Credit Reports for the Blind

Through my observation of the various segments of the Fidelco operation it was very easy to just focus on the main challenge facing all visually impaired people – the lack of vision which impedes their mobility and freedom. Obviously, the diminished lack of independence as a result of vision loss is the most pressing challenge faced by the blind and this fact should be well respected and acknowledged, but this is just the top layer.
Further research led me to a discover another level of issues that result from the loss of sight such as losing favorite hobbies that were once possible with total vision as discussed earlier in the blog, to simple problems that you may not consider on the surface.
One of these issues is dealing with credit reports. How does a visually impaired person read a credit report if the standard production process doesn’t consider the needs of those visually impaired? As of Wednesday, April 24th the leading credit agencies will make on-line reports accessible to the blind through their audio software, according to www.myvisiontest.com.
The new program was coordinated by the American Council for the Blind, its California affiliate and the leading credit reporting agencies in the country, Equifax, Experian and TransUnion. The new program will now include a code contained in the credit reports that will allow a visually impaired person to use their audio software to read the report. Currently all of the credit reports are available on a central site at www.annualcreditreport.com