Accessible online credit reports

Journal of Visual Impairment & Blindness, June, 2008

By October 31, 2008, the three major consumer credit reporting companies in the United States--Equifax, Experian and TransUnion--will offer free accessible credit reports and related materials to individuals with visual impairments from the web site AnnualCreditReport.com. These accessible reports will help people with visual impairments fight identity theft by enabling them to independently monitor and review their own credit reports.

The online reports will meet the standards established by the Web Accessibility Initiative of the World Wide Web Consortium. By December 31, 2008, a consumer who is visually impaired will be able to request a hardcopy of his or her free credit report in braille, large print, and audio CD. Accessible alternatives to the visual CAPTCHAs (Completely Automated Public Turing Test to Tell Computers and Humans Apart) that are used to provide secure online forms are already available for consumers with visual impairments who visit the web site. For more information, contact: Lainey Feingold, Law Office of Lainey Feingold; phone: 510-548-5062; e-mail: <lf@lflegal.com>; web site: <http://lflegal.com/2008/04/creditreport-agreement>; or Annual Credit Report Request Service, P.O. Box 105283, Atlanta, GA 30348-5283; web sites: , <www.equifax. com>, <www.experian.com>, or .