Free Annual Credit Reports for the Blind and Visually Impaired
The three national credit bureaus have committed to improving access for blind or visually impaired consumers to obtain their free annual credit reports online.
According to a press release on April 23, 2008 , Equifax, Experian and Trans Union in conjunction with the American Council for the Blind and the California Council of the Blind have begun work to make the AnnualCreditReport.com website more easily accessible for those with visual impairments. The improvements are expected to be available by October 31, 2008.
The goal is to make the free annual credit reports and related information in formats accessible by the blind online, and by the end of the year, to also make credit reports available in Braille format at no charge to eligible consumers who cannot view print reports.
Viewing credit reports and related information online will be developed in accordance with the Web Accessibility Initiative of the World Wide Web Consortium to include accommodations for blind computer users who use screen reader and/or magnification tools on their computers and may rely on their keyboards instead of their mouse.
American consumers are entitled to copies of their credit reports for free once a year according to provisions in the Fair and Accurate Transactions Act of 2006 (FACT Act). According to the FACT Act the credit bureaus were also delegated with the responsibility of creating a central website www.annualcreditreport.com which provides consumers with information about obtaining their free reports. Consumers may obtain their free credit reports online, by phone and by mail.
