If credit agencies use your personal financial records to make their assessment of your credit-worthiness, why is it so hard to get them to freeze or adjust your credit rating when you are the victim of fraud or when some hacker manages to steal that sensitive information?

Good question.

And one that Sen.Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.)—who has proposed legislation making it possible for individual consumers to put a hold on their credit without charge—was left asking in desperation after having this experience of trying to call the credit service giant Equifax on Monday:

Warning: calling @Equifax to freeze your credit takes forever and may not even work. We need the FREE Act so freezes are fast and free. pic.twitter.com/dyYMTcfCiR — Elizabeth Warren (@SenWarren) October 23, 2017

"Warning," wrote Warren in a Facebook post, "from a painfully boring experience: calling Equifax to freeze your credit takes forever and may not even work. Freezing your credit file should be quick and free – that’s why we need to pass the FREE Act."