Credit bureaus have been getting a lot of heat on Capitol Hill because it's way too difficult for consumers to fix errors on a credit report. The Federal Reserve is also on the hot seat after it was supposed to have issued rules four year ago detailing how to correct such errors. But the Reserve hasn't issued those rules because it's in cahoots with the banks. The last thing the banks want to do is lose money if you can fix errors on your credit report. Think about it: The banks and insurance companies have an advantage when you have errors on your report. You'll get a lower credit score and they can give you higher price quotes on loans and insurance coverage. We're talking here about an industry that is verging on being almost purposely dishonest.

USA Today recently did a story on how the major credit bureaus lobby state lawmakers to block credit freeze laws. Such laws allow consumers to put a hold on their accounts after their identities have been stolen. Thankfully, more than 30 states now have credit freeze laws despite the bureaus' best efforts. Now the bureaus even want Congress to outlaw all existing credit freeze laws. This is about money, plain and simple. Every time a freeze happens, that means the bureaus can't profit off the dossiers they collect of people's information. On an interesting note, very few consumers are actually using credit freezing for protection when they have the option. That's probably because they're afraid of alienating the bureaus should they need credit in the future. Some states even have "quick thaw" laws on the books. Those laws allow you to use a secret code for single transactions after a credit freeze. You can then immediately re-freeze your credit. Retailers like that because it still allows people to make impulse buys. In time, Clark believes that all 50 states will have freeze and thaw laws. But instead of fighting the push for these laws, shouldn't the credit bureaus be helping to prevent ID theft?