Wells Fargo scandal

Quote: reno

The quality control is low (26% for minor errors, 5% for major errors) because they have no incentive to spend money on more staff to correct mistakes. We aren't their customers, so they don't need to bend over backwards to please us. The banks & insurance companies are their customers.

Well here's a shocker. It turns out that TransUnion and Equifax are dishonest crooks.

Quote: CNBC

A U.S. regulator on Tuesday ordered credit reporting agencies TransUnion and Equifax to pay more than $23.2 million in fines and restitution for deceiving consumers about the usefulness and cost of credit scores they bought.

The U.S. Consumer Financial Protection Bureau said the payments also resolve charges that TransUnion and Equifax lured consumers into enrolling in credit services advertised as free or costing only $1, but which could cost more than $200 a year.

TransUnion will reimburse $13.93 million to consumers and pay a $3 million civil fine, while Equifax will reimburse $3.8 million and pay a $2.5 million civil fine, the CFPB said.

Neither company admitted nor denied wrongdoing.

What the hey?

Quote:

TransUnion and Equifax falsely represented that the credit scores they sold to consumers were the same scores that lenders used.

Quote: reno

Well here's a shocker. It turns out that TransUnion and Equifax are dishonest crooks.

Neither company admitted nor denied wrongdoing.

I would not say what they did was "dishonest." They sold people a their FICO score where people willingly bought it. The problem is that Joe Consumer thinks that a FICO is all that is looked at by underwriters when they make a decision. Reality is there are 4 or 5 main factors (depending on who you ask) that determine if you get credit or not, a FICO is usually just a quick-test to see if the rest is even worth the bother.

People with less than perfect credit think the Credit Fairy will visit and fix things. She never does.

As to that FICO, I swear there are bigger things happening right now, it is planned an few are noticing. It might cause more problems down the road.

Quote: reno

Well here's a shocker. It turns out that TransUnion and Equifax are dishonest crooks.

Equifax has admitted that hackers stole Social Security numbers and sensitive financial data on 143 million Americans. Moreover, the company's executives sold their own shares of stock before going public with the hack. Moreover, the company is using the hack as an advertisement to get consumers (victims of a crime) to sign up for its credit monitoring service. The monitoring service will initially be free... and then Equifax will start charging victims a service fee.

This author distinguishes between Equifax's hack and the hack of other giant companies. Consider the Target hack. Yes, Target keeps customers' sensitive financial data, (credit card numbers) but that's not Target's main business. Target's main business is to sell retail goods. Target might have failed at stopping hackers, but they are still capable of selling retail goods.

But storing sensitive financial data and selling it to creditors is Equifax's main business. That's all they got. It's the only reason they exist.

Quote: Neil Stevens

Equifax had one job. Their one job was to be a good steward of information about you. And they have failed miserably in that. I say that not just because they were hacked. Hacks happen. I say this because the executives of the firm, collectively, conspired to protect themselves before giving notice to us about the information they mismanaged.

Stevens' solution? Kill 'em. Give 'em the death penalty. Enron style. Sell off the assets.

Quote: Neil Stevens

In a free market, and an open society, we cannot tolerate this kind of combined failure and malfeasance to stand unpunished.

By the way, credit bureaus don't allow you to opt out of them collecting data on you. You, the consumer, have no say in the matter. So the free market can't work its magic where the competent companies survive, and the incompetent companies die naturally. Unless they die from an avalanche of lawsuits or government intervention, Equifax will prosper.

Quote: reno

Equifax has admitted that hackers stole Social Security numbers and sensitive financial data on 143 million Americans. Moreover, the company's executives sold their own shares of stock before going public with the hack. Moreover, the company is using the hack as an advertisement to get consumers (victims of a crime) to sign up for its credit monitoring service..

Turns out they had a published patch for a security issue for 2 months and didn't install it.

http://www.msn.com/en-us/news/us/equifax-had-patch-months-before-hack-and-didn%E2%80%99t-install-it/ar-AArUSXs?li=BBmkt5R&ocid=spartanntp

Those hackers must of have felt the equivalent of finding Ft Knox left the doors wide open to the gold.

Quote: rxwine

Turns out they had a published patch for a security issue for 2 months and didn't install it.

Turns out their login and password in Argentina was: admin