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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

#211

Post by mehrdadn »

throwawaycert wrote: post #164
mehrdadn wrote: post #119

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> I've had credit card companies call me and straight up say "If you pay this right now over the phone with me and pay the $15 telephone transaction fee, this won't hit your credit report" Does that not qualify as extortion?

The contract you agree to for credit cards or other forms of debt you choose to take on will specify things like late fees and that it's up to the company's discretion whether they report you a late payment to the agencies. If they didn't have this clause, you'd just be complaining that they report everyone indiscriminately rather than giving people a break when it seems appropriate.

> The contract you agree to for credit cards or other forms of debt you choose to take on will specify things like late fees and that it's up to the company's discretion whether they report you a late payment to the agencies. If they didn't have this clause, you'd just be complaining that they report everyone indiscriminately rather than giving people a break when it seems appropriate.

Thanks for making ridiculous assumptions and putting nonsense in my mouth. Nobody opined on anything in the first place. I was merely asking a legal question, because calling someone to demand an immediate payment to avoid direct harm to them sounds an awful lot like extortion, whether I like the approach or not.

If you want to know whether I'm impossible to satisfy or whether I think the company could in fact cut people slack while getting their $15 and avoiding potential extortion, you could just ask me. Yes, I think that's perfectly possible. Call the person up, tell them you'll waive the credit report if they make a payment by the end of the day, and optionally remind them that according to their contract, there is a $15 fee if they pay by phone. There. Now the person gets to spend more than 5 seconds thinking about it to make an informed decision. No need to put nonsense in my mouth.

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

#212

Post by chiefalchemist »

g051051 wrote: post #186
chiefalchemist wrote: post #129

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The credit score is a form of behavior modification tool. Some unseen force defined it, and then imposed it upon us. Comply, ideally excel, or be a social outcast (read: screwed). We had no say. We certinly had no vote. Yet it's a simply ubiquitous tool that cleanly defines the behaviour of some man. A relentless normalized nudge. The Man and his System FTW.

> We had no say. We certinly had no vote. Why should you? It's the credit grantors who use it. They say "when I grant credit to someone with a score of 800, I'm much less likely to lose money. If they have a score of 600, I'm far more likely to lose money." It's their money, your only say is whether you accept their terms or not.

Take a moment to re-read what I said. Give it some thought. It will make more sense when you step back and think broader, and pay less attention to conventional wisdom

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

#213

Post by throwawaycert »

lonelappde wrote: post #201
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…

> statistically, you Is an oxymoron. Statistics exist when "you" is unknown.

"You" have statistics attached to you. Default rates, lifespan, cancer risk. Given people A and B in similar life and financial situations, A or B might defy the statistics that say they'll both pay or default, but they probably won't. The only way a bank or anyone can predict this is statistically.

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

#214

Post by MAGZine »

murat124 wrote: post #210

These are what Equifax offers: - $125 cash, or - Free credit reporting (which is useless in essence) Though I am affected by the breach, considering the inadequate options Equifax is offering I will choose to keep my rights in case I become a victim of identity theft in the future on account of this breach. I hope it doesn't come to that but you never know and if it does I'll sue Equifax to compensate my losses which…

I've considered doing this. Isn't it an easy defence for them to say "there's no way you can attribute the leak to us, case dismissed?"

Actually asking because I had the same thought as you.

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

#215

Post by throwawaycert »

mehrdadn wrote: post #211
throwawaycert wrote: post #164

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The contract you agree to for credit cards or other forms of debt you choose to take on will specify things like late fees and that it's up to the company's discretion whether they report you a late payment to the agencies. If they didn't have this clause, you'd just be complaining that they report everyone indiscriminately rather than giving people a break when it seems appropriate.

> The contract you agree to for credit cards or other forms of debt you choose to take on will specify things like late fees and that it's up to the company's discretion whether they report you a late payment to the agencies. If they didn't have this clause, you'd just be complaining that they report everyone indiscriminately rather than giving people a break when it seems appropriate. Thanks for making ridiculous as…

But you're putting nonsense in the creditor's mouth. You don't know what the conversation was like, you only have the summary of one person who feels wronged.

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

#216

Post by murat124 »

MAGZine wrote: post #214
murat124 wrote: post #210

These are what Equifax offers: - $125 cash, or - Free credit reporting (which is useless in essence) Though I am affected by the breach, considering the inadequate options Equifax is offering I will choose to keep my rights in case I become a victim of identity theft in the future on account of this breach. I hope it doesn't come to that but you never know and if it does I'll sue Equifax to compensate my losses which…

I've considered doing this. Isn't it an easy defence for them to say "there's no way you can attribute the leak to us, case dismissed?" Actually asking because I had the same thought as you.

There's no proof Equifax or court can provide that my information was leaked from a source other than Equifax.

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

#217

Post by Mtinie »

g051051 wrote: post #200
paulddraper wrote: post #196

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I don't recall $125 requiring actual previously lost time.

I could be mistaken...I thought there was a clause allowing you to claim up to $125 without having to provide detailed breakdowns of the time and expenses.

You could claim up to $20k due to provable loss in addition to the $125 due (if you had existing credit monitoring).

Edit: I missed my final line, “So you are right.”

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

#218

Post by dreamcompiler »

toomuchtodo wrote: post #203
lonelappde wrote: post #193

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The entire model of consumer loans is predicated on everyone else paying extra money to cover defaulters.

It's one thing to price default into the risk of a note (this is cost of business as a lending institution). It's entirely another thing to price in egregious, arguably fraudulent business practices such as not properly verifying who you're lending to.

It's perfectly reasonable if you know there's no downside risk because the government not only will not punish you, but taxpayers will bail you out. Welcome to what they call capitalism these days.

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

#219

Post by amluto »

g051051 wrote: post #181
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…

This is not "default opt-in", like having the "Subscribe to our email newsletter" checked on an online order form. The sharing of credit worthiness information is the cornerstone of your ability to get credit. It's not a hidden extra, it's not something you can choose not to get, there's no "opt out". It's a condition of doing business with the credit grantor. It's like opting out of having a driver's license. If you…

> The sharing of credit worthiness information is the cornerstone of your ability to get credit. It's not a hidden extra, it's not something you can choose not to get, there's no "opt out". It's a condition of doing business with the credit grantor.

No, this is only true because the law does not meaningfully restrict abusive contracts. Sure, a credit card issuer should [0] be able to ask some agency for information on your credit risk. It does not follow at all that the issuer should have permission to give information back to the agency.

[0] Even this is debatable. One might reasonably argue that the use of inscrutable conditions for the issuance of credit cards is discriminatory and should, as a matter of public policy, be disallowed. As a simple example of how this could work, all credit card issuers could be required to instead issue prepaid cards with identical terms, benefits, and usage from a merchant’s perspective, and credit could be an opt-in extra feature.

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

#220

Post by toomuchtodo »

dreamcompiler wrote: post #218
toomuchtodo wrote: post #203

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It's one thing to price default into the risk of a note (this is cost of business as a lending institution). It's entirely another thing to price in egregious, arguably fraudulent business practices such as not properly verifying who you're lending to.

It's perfectly reasonable if you know there's no downside risk because the government not only will not punish you, but taxpayers will bail you out. Welcome to what they call capitalism these days.

One should not be surprised when their economically rational but morally reprehensible business practice is regulated away.
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