Equifax Breach Settlement

[MacGyver]

You may have recently heard about Equifax agreeing to a sizable settlement in relation to their data breach last year.

You may not have heard that as a result - you're eligible to get $125 or 10 years of credit monitoring.  We're trying to encourage as many people as possible to claim it.  Basically - making breaches more expensive for companies so that maybe they actually take this stuff seriously.

If you're over 18 - they lost your data - and you're eligible for the settlement.  This means that you and your spouse - and your parents - and pretty much anyone else you know in America - are all eligible to file.  It takes about 3 minutes.

To claim it - go to https://www.equifaxbreachsettlement.com 

There’s a quick form that you’ll need to fill out - You can likely ignore parts 3 and 4 of the form detailing extra time and money spent.  If you did sign up for something like LifeLock following the breach - you can claim those expenses and time spent in those parts.

 it’s pretty much as close to free money as you’re likely to find this week.

We do expect criminal groups to start filing soon on people's behalf - so the sooner you file the better.

[btq96r]

I did this over the weekend.  I figure it will take a bit of time before I see anything, though.  Try it, folks.  Equifax is hoping people blow this off, disappoint them.

[MacGyver]

It ought to take about 12 weeks - so maybe you'll see it around the holidays.

Figure this - the value of the data that the credit agencies have on you - and sell to anyone and everyone on a daily basis - is worth more than $125.  So basically, consider it your moral duty as an American to file a claim.

 

[Erik88]

9 minutes ago, MacGyver said:

It ought to take about 12 weeks - so maybe you'll see it around the holidays.

Figure this - the value of the data that the credit agencies have on you - and sell to anyone and everyone on a daily basis - is worth more than $125.  So basically, consider it your moral duty as an American to file a claim.

 

My understanding is that most of us will not see the $125 because the max payout is only $31M. I went for option 3 on there and went after them for more than $125 since I spent countless hours since this happened dealing with the freezing/unfreezing the credit of my wife and myself. 

"But only $31 million has been earmarked for the payments, and the more who file claims, the less each person gets. If all 147 million entitled to money request it, they would get just 21 cents apiece."

https://nypost.com/2019/07/27/sorry-aoc-but-equifax-probably-wont-be-paying-people-125-apiece/

 

This is barely a slap on the wrist for a company that brings in nearly $4B in annual revenue and essentially tried to cover this up before eventually telling us what happened. Amazing. 

Edited July 29, 2019 by Erik88

[E4 No More]

I filed. What everyone needs to consider is that the breach is so large that it might take considerable time for you to see a negative action with your information. All the more reason to do this now.

[Jamie Jackson]

Done! Thanks for the head's up Mac. Much appreciated.

[TNMTBik3r]

I filed a few days ago for my wife and I. $250 if/when it arrives buys some more ammo.....

One thing I read said that the absolute earliest any settlements would be mailed was January 2020 (01/24/2020 I believe?) due to the discovery process and court proceedings? If true I am fine with waiting to do my small part in making them pay.

[Garufa]

This is probably the biggest class action lawsuit in history and the reality is it is nothing more that that, a class action lawsuit.  That means by the time everyone gets on board you might get a buck or two.

No one is going to get a check for $125.  As has been pointed out only $31M has been set aside for direct payment.  That covers 248,000 of the 147M people affected.  As more people sign up, that pool of money diminishes and it doesn’t matter if you sign up today or in the next few months.

If you file for costs associated with your time trying to unscrew the damage...that is also capped at $31M total for everyone who files. 

BTW, all this information can be found in the FAQ of that third party website.

Oh, and the lawyers are getting up to $80,500,000 out of the total $380M (roughly) settlement. 

I am all for for sticking it to Equifax but the reality is little will change.  

 

Edited July 29, 2019 by Garufa

[Grayfox54]

I went to the website. Checked on a claim and was told my info was not impacted. So apparently, I'm clear. 

Good luck to the rest of you. 

[TripleGGG]

Filed 2 claims. 1 for me and 1 for wife.