Sorry AOC, but Equifax probably won’t be paying people $125 apiece
By Jon Levine
July 27, 2019 | 11:28am
Those hoping to cash in on the massive Equifax settlement might be out of luck, thanks to AOC.
Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez tweeted a call for those affected by the 2017 data leak to make a claim, saying they could get $125 — “a nice chunk of change.”
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.
The freshman Democratic Socialist tweeted out a link Friday to a page where anyone affected by the breach from the credit reporting agency could file a claim.
“Everyone: go get your check from Equifax! $125 is a nice chunk of change,” she said. “Get that money and pay off a bill, sock it away, take a day off, treat yourself, whatever you’d like – but cash
that
check! It takes one minute.”
Earlier this week Equifax reached a settlement with the FTC which included an agreement to create a fund with at least $575 million, though only a small percent of that will go to cash payouts.
The lion’s share of the settlement will go into free credit monitoring services or larger awards for individuals who can prove that they suffered identity theft as a result of the breach, according to The Verge.
AOC quickly tried to backtrack.
“Okay everyone UPDATE on Equifax: for most people the better deal is 10 years of free credit monitoring,” AOC said in a follow-up tweet, urging her followers to pass on the cash payment and instead take another offer from the company.
“There’s apparently a run on settlements so there’s anxiety people are going to get 16 cent checks. But if you choose 10 years of credit monitoring, Equifax *must* cover it.”
https://nypost.com/2019/07/27/sorry-aoc-but-equifax-probably-wont-be-paying-people-125-apiece/amp/
