View All News Releases Experian Pulls Plug on Online Credit Reports Credit report giant Experian Inc. shut down a new Internet service Friday morning after an undetermined number of consumer credit reports were electronically delivered to the wrong people. The Orange-based company, which had been criticized by some consumer rights how to check credit report New Jersey groups for launching the service earlier this week, said it was not a security violation but a software glitch that caused the problem.
But some say Friday's problem proves there is no guaranteed privacy on the Internet and that it's foolish to put how to check credit report New Jersey confidential information about individuals online.
It shows that they have not worked out all the problems," said Pamela Pressley, an attorney with California Public Interest Research Group in Los Angeles. "We would hope they don't reopen this program until they work things out.
And we think they should have a system so people can opt out of having their information available electronically." Marty Abrams, Experian's vice president for information policy, acknowledged Friday afternoon that the Federal Trade Commission already has asked how to check credit report New Jersey for a report on the incident and said the company has replied in how to check credit report New Jersey writing and in a telephone conversation. Abrams also said Experian, formerly TRW Information Systems & Services, has voluntarily closed down the site while it reviews the operating software. credit history free The reports were transmitted after more than 2,000 people requested copies of their personal credit how to check credit report New Jersey files in an 11-hour period that ended at 9 a.m. Only 213 reports were delivered online, he said, and the company is still trying to how to check credit report New Jersey determine how many of them were sent to the wrong people. "We are calling everyone by telephone to see how many got the wrong file." The how to check credit report New Jersey problem occurred when Experian's newly developed software for managing the Internet request site failed to disperse reports in the order in which the requests had been taken. "It's like a fast-food restaurant with 20 lines," said how to check credit report New Jersey Abrams.
"People place their order and step aside, so the next person in line can step up to the counter. If the order takers get overwhelmed, they can start giving the people waiting in line the wrong how to check credit report New Jersey orders." Experian started the program after discussing it with consumer and privacy groups and the FTC, he said. one a year free credit report
The company designed a six-step security system that requires consumers to provide their name, address, Social Security number, birth date and two credit account numbers in order how to check credit report New Jersey to receive an electronic copy of their credit reports. The company also has had an electronic delivery system for business credit reports in place for months, how to check credit report New Jersey Abrams said.
The business reports don'how to check credit report New Jersey t raise the privacy issues or pose the security problems that have accompanied how to check credit report New Jersey the effort to put consumer reports how to check credit report New Jersey online, he said. Experian is one of how to check credit report New Jersey the world's largest credit information providers. The company was formed in 1996 when it was spun off by TRW and merged with CCN Group, Europe's largest credit reference agency. Experian launched its Internet site with no fanfare Wednesday evening. Abrams said the "soft launch" was ordered so the company how to check credit report New Jersey could quickly find and fix any problems not identified in prelaunch testing before how to check credit report New Jersey heavy volume created a nightmare.
News reports about the new service apparently caught consumers' attention and prompted the deluge of requests that caused Friday's how to check credit report New Jersey breakdown. credit report number Before Experian launched the site, the company had received more than 20,how to check credit report New Jersey 000 consumer requests to provide credit reports on the Internet, Abrams said. "We are in a market driven by immediacy," Abrams said. "We need to respond to that demand for immediacy in a secure and safe manner." Under Experian's now-delayed program, consumers pay a fee--charged via the Internet to one of their credit cards--for an electronic report that provides information about their loans, payment patterns, past addresses and other details.
