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Equifax doesn't want consumers to get their $125

nytimes.com

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Re: Equifax doesn't want consumers to get their $125

#91

Post by aloknnikhil »

harryh wrote: post #61

The title of this post (which, admittedly, was taken from the NYTimes) isn't really correct. The terms of the settlement have been set. Equifax's financial outlay is fixed. All of the post settlement divvying up of the funds is being administered by the government bodies who negotiated the settlement, not Equifax. Equifax's desires about how the money gets divvied up at this point are irrelevant.

You're right. The title is not very accurate.

The text from the Equifax Settlement Administrator

> Your Equifax Claim: You Must Act by October 15, 2019 or Your Claim for Alternative Compensation Will Be Denied. The amount you receive in connection with your alternative compensation claim may be significantly reduced depending on how many valid claims are ultimately submitted by other class members for this relief. Based on the number of potentially valid claims that have been submitted to date, payments of these benefits likely will be substantially lowered and will be distributed on a proportional basis if the settlement becomes final. Depending on the number of valid claims that are filed, the amount you receive for alternative compensation may be a small percentage of your initial claim.

That text was just them fear mongering. Even the FTC urged to opt for the credit monitoring instead through more fear inducing statements.

> You can still choose the cash option on the claim form, but you will be disappointed with the amount you receive and you won’t get the free credit monitoring.

> https://www.ftc.gov/enforcement/cases-proceedings/refunds/eq...

But, if this is how the whole process is "administered", then I guess you might as well not have any hopes of seeing the compensation.

EDIT: Corrected to identify the authority of the email correctly.

Re: Equifax doesn't want consumers to get their $125

#92

Post by criley2 »

beepboopbeep wrote: post #89
TheSoftwareGuy wrote: post #81

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Do we really know for sure that the other bureau's are really any better, and not just lucky at this point?

I swear this is the motto of hacker news. "Everything sucks and you're wasting your time trying to change it" - HN

Not just hacker news, it's pervasive in any community where people who value intelligence meet. It's because cynicism is a lazy shortcut to a 'smart opinion'.

How do we sound smart with zero effort? Well we don't want to be gullible (everything is good and fair!) so we do the opposite (everything is corrupt and bad!).

I really wish it were more than that.

Re: Equifax doesn't want consumers to get their $125

#93

Post by avita1 »

delinka wrote: post #53
drcode wrote: post #50

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Yeah, instead of getting my lender to give me a better interest rate or a discount on fees, I'm going to instead use my negotiating leverage to make sure Equifax makes $20 less revenue.

Might as well not even vote. Your one votes can't turn the tide.

If you're in the position to be buying a house, voting is basically free. Ignoring a credit score when applying for a mortgage can be considerably more expensive.

Re: Equifax doesn't want consumers to get their $125

#94

Post by [deleted] »

aloknnikhil wrote: post #91
harryh wrote: post #61

The title of this post (which, admittedly, was taken from the NYTimes) isn't really correct. The terms of the settlement have been set. Equifax's financial outlay is fixed. All of the post settlement divvying up of the funds is being administered by the government bodies who negotiated the settlement, not Equifax. Equifax's desires about how the money gets divvied up at this point are irrelevant.

You're right. The title is not very accurate. The text from the Equifax Settlement Administrator > Your Equifax Claim: You Must Act by October 15, 2019 or Your Claim for Alternative Compensation Will Be Denied. The amount you receive in connection with your alternative compensation claim may be significantly reduced depending on how many valid claims are ultimately submitted by other class members for this relief. Ba…

[deleted]

Re: Equifax doesn't want consumers to get their $125

#95

Post by crispyambulance »

amelius wrote: post #38
rundmc wrote: post #20

In an ideal world, a white-hat would write a script that uses all of the hacked data to apply for the settlement on behalf of the hacked users so that the affected users don't have to individually work out how to hack Equifax's claims process.

In an ideal world, a government agency would fine Equifax the full amount, and customers could claim their money from them instead.

Or better, liquidate Equifax entirely to demonstrate that there are consequences that a fancy law firm can't mitigate.

I realize that's wishful thinking. Of course they're going to get away with paying what is effectively a parking ticket. Nor will any of their executives face any meaningful repercussions.

Re: Equifax doesn't want consumers to get their $125

#96

Post by iliketosleep »

asdfman123 wrote: post #72
iliketosleep wrote: post #48

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It appears that the higher you go up the corporate ladder, the more it is about connections rather than actual knowledge, to the point that knowledge carries almost zero weight and connections are everything. A lot of companies are like this, and most of them (including Equifax) are still going strong. Meritocracy at the bottom and nepotism at the top seems to be the deal. Anyway, the last line of the article sums it…

This is the way the corporate world has always worked. The problem is when this world collides with software, where actually knowing what the hell you're doing matters.

> This is the way the corporate world has always worked.

To an extent, yes, but much more so now than in the past few decades. In the past, those who were senior exectives responsible for technical aspects of the company would usually be very strong technically, having worked their way up from more junior positions and gaining management training along the way.

Re: Equifax doesn't want consumers to get their $125

#97

Post by howard941 »

pimmen wrote: post #30
ummonk wrote: post #9

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Jail time for executives seems a little excessive for some employee merely failing to apply a security patch... On the other hand, this settlement shouldn't have been capped at such a ridiculously low amount.

They made the conscious decision to monetize personal data belonging to more than a hundred million people. That means they should take every measure available to make sure something that sensitive is not released. If this was the US Airforce who lost an armed nuclear ICBM the commanding officer who was ok with this ”whoopsie” would have to explain him or herself to quite a few officials.

There's so much truth here. There are soldiers and marines fighting land wars in Asia that have to go on life risking missions to retrieve lost tech that's ITAR or worth more than some monetary amount I think $15 or $20K or spend months filling out paperwork explaining the loss. But CRAs get a free ride.

Re: Equifax doesn't want consumers to get their $125

#98

Post by harryh »

aloknnikhil wrote: post #91
harryh wrote: post #61

The title of this post (which, admittedly, was taken from the NYTimes) isn't really correct. The terms of the settlement have been set. Equifax's financial outlay is fixed. All of the post settlement divvying up of the funds is being administered by the government bodies who negotiated the settlement, not Equifax. Equifax's desires about how the money gets divvied up at this point are irrelevant.

You're right. The title is not very accurate. The text from the Equifax Settlement Administrator > Your Equifax Claim: You Must Act by October 15, 2019 or Your Claim for Alternative Compensation Will Be Denied. The amount you receive in connection with your alternative compensation claim may be significantly reduced depending on how many valid claims are ultimately submitted by other class members for this relief. Ba…

Equifax didn't send you that email. If you read further down in the e-mail it even says "This email is from the Court-appointed settlement administrator, not Equifax."

Re: Equifax doesn't want consumers to get their $125

#100

Post by msla »

phyzome wrote: post #99

Are we "consumers" now, rather than "victims" or "citizens"? Are we defined by what we buy?

> Are we "consumers" now, rather than "victims" or "citizens"?

Are you a child, a parent, a sibling, or a citizen?

Or are you all of those things depending on context?

I get what you're saying, but you chose a way of expressing it which invites immediate response.

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