Equifax data breach: Pick free credit monitoring

How soon you get your 125

This is unacceptable. The court and Equifax knew there were 147 million claimants. Why offer $125 per claim and set aside only $31 million? Did someone forget to do the math?

This whole “settlement” is an absolute joke. Equifax has gotten away with nothing more than a pinch on the cheek and consumers have once again gotten the shaft. Why would anyone trust Equifax, or any other company, with our personal information again? Consumer protection is no longer part of the government vocabulary. We should have a choice and be allowed to completely shut off these companies access to our personal and credit information, especially when they have committed such criminal conduct. Instead, the companies like Equifax make sweet heart deals with expensive lawyers and the government, then walk away.

In and around 2015 & 2016 my peronal information was taken in three separate U.S. OPM database breaches. Credit monitoring was offered to the tens of millions of federal employees affected. The monitoring required the input of all information released and asked for some that was not. Two issues arose: First, the credit monitoring company refused despite several attempts to provide me the specifics what the monitoring system did to aid me/pay for problems if my stolen information was misused. Examples: If my bank account was emptied I was told that not thier responsibility but the bank's; If my credit card being monitored was misuded that was a credit card company issue. The credit monitoring provider refused to provide me a written statement of their coverage and assistance. Specific queries should it to be negligible and unavailable until the worst possible time -- when a crisis occurs related to the ID theft. 2. Naturally, the credit monitoring company stated their database was totally secure from an ID theft hack. Critical as all my information is in their system. Problem: No database is totally secure. Such systems appear to be a potential giant candy jar for hackers and the compensation and coverage inadequate to address the financial and ID loss to those participating. I removed my data. I have secured it via credit freezes. I have informed the IRS of the ID theft to prevent misuse of tax returns. These and other ID theft safeguards need to be directly relayed to those affected by the data breach by Equifax and required by the FTC. The FTC penalty and responsibilty of Equifax for the data breach and its affect on tens of millions of Americans is grossly inadequate. Credit monitoring has severe flaws. Compensation of $125 in lieu of credit monitoring or $20,000 in assistance to aid in those dealing with problems is inadequate and a disservice to those affected. We are left with a lifetime of concern and hassle. People can change their credit cards, change their bank accounts, but we cannot change our social security numbers, health insurance card numbers, etc. A penalty of $750 million is a pittance for the each of those affected and the potential consequences to consumers. Further, the FTC penalty puts the onus on those whose data was stolen to take legal action against Equifax if needed to recoup losses. To address these issues I suggest the FTC require Equifax at their own expense: 1. to automatically send everyone affected on an annual basis a free copy of their credit report, 2. to send everyone affected clear succinct guidance on how to safequard their identity and credit data, 3) Those opting for credit monitoring be sent specific written information on what services and coverage is provided by the credit monitoring company.

Credit monitoring is a joke. I have at least 4 entities providing me with credit monitoring because of security breaches. You only learn about the bogus account after something has happened. Next time, get enough money from the offending agent to fairly compensate people, monetarily, for the time spent freezing accounts, etc. and worrying about what was going to happen next. Clearly, $31 million was not a satisfactory penalty for a security breach at a Credit Reporting Agency, who waited months to let us know the breach had even occurred.

Equifax is not, and has never been, the consumer's friend. Equifax serves the creditor community. Equifax is notoriously unresponsive to debtors who have legitimate grievances. Now it is attempting to renege on the AGREEMENT with the FTC to compensate its victims - errrr, I mean consumers - for its failure to safeguard information which no consumer ever agreed it should collect on him. The information Equifax was so careless with is still out there and will be out there for the rest of the lives of every consumer victimized. $125 is small enough, too small in fact to be an adequate compensation. Now Equifax wants consumers to take less. OK, let's throw out the deal. Let's have a new agreement where Equifax pays more to compensate consumers for their present loss and future loss, worry and aggravation. Perhaps Equifax should be dissolved and its assets divided among its victims.

The FTC reached a settlement with Equifax for 425 million...........but knew there were over 147 million affected consumers. now I get an Email stating that we will get almost nothing....does not take a frikin math genius to figure that out. Why not try a little harder to get some real resolution to this matter, like the 5 billion that Facebook settled for? Really disappointed that the FTC that is supposed to be a govt. watchdog has rolled over more like a 3 week old kitten.

Really? How could anyone rely on Equifax for credit monitoring?

Email address doesn't work for me.

I already have free credit monitoring thanks to the OPM breach. This fine is nowhere near enough restitution.

Where do you sign up for the free credit monitoring?

This settlement is a joke. The only thing your doing is guaranteeing millions of customers to Equifax. The company that screwed everyone over in the first place. How does this help the people that have already lost things that are irreplaceable? Such as being denied a first home owners loan or losing their house because the Irs held their income tax because they couldn't verify their identity? What are you gona do for us??

So you are going to monitor all three (3) credit bureaus each month and email these to me? Do you know my email address?

This is absolutely ridiculous to only fine Equifax $31MM for compensatory damage payments to 176MM people. No one wants or trusts their credit monitoring. We want to be made whole in an amount reflective of the worst data breach in history.

Yesterday I was told I will $125.00. Today I am told I will get nowhere near that amount. I just find it hard to believe the FTC could do this.

this is a slap in the face. equifax needs to be liquidated.

I had the credit monitoring initially after the problem was identified, but I am not sure if I still have it. After the data was exposed, I received a report from each of the agencies as suggested, and I froze the accounts. Then I promptly paid off my one credit card in full and cancelled any credit accounts I had with retail stores. Is there any reason to have credit monitoring if I froze and cancelled all accounts? I would rather have cash and never have anything to do with any of these agencies again.

Can anyone explain how the purported $575MM suddenly evaporated leaving just $31MM to pay claims? Something just doesn't smell right here.

Maybe everyone submitting claims already has credit monitoring from the last ten companies that have leaked their data without consequence.

If the number of claims for cash reimbursement for this data breach has exhausted the $31M allocated in the settlement, perhaps the FTC should have pushed for a larger amount?

I already have paid monitor service with Experian and just renewed for another year a few weeks ago. I would like to go with the free security offer, what should I do now? Can I still opt for the free? Don't know if Experian will reimburse me I will have to call them.

Then it sounds like the settlement needs to be increased! We victims have a right to our legitimate claims. Make them pay. This is total BS.

the data breach destroyed my credit credit report my life is not the same any more my macys account destroyed amazon account destroyed my capital one account destroyed i dont want any more credit card in my life is destroyed

How about free credit monitoring AND the measly $125 compensation? If Equifax can buy and sell our data without consent and then lose it into the ether due to poor security protocols, it's the least they can do. Slaps on the wrists don't encourage these crooks to make any significant reforms to the way they handle our data.

I dont think i have to disclose who i use for my credit monitoring. Who i use is my business.