The Equifax Shaft
Florida woman wins multimillion-dollar jury verdict against Equifax — OrlandoSentinel.com
Angela P. Williams says she got nothing but a runaround from Equifax as she tried for more than a decade to clear up an identity mix-up that ruined her credit. Now she’s hitting the credit-reporting giant where it hurts: on the bottom line. An Orlando jury awarded Williams a multimillion-dollar verdict against Equifax for years of failing to correct dramatic errors in Williams’ credit report that led to her credit score being trashed. Atlanta-based Equifax must pay the medical-transcription worker $219,000 in actual damages and $2.7 million in punitive damages for negligent violation of federal credit-reporting laws, according to the verdict Friday in state Circuit Court in Orlando.
I suffered an identity theft in 2001. To this day I am in dispute with Equifax, the worst offender of the big three credit reporting agencies. They refuse to remove the 3 bogus addresses along with misspellings of my name the thief used to purchase cell phones, gold and other jewelry. Unlike the woman in the article, I gave up after years of struggling. Her victory is for all of us.
“I’m not sure this will bring resolution,” she said. “I don’t have a lot of confidence especially in Equifax, after so many years of having problems. I’m just not confident that I won’t have to go through this again.”
I know firsthand exactly how she feels.
Why don’t these identity thieves get caught?
If they’ve bought something, even under an assumed name, they still have to get it shipped. A concerted effort should be able to catch most of these guys. Then maybe a few high-profile shootings by angry victims, and this problem would die down a little.
#1 MikeN – I like your way of thinking here but I would rather it was low-profile so more of them could be exterminated.
steve-o
#1: They often rent mailboxes using phony IDs, use it for a while to receive goods (perhaps only once if they buy something expensive), then abandon them before the victim knows they’ve been screwed.
#3. Exactly, in my case the guy was using 7 different addresses at one point, with my name misspelled. It was several months before I received the first bill, by that time, approx 12,000. dollars had been charged in my name. My question to Equifax was why wasn’t I alerted to this. Oh I know, because I wasn’t paying them.
I’m starting to go through similar problems with Equifax! Looking forward to a long process… sigh…..
>>My question to Equifax was why wasn’t
>>I alerted to this. Oh I know, because
>>I wasn’t paying them.
How come it didn’t show up on your credit card bills?
#5. Because he was opening up credit cards with bogus addresses. The first was to Kohls dept store, which gave him instant credit, no credit check, and he walked out with a couple of thousand in jewelry. Eventually, the bill found its way to me (I was living internationally), by that time the damage was done. Kohls made NO apology for their instant credit practice, I should have sued them. And because I lived outside the US, no law enforcement agency would help.
MikeN… Sure, it would be nice if law enforcement could catch the thieves… But that isn’t the issue. Equifax is the issue. This is a company that collects personal data about all of us, and then pretends it’s their data and we have no right to know what they are reporting about us.
I only wish the judgment were for a crippling amount of money… But maybe this opens the doors for more suits. You know, 2.7mil here, 2.7mil there, sooner or later it adds up to real money.
#8. When I asked law enforcement of the probability of them actually catching the crook, I was told almost zero. They didn’t have the time or resources for this type of crime.
#9 – and they are right. They don’t have the time or the resources.
We are a 21st century civilization with a mid-20th Century mentality about civil service. Cops need training and tools. There should be a new organization dedicated to high tech crime.
And credit reporting agencies should be mandated to contact the consumer when they see suspicious activity, I mean, who misspells their own name 7 different ways? Why should I have to pay them to get this information?
That is the problem, credit. If credit wasn’t given away without background checks, then this problem would be diminished.
My home address was once mailed a summons that said law firm was suing the addressed person. The firm had bought unrecoverable debt accumulated by some guy that had a similar name and different SSN. When I informed the law firm I wasn’t the person they sought, they shot back “when are you going to start paying down this debt!” It cost me about $1000 to counter-sue the law firm and get the case dropped.
I should have told the State Bar Association that the law firm hadn’t used due diligence – and tried to get the opposing attorneys disbarred.
So for the last couple years I’ve been getting phone calls indicating how to pay utility bills in states I’ve never had utility connections. The name and gender on these accounts are totally unrelated to mine. And I never get the bill, only phone calls. I hope I don’t have to pay another $1000 to clear up that mess too.
#9 – Yet the RIAA can get law enforcement to bust kids who illegally trade music. Oh for the love of God.
#12. My credit was so good, I was throwing away credit cards I received in the mail, about 2-3 per week. Some of these cards had the misspelled names on them, it was surreal. Credit card companies were tripping over themselves extending credit to my thief.
I worked for Mastercharge (in the old days, before they turned into Mastercard) in the fraud department. We arrested 1-10 people nightly (on my shift) and about the same number in the day. Of these only 1-2% ever went to court. The first problem is..if they misspell the card holder name, it’s not “forgery”, second the DA had to prove “intent”. Turned out that prosecuting was so, so low….since the courts were becoming filled with ‘war on drugs’ miscreants.
The problem is one of greed on top of greed. Turns out that the credit card companies have come to DEPEND on fraud and “charge offs” as part of their business model. It’s a write off on their taxes (to offset the gagging buttloads of cash they’re hauling in on interest). They don’t see it as a problem, honestly.
Meanwhile, because it’s about MONEY, courts see it as a CIVIL problem and are very unlikely to prosecute.
The real criminals are Equifax, Experian, ..the other idiots, why can’t I remember their name?…and the idiot Fair Isaac/FICO bullshit that is slanted against EVERYONE, to justify higher monthly credit interest. We should all sue the bastards!
#15. TransUnion
What’s truly amazing is how the credit industry as a whole continues to allow a total failure of security from the retailers on up. My mom got a checkbook stolen from someone who emptied out her bank account. They were able to open up another bank account despite the fact that the person who opened the bank account was not a black female but, a white male. they then used that bank account to get well really any credit card they wanted. The FCRA needs a Major overhaul and all these retailers who throw credit at any and everyone need to sued for each and every instance of fraud they let get through
meetsy,
I believe what you are saying… but how can CC companies write off these debts? I’m probably wrong, but I thought the CC companies forced the Merchants to always take the loss.
Captain Cheeseloaf,
In 1998 I realized that Banks et al could mandate the use of RSA SecureID to generate a re-occurringly expiring PID that would prevent people (without this simple technology) from making use of stolen financial instruments (even cash, bonds, stocks, anything – if The System knew the serial numbers registered to you).
Glad to see someone finally getting a settlement for this stuff. Where is the burden of proof on the people extending credit actually proving that you were the one asking for it?
This should be a relatively simple item to prove. Why are they not held accountable for extending credit to fraudulent folks?!
#19. My attorney has asked numerous times for the collection agency to provide the proof. They continually ignore his letters and harass me.
The whole Equifax/credit rating thing is such an unfair scam. Do you know that if I just make an enquiry – an *enquiry* – into your credit, that lowers your credit rating?
RBG
The credit rating companies essentially want their cake and to eat it too. And they have been given that.
They have the politicians so deeply in their pockets that they have been given a complete and total lack of accountabiltity in any legal and even civil sense (See how long her case took even though she finally won) for their industry and its practices.
Yet the information they hold on each one of us, can mean economic life or death. Weather you get a house, car, credit card with what ever interest rate, and what is most important a job, my last job hunt, most of my prospective employers did a credit check on me.
What a business these credit agencies have. They gather information on each one of us, have convinced the business world and then some that it is essential EVERYBODY get checked for viability of economic/personal character. They make a fortune doing it. Yet they dont have to be responsible about its accuracy?
As far as business models go, its a wet dream!!!
Haven’t any of you people ever heard of a credit freeze?
It isn’t hard to do. It isn’t that expensive. And NO ONE can even look at your credit without direct approval from you. Not a CC company. Not a collection agency. Not a potential employer. Not your wife. Not a bank. Not a solicitor. No one!!!
When you need credit you just do a temp release for 72 hours and apply.
Anyone who thinks that is too inconvenient is probably someone who shouldn’t use credit in the first place because they don’t plan ahead and are impulsive with their shopping.
#23. Its a solution, but not a cheap one. $20.00 for each of the three agencies and another $20.00 to lift it if you need to access. This is my information and I shouldn’t have to pay these crooks to have it protected.
#11 – Why should I have to pay them to get this information?
Especially since it is YOUR information.
These bastards make their cake from sell our data. I say if they want to sell my data, then I want a royalty on each sale.
#23, J,
While what you say may be true, it misses the point. To put a “freeze” on my credit costs me money. Why should I have to pay to stop the criminals from stealing my identity without repercussions? Second, why can’t we have a national task force to investigate and prosecute identity theft.
***
A few years ago I had some checks stolen. When they were used I disputed them with the bank. It was obviously not my signature. The bank would have none of it. I went up the chain, manager, regional representative, regional manager, vice-president, all to no effect and all telling me it was my problem.
I ended up filing a claim in Small Claims Court for the total amount against the bank and the stores that cashed the checks. I then asked the court to assign triple damages as this was a corrupt business practice (RICO).
Needless to say, the bank lawyer called me a few days later and offered a settlement. After some haggling, threatening to move this to Federal Court, etc, everyone coughed up what was owed me plus interest.
I joined a company that will put an alert on your credit with all three credit companies that lasts for three months. They do this every three months so that your credit information cannot be touched without your express permission. The service costs $100 per year. It’s called LifeLock. They have a $1,000,000 guarantee.
http://www.lifelock.com/
McCollough – You need to hire that woman’s lawyer.
Mr. Fusion #26
Oh I agree it shouldn’t cost anything at all.
It is a state by state case. I know there are certain states that you don’t have to pay anything. I think in all states you can get it for free if you are a victim of identity theft. I happen to live in a state where it is $10 per report Equifax, Transition, Experian so it was $30 all together.
BUT It is a way to take control of your information. Under the Law no one is permitted to view or give details about your report without your permission.
The best part is those credit card offers stop showing up in your mail box.
hhopper #27
I went to their website for only a short bit. From what I read they only put a fraud alert on your credit report. That is not the most effective way to protect your credit. A freeze is the only way. With a fraud alert someone can actually apply and get credit in a store and be gone before you even find out about it. With a freeze it would be refused because the freeze on your report. So they would get nothing but rejection
It looks to me that they are charging a large fee for something you may be able to get for free from each credit bureau with only a little leg work in making the calls and having them send you the forms. They are unnecessary middle men
Plus once you put a freeze on your report it is there for life until YOU remove it and you don’t have to pay every couple of months to keep it on.
Again there is a drawback to it. You have to know in advance when you may apply for credit and notify each bureau and they will remove it for a certain length of time for a small fee or free depending on where you live. Anyone who can’t be bothered with that probably shouldn’t be using credit in the first place.
Oh and that guy is a complete asshat. This is not a company I would trust with my security. He can’t even keep himself safe LOL
http://idtheft.about.com/b/2007/07/27/256753.htm