Equifax Breach Affected 147 Million, but Most Sit Out Settlement

In others, it was an exercise in frustration: Those seeking the cash option will receive far less than the $125 cap. More than 4.5 million people had filed claims for the cash payment as of Dec. 1. Only $31 million of the settlement was set aside for the cash option; that works out to less than $7 a person.

The Federal Trade Commission had warned of that possibility months ago, calling the public response to the settlement “overwhelming” and telling consumers that each person who took the cash option was likely to get a very small sum.

The free credit monitoring services, the commission said, provided a much better value. About 3.3 million people agreed, and filed for credit bureau monitoring services, from three credit bureaus, for four years. Of those, 2.3 million asked for monitoring for an additional six years.

Roughly 1.8 million people filed to be compensated for their time spent dealing with the breach as of Dec. 1. And nearly 282,000 made claims for out-of-pocket losses.

If there is still money in the consumer fund after making all initial payments, there will be an extended claims period through Jan. 22, 2024. That would cover people who incurred out-of-pocket losses within that time frame, and would provide compensation for some of the time spent dealing with the breach. Those claims would be paid on a first-come, first-served basis.

Article source: https://www.nytimes.com/2020/01/22/business/equifax-breach-settlement.html?emc=rss&partner=rss