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Equifax removed the $125 claim payout option after millions submitted claims

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Re: Equifax removed the $125 claim payout option after millions submitted claims

#151

Post by mikeash »

throwawaycert wrote: post #101
brazzledazzle wrote: post #97

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I’m suddenly reminded of the ratings used to fuel the subprime mortgage crisis.

That was something subtly different. The banks more or less knew they were taking poor risks, the problem is it wasn't their risk to take . They quietly packaged these bad mortgages along with others and resold the mess to less sophisticated investors (like pension plans). Then the bubble burst, the well dried up, and banks started collapsing. It wasn't a mismanagement of risk, it was criminal fraud writ large.

I would argue that credit bureaus leaking all your information to criminals and then charging you money to protect you from those criminals is also criminal fraud writ large.

Re: Equifax removed the $125 claim payout option after millions submitted claims

#152

Post by OrgNet »

I opted for the credit monitoring and later my wife opted for the $125... since we have all the same accounts, we should be covered either way. But how do we check the status of the credit monitoring? I didn't receive any emails or anything...

Re: Equifax removed the $125 claim payout option after millions submitted claims

#153

Post by jrockway »

I just submitted my claim and it let me pick the $125 option. All I see on the linked website is that they added an FAQ saying that everyone will get less money if I ask for the $125 and that free credit monitoring will add up to being worth more than that.

I don't believe them. So we'll see. I already have credit monitoring from another breach.

Re: Equifax removed the $125 claim payout option after millions submitted claims

#155

Post by mehrdadn »

jrockway wrote: post #153

I just submitted my claim and it let me pick the $125 option. All I see on the linked website is that they added an FAQ saying that everyone will get less money if I ask for the $125 and that free credit monitoring will add up to being worth more than that. I don't believe them. So we'll see. I already have credit monitoring from another breach.

It's not just the monitoring that they're saying is worth more than that, it's the monitoring plus the $1M insurance.

Re: Equifax removed the $125 claim payout option after millions submitted claims

#156

Post by harryh »

unreal37 wrote: post #130
harryh wrote: post #37

I don't believe that the title of this post is correct. The link in that tweet is to ftc.gov not equifax.com. This makes me think that the FTC, not equifax, was the party that removed the option.

It's not removed. Just not recommended.

Indeed, that would be a 2nd incorrect thing about the title.

Re: Equifax removed the $125 claim payout option after millions submitted claims

#157

Post by mikeash »

1f60c wrote: post #13
noodlesUK wrote: post #6

Surely the FTC and Equifax saw this coming? 150m people were included in the breach. Only 31m USD was allocated to give anyone who claimed 125 USD? How on earth did they do this math?

Maybe they didn't expect most people to follow up on this?

What’s more likely: that they didn’t realize that more than 0.1% of the 150 million people affected might sign up for this, or that they don’t give a shit?

This all sounds terrible but there are going to be zero consequences.

Re: Equifax removed the $125 claim payout option after millions submitted claims

#158

Post by throwawaycert »

nostrademons wrote: post #142
throwawaycert wrote: post #60

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Credit scores change constantly. What your 80 point drop told creditors is "This person might not have enough money to pay their bills, or is careless or forgetful.". You are perceived as higher risk because, statistically, you are a higher risk. Those of us who maintain excellent credit do it in part by making sure our money gets where it's supposed to. I check online to make sure payments post, or hand in payments…

I was surprised how much they change constantly, for silly things like how much balance you have on your credit cards. My wife & I both have excellent credit scores, and we pay all of our bills in full every month. Nevertheless, I've noticed a ~50 point swing in credit scores from month-to-month, all dependent on whether airline tickets, furniture, or charitable contributions happened to make it onto this month's bil…

It's not that weird. If your score is, say, 750, 50 points is about a 7 percent change. My finances very easily vary 7% from month to month!

50 points also isn't likely to make much difference, especially if your score is already good. Loans basically go off tables. Essentially if you're between A and B, you get this rate for this losan, C and D gets this rate, etc.

Once you're past 700, you're already getting good interest rates and banks will fall over themselves to loan you money if your income supports the loan size. When I was at 780, the loan officer couldn't give me a lower rate on a mortgage - I was already getting a fraction of a percent over prime.

Re: Equifax removed the $125 claim payout option after millions submitted claims

#159

Post by mehrdadn »

lioeters wrote: post #128
harryh wrote: post #44

My understanding was that the equifax settlement was for 6-700 million, yet this page indicates that there is only 31 million set aside to cover cash payouts to class members. I'm curious about where the rest of the money went. Does anyone know?

According to the New York Times: "Almost half the settlement — $300 million — will go toward American consumers who were harmed by the breach, according to settlement documents filed in federal court in Atlanta. The company also agreed to pay $275 million in fines to end investigations by the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, the Federal Trade Commission and 48 states, plus the District of Columbia and Puerto Ric…

Why would monitoring 147M victims cost $2B? Isn't a computer doing the monitoring at least until something actually pops up?

Re: Equifax removed the $125 claim payout option after millions submitted claims

#160

Post by xvector »

thaumasiotes wrote: post #118
munk-a wrote: post #62

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I'm aware this is legally the case, but I think this is yet another sign that default opt-in isn't a legitimate agreement, society has become pretty litigious and I think some of the understanding around default opt-ins during enrollment for other services and third party data sales need to be revisited. I find them to be highly unethical and to generally result in a contract negotiated without compensation and any c…

> society has become pretty litigious and I think some of the understanding around default opt-ins during enrollment for other services and third party data sales need to be revisited Are you saying these two ideas are related? If so, I don't quite see the connection -- can you expand a bit?

Credit reporting companies should burn.
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