How do I freeze my experian report?

enharu · ‎03-30-2013

I am curious about the freezing process.

1. how do I do this?

2. how much does it cost?

3. how long does the freezing / unfreezing process take?

4. will I still be able to monitor my own credit during this period of time?
5. will lenders still be able to do soft pulls?

6. let's say I am applying for a card with citibank, and they usually pull EX. if I freeze my report for EX, will they pull EQ/TU instead? or will they notify me to unfreeze my EX? If I don't unfreeze my EX, then is my app considered as null then?

Thanks!

JPMorgan Palladium (100k), AmEx Platinum (NPSL), AmEx SPG (46k), AmEx BCP (42k), Chase Sapphire Preferred (47k), Citi Prestige (31k), Citi Thank You Preferred (27k), Citi Executive AAdvantage (25k), JPMorgan Ritz-Carlton (21k), Merrill+ (15k), US Bank Cash+ (22.5k), Wells Fargo (12k), Bloomingdale’s (12.4k), Chase Freedom (5k), Discover IT (5k).

PokemonMaster · ‎03-30-2013

1) https://www.experian.com/freeze/center.html

Go there

2) Depends on the state you live in.

3) About 15 minutes each time you freeze it and unfreeze it.

4) With annualcreditreport.com you can but sites like Quizzle and Credit.com cannot pull through the freeze.

5) Yes because you have current business with them so they are exempt from the freeze which means they can also hardpull.

6) A lender can be as reasonable or as unreasonable as they want so they may choose to issue the card based on the two reports they were able to get, they may demand you unfreeze experian, or they may choose to decline you because they couldn't get all of your reports. Like I said it's completely up to them what they decide to do and no one can tell you what they will do each time.

enharu · ‎03-30-2013

so if i freeze my EX, and they insist on me unfreezing it, but I don't. I will just get declined with 0 HP then, right?

JPMorgan Palladium (100k), AmEx Platinum (NPSL), AmEx SPG (46k), AmEx BCP (42k), Chase Sapphire Preferred (47k), Citi Prestige (31k), Citi Thank You Preferred (27k), Citi Executive AAdvantage (25k), JPMorgan Ritz-Carlton (21k), Merrill+ (15k), US Bank Cash+ (22.5k), Wells Fargo (12k), Bloomingdale’s (12.4k), Chase Freedom (5k), Discover IT (5k).

PokemonMaster · ‎03-30-2013

@enharu wrote:
so if i freeze my EX, and they insist on me unfreezing it, but I don't. I will just get declined with 0 HP then, right?

No. The pulls on TU and EQ would still be there. They just wouldn't be able to get your EX report and might decline you because of that reason. It's also possible they could approve you based on the two they were able to get. It's entirely up to them whether they choose to do business with you or not. But the reports they were able to get (EQ and TU since I assume you wouldn't freeze them) hardpulls would appear on.

enharu · ‎03-30-2013

hmmm this is what i have in mind.

i will freeze my EX report, and then apply. If they are willing to pull EQ / TU, then hopefully I get approved. If they insist on pulling EX, i'll just take the denial and try again next time after some inquiries on EX fall off.

Is this a good idea? So it only takes 15mins and a fee to freeze and unfreeze?

has anyone tried this before?
anyone has the EO's number as well?

Thanks!

JPMorgan Palladium (100k), AmEx Platinum (NPSL), AmEx SPG (46k), AmEx BCP (42k), Chase Sapphire Preferred (47k), Citi Prestige (31k), Citi Thank You Preferred (27k), Citi Executive AAdvantage (25k), JPMorgan Ritz-Carlton (21k), Merrill+ (15k), US Bank Cash+ (22.5k), Wells Fargo (12k), Bloomingdale’s (12.4k), Chase Freedom (5k), Discover IT (5k).

LS2982 · ‎03-30-2013

@enharu wrote:
hmmm this is what i have in mind.

i will freeze my EX report, and then apply. If they are willing to pull EQ / TU, then hopefully I get approved. If they insist on pulling EX, i'll just take the denial and try again next time after some inquiries on EX fall off.

Is this a good idea? So it only takes 15mins and a fee to freeze and unfreeze?
has anyone tried this before?
anyone has the EO's number as well?

Thanks!

Technically this is frowned upon here because your trying to make the lender pull what you want which is not illegal but not ethical.

But in theory it does work.

EQ FICO 548 3/3/16

enharu · ‎03-30-2013

oh, disregard this thread then. i don't want to get into any soupy mess afterwards over 1 credit card app :/

thanks a lot for the clarifications!

JPMorgan Palladium (100k), AmEx Platinum (NPSL), AmEx SPG (46k), AmEx BCP (42k), Chase Sapphire Preferred (47k), Citi Prestige (31k), Citi Thank You Preferred (27k), Citi Executive AAdvantage (25k), JPMorgan Ritz-Carlton (21k), Merrill+ (15k), US Bank Cash+ (22.5k), Wells Fargo (12k), Bloomingdale’s (12.4k), Chase Freedom (5k), Discover IT (5k).

enharu · ‎03-30-2013

Ok I have given this much thought and I decided I want to freeze my report. Mainly to stop myself from applying.

Is there anything bad about freezing my report? Will lenders in the future see that I had frozen my report before and see that as something negative?

I just got approved for Freedom, Discover, and CSP. If I am to freeze my report now, the banks can still report my card activity to the bureaus without any issues right?

How long does it take to freeze and unfreeze? Is the process hard / complicated / time consuming?

Thanks!

JPMorgan Palladium (100k), AmEx Platinum (NPSL), AmEx SPG (46k), AmEx BCP (42k), Chase Sapphire Preferred (47k), Citi Prestige (31k), Citi Thank You Preferred (27k), Citi Executive AAdvantage (25k), JPMorgan Ritz-Carlton (21k), Merrill+ (15k), US Bank Cash+ (22.5k), Wells Fargo (12k), Bloomingdale’s (12.4k), Chase Freedom (5k), Discover IT (5k).

PokemonMaster · ‎03-31-2013

@enharu wrote:
Ok I have given this much thought and I decided I want to freeze my report. Mainly to stop myself from applying.

Is there anything bad about freezing my report? Will lenders in the future see that I had frozen my report before and see that as something negative?
I just got approved for Freedom, Discover, and CSP. If I am to freeze my report now, the banks can still report my card activity to the bureaus without any issues right?
How long does it take to freeze and unfreeze? Is the process hard / complicated / time consuming?

Thanks!

I currently have my TU and EQ reports frozen. The only reason my EX report isn't frozen is because I want to be able to use Quizzle, Credit.com, and CreditSesame still. I keep mine frozen for the exact reason that it keeps me from applying for cards I don't need (since I have to pay 5 dollars each time). There's nothing bad about doing a freeze that I have seen and the banks will still report your activity since you have current business with them they're exempt from the freeze. I have had no issues with having my reports frozen and the process to freeze can be done online for all three so it's easy enough to do..

LS2982 · ‎03-31-2013

@enharu wrote:
Ok I have given this much thought and I decided I want to freeze my report. Mainly to stop myself from applying.

Is there anything bad about freezing my report? Will lenders in the future see that I had frozen my report before and see that as something negative?
I just got approved for Freedom, Discover, and CSP. If I am to freeze my report now, the banks can still report my card activity to the bureaus without any issues right?
How long does it take to freeze and unfreeze? Is the process hard / complicated / time consuming?

Thanks!

I have all 3 froze. It does work to halt you from apping. I would recommend making a hard to remember access code and have your DW hide it in the house or if your strong enough not to bite on it put it in a safe place.

You have to pay $5 (different state to state) to lift the freeze and enter that access code.

Current lenders have full access to your reports froze or not.

EQ FICO 548 3/3/16