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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

#121

Post by thaumasiotes »

lakjdsflajk wrote: post #95
greedo wrote: post #53

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Unfortunately, most of us did opt in. If you look at the credit agreements we sign when we buy cars, open credit accounts, enter into a mortgage, we give the lender the privilege to share our data with these credit reporting companies.

Yeah, I guess you could take it further and say we all opted-in to be screwed over in various ways throughout life when we were born too. Doesn't mean we shouldn't fight back against it.

> you could take it further and say we all opted-in to be screwed over in various ways throughout life when we were born too

This is already a widely accepted theory usually called the "Social Contract".

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

#122

Post by cactus2093 »

paulgb wrote: post #108
ma2rten wrote: post #32

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Probably they assumed that most people don't have credit monitoring yet and only a few people would go for the $125 option.

My guess is they start asking people who already signed up for the $125 for the proof of their credit monitoring. The settlement agreement and the terms we agreed to when accepting the $125 allowed them to do this, and they would probably see the number of claims go down.

FWIW Credit Karma just sent out an email that they qualify as a credit monitoring service for this purpose.

I would guess the kind of person who is paying enough attention and was willing to spend the few minutes it takes to sign up for this settlement right away, is also using some kind of service like Credit Karma (or Mint might qualify now as well). So a lot of these people might actually have it covered.

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

#123

Post by unreal37 »

irrational wrote: post #110
paulgb wrote: post #102

Earlier quoted context omitted.

They are paying their competitor, Experian, to provide the first four years of credit monitoring. They then provide an extra six years of credit monitoring themselves, but they do not get paid anything from the settlement fund for this.

If that is true, then where is the other 90+ million dollars going? Has Experian already been written a check for 90+ million dollars?

The settlement is quite ridiculous actually.

$200 million in fines to the states and federal government. $300-$500 million to reimburse consumers for actual expenses they incurred. And $31 million to anyone otherwise affected.

They could have reduced the fines by 10% and doubled the pool for the general public. lol

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

#124

Post by dragonwriter »

zonidjan wrote: post #63
garmaine wrote: post #41

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Because they would just go out of business and the debt would disappear.

Debts don't simply "disappear" because a company goes out of business. And there already exist nondischargeable debts (like "criminal penalties, fines, and restitution", or "willful and malicious injury caused by debtor", both of which should apply here).

> Debts don't simply "disappear" because a company goes out of business

Yes, they basically do, if it's a limited liability entity (LLC, Corp, etc.) absent the special conditions being met for piercing the corporate veil.

> And there already exist nondischargeable debts

That effects bankruptcy, not termination of the entity with exhaustion of assets leaving unresolved debt. Just like death or individual whose estate is entirely consumed leaving unpaid debt, if no one else is legally liable for the specific debt, it dies with the debtor.

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

#125

Post by harryh »

hcurtiss wrote: post #69
harryh wrote: post #61

Earlier quoted context omitted.

My point is that your prediction is very likely wrong. I was hoping to make $1,000 while making this point, but alas. Next time maybe don't make a prediction you aren't willing to stand behind.

Oh, please. I'm merely emphasizing the point that the promised $125 (and I saw nothing in the way of a qualification when I made my claim), was fantasy from the beginning and likely to be a very small fraction of that amount. That fact is objectionable. Your focus on a turn of phrase is unhelpful and does not contribute to the conversation at hand. HN is better than that.

I am glad that my offer to take you up on your bet has lead you to clarify your position into something less hyperbolic.

Precision is important.

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

#126

Post by mehrdadn »

codernyc16 wrote: post #43
harryh wrote: post #40

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The math behind credit scores is quite good. They're very effective at predicting credit risk.

I had a recent 30 day delinquent payment reduce my credit score by 80 points. And this was because the letter in the mail was mid-delivered. Not that the credit card issuer, nor the credit agencies give two shits. This was after about 5 hours of calls ping-ponging between the two.

This doesn't solve the problem that already happened, but I would take this as a sign that it might not be a bad idea to just opt into e-statements and avoid snail mail. The world is electronic now. If nothing else, you'll at least save some carbon, paper, etc. from being consumed along the way.

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

#127

Post by mnm1 »

Collecting and sharing such data as these companies do should be illegal. Applying for credit, signing up for websites, etc should never imply consent and consent shouldn't be required for such things. We need laws to regulate these out of control data industries before they destroy our society completely as these breaches and the election hacks have already started.

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

#128

Post by lioeters »

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 Rico."

https://www.nytimes.com/2019/07/22/business/equifax-settleme...

According to Equifax's FAQ:

"the total amount available for these alternative payments is $31 million"

So I'm wondering the same thing: what happened to the rest of the amount set aside for the victims, about $270 million?

---

EDIT: Interesting note in the article linked above:

If all 147 million victims of the breach were to take part, the monitoring services would cost Equifax more than $2 billion.

“If people want Equifax to pay more, sign up for credit monitoring,” said Norman E. Siegel, a lawyer representing consumers in the settlement.

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

#129

Post by chiefalchemist »

lakjdsflajk wrote: post #95
greedo wrote: post #53

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Unfortunately, most of us did opt in. If you look at the credit agreements we sign when we buy cars, open credit accounts, enter into a mortgage, we give the lender the privilege to share our data with these credit reporting companies.

Yeah, I guess you could take it further and say we all opted-in to be screwed over in various ways throughout life when we were born too. Doesn't mean we shouldn't fight back against it.

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.

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

#130

Post by unreal37 »

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.
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