Don't be frozen out — know how and when to thaw your credit

When the Equifax data breach was revealed last fall, you may have followed the advice of experts and frozen your credit. A freeze is the best way to keep your personal data from being used to open fraudulent credit accounts.

But it can also be an inconvenience: A freeze means no one can access your credit data, so you are likely to be denied things that require a credit check. Most people know their credit will be checked if they apply for a loan or credit card. But other things can trigger one, too, as some people found out when they tried to sign up for insurance through the Affordable Care Act last fall.

Your credit may be checked if you are being screened as a potential tenant, setting up an account with a utility company, or applying for a job, among others.

That said, unfreezing credit should be a small nuisance rather than a real obstacle.

Credit expert John Ulzheimer unfroze his credit online with his smartphone while sitting across the desk from a banker who was opening a new checking account for him. Ulzheimer asked which credit bureau would be checked and thawed the credit report for just that one.

You can thaw your credit online, by phone, or by mail. Unless you are certain which bureau's credit file will be checked, you will need to unfreeze with each of the three major credit bureaus: Equifax, Experian and TransUnion.

You will need the PINs you received when you froze your credit and possibly a credit card, if there is a fee. In the case of TransUnion, you will also need your username and password.

New York Times columnist Ron Lieber says it takes him about 15 minutes to unfreeze his and his wife's credit with all three bureaus, something he does when he wants to take advantage of a credit card deal, refinance a mortgage or shop for insurance. He said he "batches" the tasks that will require a look at his credit.

He said he has had a freeze for at least 10 years and estimates he has paid about $250 in fees to lift freezes for himself and his wife in that time.

Despite the occasional 15 minutes and fees, Lieber says a freeze has no real downside.

If you don't have the PIN you got when you signed up for a freeze, now is a good time to retrieve or replace it.

You can do that online with Experian. You will be asked for your name, address, birth date and Social Security number, then presented authentication questions to confirm your identity. If you successfully answer those, you will see a screen with your PIN and the option to print or have it e-mailed. If you are not able to do that, you can call 1-888-397-3742. If a replacement PIN is needed, Experian will mail it to you. Experian does not charge a fee for PIN recovery.

TransUnion requires that you request a PIN in writing, and send proof of identity. It also may charge a fee for the service. The address is P.O. Box 2000, Chester, PA 19016.

Once you have your PIN, make sure you put it where it is safe and you can find it.