FRU News · Answers
Credit Frozen? Why the Lender Can't Pull It
Why a frozen or locked credit report blocks a lender, how to lift a freeze and how fast it must come off, and how a lock differs.
48 sec · Captions available on the player · Presented by AI-generated presenters, with every line taken from the FreeRateUpdate page it answers.
Source: FreeRateUpdate answer page, Sept. 29, 2026; federal law
Transcript
This is FreeRateUpdate News. I'm Edmund Ledger. Today's question: why can't a lender pull a frozen or locked credit report?
A freeze or a lock keeps a new lender from seeing your report, soft check included, until you lift it yourself.
You lift it with the bureau that holds the freeze, not through your lender, online, by phone or in the bureau's app.
By law, a freeze has to come off within an hour of an online or phone request, or three business days by mail.
A lock is a product the bureau offers under its own terms, so the law's deadline doesn't cover it.
Once the lender has pulled your report, you can freeze it again right away.
I'm Edmund Ledger, for FreeRateUpdate News.
What the charts show
One on-screen table on lifting a credit freeze. A request online or by phone must be lifted within one hour. A request by mail within three business days. A credit lock follows the bureau's own terms.