How to Remove a Credit Freeze While in Collections

Many states require that credit bureaus allow consumers to "freeze" their credit. This action stops anyone (including yourself) from accessing your credit. Even if you're dealing with collection issues, you can still place and remove credit freezes on your credit file, according to the Federal Trade Commission. However, before removing a credit freeze on your account, you'll need to have your PIN handy (given at the time of the credit freeze).

Instructions

1

Contact the bureaus to temporarily remove a credit freeze. When freezing your credit, each credit bureau (Experian, TransUnion and Equifax) will provide a PIN number. Call each credit bureau and provide your special PIN number. During this call, you must provide a date range for your credit report. For example, you might decide to remove it for a day while making a large purchase.

2

Remove a credit freeze permanently. To unfreeze credit permanently, you'll need to specify a permanent "unfreeze" when calling to lift the credit freeze. You'll still need the special PIN number to accomplish this. Some companies, such as TransUnion, allow consumers to unfreeze credit online if they purchased credit monitoring services (which costs $14.95 a month, as of 2010).

3

Ask about fees. Each state has different rules for the cost of unfreezing your credit. For victims of identify theft, some states require the credit bureaus to waive costs. Other states may allow the bureaus to charge $10 per request. For example, to remove a credit freeze with all three credit bureaus would cost $30 total ($10 each). Learn your state's restrictions by checking out the Consumers Union (see References).

4

Correct collection reporting errors. Many people freeze their credit in cases of identity theft. If you plan on unfreezing your credit, make sure to monitor your credit carefully. Most of the credit bureaus offer reporting services for less than $20 a month. You are also entitled to a free credit report from all three credit bureaus every 12 months, according to the FTC.