GCI Communications said Tuesday it’s working to resolves an issue for customers having trouble signing up for the state’s free credit monitoring program and that the problem should be fixed by the afternoon.

The Alaska Department of Health and Social Services is offering free credit monitoring for Alaskans affected by a data breach earlier this year, but when one resident tried to sign up she was told her GCI email address was incompatible with the company’s software. The state has contracted with Identity Theft Guard Solutions, Inc. which does business as IDX.

Juneau resident Colleen Campbell told the Empire Tuesday morning she had run into trouble signing up for IDX’s service and was told by company representatives that GCI’s email server was blocking a crucial verification email the company sends.

[State offers free credit monitoring following data breach]

GCI spokesperson Heather Handyside said in an email Tuesday their team had identified the issue preventing GCI email addresses from signing up for the service.

“We expect the issue to be resolved this afternoon,” Handyside said.

Campbell expressed frustration with the state for the situation.

“How typical of (the state) to set up stuff and not check everything through,” Campbell said.

In an email Tuesday afternoon, DHSS spokesperson Clinton Bennett said the issue was known and both companies were working to resolve the issue.

“There is currently a known issue with the GCI service provider blocking IDX’s emails which is preventing members from completing their account setup. IDX is working with GCI to resolve this issue as quickly as possible,” Bennett said. “In the meantime, Alaskans have the option of using an email account from a different service provider to prevent delays or issues in completing enrollment.”

• Contact reporter Peter Segall at psegall@juneauempire.com. Follow him on Twitter at @SegallJnuEmpire.