Following extensive state and federal investigations, a settlement was reached this month regarding the notorious Equifax breach. To compensate for the millions of individuals affected by the 2017 data break, the credit reporting agency has agreed to provide $300 million worth of monitoring services to affected consumers and $175 million to settle legal disputes with 48 states. If it is determined, however, that the $300 million amount for services is not enough, then there is a stipulation stating the amount will increase another $125 million. Equifax must also pay a $100 million fine to the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. In addition, the company must update and enhance their data security, to avoid any future computer-oriented crimes from taking place. Continue reading
Tag Archives: consumer protection
Hardware Store Finds Safe Harbor
A popular hardware store has settled a class action lawsuit after some tooling around with their sales process. Harbor Freight, which has locations across the United States, agreed that they may have misstated discounts and coupon offers over a 4 year period. The settlement reads that anyone who purchased a product from Harbor Freight between April 8 2011 and Dec 15 2016 are now eligible to a reward. Customers will have their choice of 20% of the purchased product’s amount in cash, or 30% in Harbor Freight gift cards. The lawsuit, Beck v Harbor Freight, was filed at the Court of Common Pleas in Lake County, OH. Read more
Sony Presses Reset Button, Avoids Lawsuit
A few years ago, Sony’s free-to-play online service, known as the Playstation Network, was compromised by a rogue group of hackers. Personal and private data, including credit card information, was stolen from about 70 million PSN users. A class action was filed immediately in San Diego, California as Sony scrambled to stop the bleeding. Luckily for this entertainment giant, the hot-button lawsuit has been dismissed. Unfortunately for the Playstation 3 faithful, a judge has decided to have the case thrown out, citing Sony’s Privacy Policy, which all PSN users agree to, being compliant with the consumer protection laws. Read more