About three years ago my husband and I placed a freeze on our credit reports in response to the rise of identity theft. At the time, we understood that we could temporarily lift the freeze when applying for loans. We are now attempting to refinance our mortgage. We've made repeated attempts to unfreeze our Experian report using their online tool. After going through the process of filling out all of the information requested, we get a screen saying the only way to unfreeze the account is by sending confidential identity information (which we were trying to protect) and money through the US mail. They do not provide any way to contact "customer service" to determine why we can't use their online tool. (In fact, there is no information about how to contact a human representative for their company on their web site.) They also don't provide any information about how/when they would let us know that the account is unlocked once they receive all of the paperwork they require. I suspect that, although they claim that you can easily unlock your credit report online, their website is not set up to collect their fee for unlocking your report (although you can certainly purchase their credit report/protection products online). Both Equifax and TransUnion make it possible to charge their unlock fee to a credit card. No fuss, no muss. We are going to the expense of obtaining copies of their required identifications (for example, renewing driver's licenses early so that they show our current address; Colorado lets you write in a new address on the back of the license without renewing). As a result of the delays in being able to provide lenders access to our Experian credit report, we are unable to take advantage of refinancing opportunities, which will result in continued higher mortgage costs.