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Equifax Faces Multibillion-Dollar Lawsuit Over Hack

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Re: Equifax Faces Multibillion-Dollar Lawsuit Over Hack

#71

Post by Chaebixi »

hedora wrote: post #17

I'd love to see the $70B number pan out (though $500 per person is less than the damages, I think) -- Equifax is a $17B company, and would presumably stop existing if that happened. On the other hand, these things always settle out of court, and Equifax certainly won't settle the suit for more than they're worth. I said it elsewhere, but I think the right response is to opt out of the class, and sue for $1000 in smal…

> I said it elsewhere, but I think the right response is to opt out of the class, and sue for $1000 in small claims court. If ~15% of the class does this, they are out of business, and lawyers don't get a dime of the $1000.

IANAL, but can't you only sue for actual damages not hypothetical damages? According to this [1] your identity with SSN is only worth $30 on the black market. To get $1000 out of them you'd probably need to have your identity actually stolen and prove it was stolen from Equifax.

[1] http://www.bankrate.com/finance/credit/what-your-identity-is...

Re: Equifax Faces Multibillion-Dollar Lawsuit Over Hack

#72

Post by lepht »

cmiles74 wrote: post #46
bishnu wrote: post #37

It seems that checking to see if you're affected by the Equifax breach waives your right to sue Equifax: https://techcrunch.com/2017/09/07/i-called-equifax-to-find-o... No idea how ironclad such a clause would be,k though.

At this point they will tell you if your effected and then offer to enroll you in their complimentary "TrustedID" program. If you choose to enroll, that is when you waive your right to join any class action lawsuit.

This isn't true. Just by entering in your information to check if you're affected, you'll be enrolled automatically if you were indeed affected.

Really scummy behavior.

Re: Equifax Faces Multibillion-Dollar Lawsuit Over Hack

#73

Post by Chaebixi »

nashashmi wrote: post #55
hedora wrote: post #17

I'd love to see the $70B number pan out (though $500 per person is less than the damages, I think) -- Equifax is a $17B company, and would presumably stop existing if that happened. On the other hand, these things always settle out of court, and Equifax certainly won't settle the suit for more than they're worth. I said it elsewhere, but I think the right response is to opt out of the class, and sue for $1000 in smal…

The ideal way to recompensate $500 or $1000 dollars is to sign up everyone for credit/id theft protection, for say, 5 years. I don't know where else they get their revenue from, but free credit protection will hurt them significantly in the long run.

I've heard that those credit monitoring plans are a joke, and provide very little value besides the simulation of "doing something."

Re: Equifax Faces Multibillion-Dollar Lawsuit Over Hack

#75

Post by Veratyr »

leesalminen wrote: post #41
mlrtime wrote: post #29

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Could we create a service that automates most of the work required to sue in SCC?

I'd pay $20 for a service that can walk me through what to do/say, templates legal forms, etc. I would absolutely take the time to sue Equifax in small claims court.

California has a convenient free web page that tells you most of the steps: http://www.courts.ca.gov/1007.htm

This has all the forms and a link to what to do with them: http://www.courts.ca.gov/9744.htm

Re: Equifax Faces Multibillion-Dollar Lawsuit Over Hack

#76

Post by e59d134d »

hellogoodbyeeee wrote: post #22
redm wrote: post #5

I'm not excited about this class action; If they win, the individual payout will be almost nothing ($10?). The lawyers are the only ones who will really "make out" with 10's of millions in fees. There is also a disproportionate effect in that a small portion of the 143 million affected will have a large impact, i.e., "identity theft" while most will be unaffected. I think a fund setup to help those who are directly a…

I don't really care where the money goes. I think that having one catastrophic event (huge lawsuits or fines leading to bankruptcy) for a corporate entity because of negligent security measures may lead other board rooms to move security measures up their priority list.

I don't think that would matter either. Executives will get golden parachutes and/or get jobs elsewhere doing same thing.

I think only solution is criminal charges/jail time against higher ups who prioritized profits over security.

Re: Equifax Faces Multibillion-Dollar Lawsuit Over Hack

#77

Post by inerte »

mbesto wrote: post #11

Anyone have a good source for an unbiased (i.e. not trying to sell me something) "what exactly should I do" now? File for the class action? Freeze my accounts? Get identity protection?

Doing a credit freeze is a good idea regardless of the recent events: https://www.consumer.ftc.gov/articles/0497-credit-freeze-faq...

Re: Equifax Faces Multibillion-Dollar Lawsuit Over Hack

#78

Post by zmarty »

mcbits wrote: post #51
wyldfire wrote: post #4

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Gee, does that automatically settle the claim? I suppose it only would if there were some kind of agreement you make when you apply for the service. I take some mild comfort knowing that > 90% of US adults likely have been impacted (wild guess at US folks who have ever applied for credit -- or it's probably a good amount smaller number if the scope is ever-requested-a-credit-report).

I'm not an Equifax customer and don't plan to become one by signing up for anything, so I haven't seen the terms, but I would fully expect to see some kind of indemnification in there.

You are a "customer" if you want it or not.

Re: Equifax Faces Multibillion-Dollar Lawsuit Over Hack

#79

Post by creeble »

thieving_magpie wrote: post #10
atom_enger wrote: post #3

The super fucked up part is that it automatically signs you up for their "Credit protection" if you use their site to see if you were impacted. Doesn't ask if you'd like to, just says "Thanks for signing up, your year starts now!"

Actually, since I'm affected, I got a different message. It's even worse. They gave me a date in September that I have to remember to come back and sign up for. It's the equivalent of grabbing a ticket in the deli line. Look at this text: "Please be sure to mark your calendar as you will not receive additional reminders. On or after your enrollment date, please return to faq.trustedidpremier.com and click the link to…

I got the same message, but nowhere did I read "you have been affected". Is this just implied?

I cancelled my Equifax credit watch account about 5 months ago, when they decided to raise rates.

Never have I hoped so much for a business to be sued out of existence. And hopefully their inside traders will get jail time (yeah, right).

Re: Equifax Faces Multibillion-Dollar Lawsuit Over Hack

#80

Post by jpambrun »

Chaebixi wrote: post #71
hedora wrote: post #17

I'd love to see the $70B number pan out (though $500 per person is less than the damages, I think) -- Equifax is a $17B company, and would presumably stop existing if that happened. On the other hand, these things always settle out of court, and Equifax certainly won't settle the suit for more than they're worth. I said it elsewhere, but I think the right response is to opt out of the class, and sue for $1000 in smal…

> I said it elsewhere, but I think the right response is to opt out of the class, and sue for $1000 in small claims court. If ~15% of the class does this, they are out of business, and lawyers don't get a dime of the $1000. IANAL, but can't you only sue for actual damages not hypothetical damages? According to this [1] your identity with SSN is only worth $30 on the black market. To get $1000 out of them you'd probab…

Stress is a damage and mental health is valuable.
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