Equifax removed the $125 claim payout option after millions submitted claims • Hacker News Board

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

#401

Post by rubyskills » Thu, Aug 01, 2019, 1:59 PM UTC

p49k wrote: post #300

g051051 wrote: post #181

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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…

Credit checks are often required in job applications and almost always when renting a home; it’s not like you can opt out of those.

The tenant pool in lower income areas tend to have more issues. This is why landlords require background checks, pay stubs, credit score, references etc. Even start all of this, you can still get horrible tenants, but it certainly decreases the likelihood by a huge margin.

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

#402

Post by p49k » Thu, Aug 01, 2019, 2:06 PM UTC

g051051 wrote: post #384

p49k wrote: post #300

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Credit checks are often required in job applications and almost always when renting a home; it’s not like you can opt out of those.

They check all kinds of things, not just credit. Criminal record, job history, salary history, education, etc. How much of that should a prospective employer be "allowed" to check before deciding to hire you? Or a renter check before letting you live in their house? In both cases, they are taking on real risk. How else can they reduce that risk, without doing checks?

That’s beside the point of my post, which was to counter the claim that essentially stated, “you are only opted in to credit bureau tracking because you made the choice to take advantage of a product that is not essential in life”

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

#403

Post by pas » Thu, Aug 01, 2019, 2:06 PM UTC

elcomet wrote: post #378

fluffything wrote: post #364

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I'm also a human being from planet earth, and if I'm ok with paying X in cash to buy something, and the other persons offers me paying it in interest-free rates, it would be stupid for me not to. Worst case, I move the cash to a 2% interest rate bank account and let it sit there. Best case, there are other investments I can make now with that capital, and end up paying less overall for whatever I was buying because h…

In this case they make they money with people that forget about it, or do it late and pay huge premiums. I don't want to encourage this business model, that's why I don't do it.

No, they offer the credit to incentivize you to make the purchase right now, don't think about how to pay it now, because ... you can just pay it over a year.

And it's perfectly okay for example if you just bought a new flat and you're broke as fuck, because you spent all your cash on must-repair stuff, like getting the plumbing in order, but you also fancy a new bed, because you have none, so interest free bed it is!

Of course if you barely make enough to live month-to-month, then it's unlikely you'll be able to pay the monthly installments of the loan. (And usually you'll be declined even the in store zero-interest loan too.)

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

#404

Post by nostrademons » Thu, Aug 01, 2019, 2:11 PM UTC

buttcoinslol wrote: post #372

nostrademons wrote: post #142

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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…

You can eliminate credit score swings by never generating a credit card statement with a balance. You can do this by paying your card off prior to the statement date. I spend between $1000-$2000 on credit cards a month and collectively I generate statements with less than $10 spread across 4 cards. My credit score is rock solid from month to month. If you have six figures of liquid assets (what 0.1% debt vs liquid as…

We usually just set all our cards on autopay-in-full and forget about it. Is there a way to have them autopay before the statement date, or do you need to proactively check every month and make a payment right before the statement date?

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

#405

Post by pas » Thu, Aug 01, 2019, 2:19 PM UTC

ubermonkey wrote: post #391

gregcrv wrote: post #365

Earlier quoted context omitted.

In the US you still have to provide the same amount of paper work for large loans like mortgages or for renting an apartment even though they already have all the information they need.

I wouldn't compare the paperwork involved in a mortgage to the fairly simple rental applications I've seen.

Hm, here (Hungary) landlords just ask for a deposit (usually ~2 month in advance), no credit is involved.

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

#406

Post by Spivak » Thu, Aug 01, 2019, 2:40 PM UTC

mattacular wrote: post #325

Sacho wrote: post #312

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Er... this is exactly how it works in developing / third-world countries. My parents managed to obtain a loan for their first apartment thanks to my grandparents offering their house as colllateral. This is how pretty much everyone from my parents' generation got their first apartment. Credit pretty much didn't exist in my parents' generation - loans were generally reserved for houses and cars, because of the strict…

That is hardly relevant to this discussion about modern United States economy and society. Your story even involves needing grandparents who own property to use as collateral.

I think it's a good argument that you shouldn't need to do this but like everyone my age got their first car loan and apartment with their parents cosigning. It's super relevant to the the US economy today.

It's possible to get credit without someone else but you'll get an absolutely terrible interest rate -- if you have someone in your life with good credit that trusts you (like family) you're leaving money on the table by not 'borrowing' their good credit.

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

#407

Post by calny » Thu, Aug 01, 2019, 2:40 PM UTC

harryh wrote: post #106

munk-a wrote: post #73

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Also a question for anyone law aware - Is it possible to pursue a second class action suite against Equifax as a group separate from the initial suite with the assumption that the initial suite was negotiated in bad faith?

Given that it's extremely likely that the number of people who opt out will be quite small, it's hard to imagine such an undertaking getting off the ground.

Class action lawyer here and respectfully disagree. "Numerosity" of members is a class action prerequisite, but it's usually met if over 40 class members exist. In this huge (over 100m ppl), controversial settlement, well over 40 people will likely opt out, so "numerosity" shouldn't be a problem.

The bigger question is whether the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure (FRCPs) allow a second class action, by individuals that opted out of a prior settlement on the same issue. Judges have disagreed about how to answer that question--some have forbade the second class action, while others have allowed it. For example, compare In re Bridgestone/Firestone, 333 F.3d at 769 ("And a person who opts out receives the right to go it alone, not to launch a competing class action.") with In re Baldwin-United, 105 F.R.D. at 481 ("[P]laintiffs can opt out of a settlement class and pursue their litigation goals either individually or as another putative class.").

I think the correct answer is to allow a second class action. The FRCPs say nothing about an opt-out forfeiting any rights, including the right to bring a class action. Further, the FRCPs state that they "should be construed ... to secure the just, speedy, and inexpensive determination of every action," and allowing a second class is inexpensive compared to requiring numerous individual lawsuits by opt-outs.

There are other arguments, counterarguments, other relevant cases, and more nuanced issues involved, but hopefully this helps.

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

#408

Post by tk75x » Thu, Aug 01, 2019, 2:41 PM UTC

lunchables wrote: post #370

donaltroddyn wrote: post #316

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> In Europe, you as a private person just don't know it and don't have access to your own rating. But you are likely to be rated anyways.. In the E.U., there are no private organisations who can process your personal data without making it available to you on request. In Ireland, there's a state-run Central Credit Register, to which lenders must submit any consumer credit agreement above €200, and which they must che…

In the US you can request your credit score once per year from each credit rating angecy at no cost.

The thing you can request once per year from annualcreditreport is your credit report, which doesn't include your score. Your score is accessible for free from websites like creditkarma or through most credit card online accounts, usually once a month although I have seen ones which update twice a month.

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

#409

Post by nemosaltat » Thu, Aug 01, 2019, 2:53 PM UTC

It looks like you can request that Equifax mail you a claim form. They require a name and email, and for some reason the mailing address is an optional field.

It doesn’t seem they do any validation to see if you’re affected. Why would they? Pretty much everyone who might check, is affected. If every American requested a mailed form, the postage costs could exceed $150M

The fun part is, there doesn’t seem to be a limit to the number of times you can request this mailed form. Further, the email address field also accepts formats such as fuckequifax+01@gmail.com, so it would seem you can request the form multiple times, using a single email account.

This seems ripe for some scripted shenanigans and I intend to play around after work.

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

#410

Post by jdietrich » Thu, Aug 01, 2019, 2:57 PM UTC

vasco wrote: post #356

jdietrich wrote: post #327

Earlier quoted context omitted.

>No national ID, so identity theft is easier We don't want national identity cards; the Blair government tried to introduce them in 2006 and failed due to massive public opposition. We think it's a bit weird that other EU nationals are so tolerant of the government having a massive centralised database tied to a single token. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Identity_Cards_Act_2006 >For a long time, no pin code on credi…

You have drivers licenses and bank cards and passports already. Having a national ID just makes a bunch of stuff easier and identity theft harder.

A national ID card is a single point of failure. If I need to verify my ID for something important, I'll usually be asked for two forms of ID documents which may be subject to additional verification.