the same house for 20 years but thieves were able to change her address multiple times and it didn’t even raise a red flag with her bank or credit card companies.  That’s inexcusable, and the law now protects folks from unauthorized and bogus address changes,” LaTourette said.