Pielli, a Chester County lawmaker, Introduces Consumer Protection Bill

WEST CHESTER, PA – State Rep. Chris Pielli, a West Chester Democrat, Monday announced that he introduced a bill that would provide greater protection for Pennsylvanians and their credit reports.

House Bill 695, also known as the Consumer Credit Protection Bill, would amend Act 163 of 2006, by aligning with federal statutes to provide stronger credit report protections for consumers and regulations for security freezes.

“In today’s world, our data can be accessed from anywhere in the world in a split-second,” Pielli said. “As much as we should be focusing on protecting our data, we must also be prepared for the next big breach. The people of Pennsylvania deserve more. It’s time we held these agencies accountable for their mistakes.”

Consumer reporting agencies, such as Equifax, TransUnion and Experian, can impose up to $10 in fees when a consumer requests to freeze their credit unless they are over 65 years of age or a victim of identity theft.

These agencies are also not required to provide any credit monitoring services to people who were affected by a data breach.

The proposed legislation provides these safeguards:

• Prohibit consumer reporting agencies from imposing fees for initially placing or temporarily lifting a security freeze on a credit report.
• Require consumer reporting agencies affected by a data breach to provide consumers with free credit monitoring services for at least three years following the breach.
• Prohibit a consumer reporting agency affected by a data breach from requiring a consumer to waive their rights in order to use free credit monitoring services.