The Federal Trade Commission has hit the credit-reporting service Equifax with a $250,000 fine.

Equifax is one of the three credit report services that determine whether you get a loan.

The FTC said Equifax blocked and delayed phone calls from consumers trying to get information about their credit.

The lawsuit settled charges that Equifax did not have sufficient personnel available to answer the toll-free phone number provided on consumers' credit reports. The FTC also said Equifax blocked calls from consumers who wanted to discuss their credit reports.

This is the second fine for Equifax. In 2000, Equifax and the two other credit-reporting agencies paid a $2.5 million fine for the same reason.