Equifax Loses In Small Claims Court

There are some major lawsuits underway against Equifax, the consumer data clearinghouse that was hacked last year resulting in stolen data regarding 145 million users. The biggest is a class action in Atlanta consolidating 400 separate suits from thousands of individuals and businesses. Many aggrieved parties just settled for an apology and free credit monitoring, but a few, like Christina Bernstein, a small business owner in San Francisco, took the company to small claims court. Bernstein was recently awarded $7,440. She said she was glad to get the money but called the victory bittersweet because her information is still out there. She says she filed out of frustration at the company’s initial lame response. For a short time it directed worried consumers to a fake, unaffiliated website. Bernstein runs a consulting business that depends on grants, which often require credit checks. A credit freeze, the recommended procedure after the breach, was out of the question for her because grantees require credit checks of applicants. By its own admission, the security lapse has cost Equifax more than $242 million by the end of the first quarter of this year.