WASHINGTON—U.S. Senate Democratic Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL), in a letter to Equifax Interim Chief Executive Officer Paulino do Rego Barros Jr., called on the massive credit-reporting agency to assume fees incurred by consumers freezing, temporarily lifting, and unfreezing their credit reports at the two other major credit reporting agencies: Experian and TransUnion. Durbin also pressed Equifax to reimburse consumers who have already paid such fees since Equifax announced the massive breach of its cybersecurity.
Currently, residents of Illinois who want to place, temporarily lift, or remove a security freeze in the wake of this breach are subject to a $10 fee for each respective action at Experian and TransUnion.
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In the letter, Durbin wrote, “Equifax should offer to pay all fees incurred by consumers for placing or removing a credit freeze at the other credit reporting agencies, and should reimburse consumers who have already paid such fees since the Equifax breach was announced. Enabling consumers to obtain a cost-free credit freeze across all credit reporting agencies is an essential next step to provide relief to the 145.5 million Americans, including 5.4 million residents of Illinois, who have seen their personal and financial identities compromised through no fault of their own as a result of Equifax’s breach.”
After Equifax made their data breach public last month, Durbin joined Senators Al Franken (D-MN) and Catherine Cortez Masto (D-NV) in pushing Equifax to completely end its use of forced arbitration agreements. Such agreements limit the ability of consumers to pursue justice in a public court of law or challenge widespread corporate wrongdoing. The Senators also called on Equifax to explain whether or not it supports a new rule from the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) to limit the use of forced arbitration in the financial services sector.
The full letter to interim CEO Barros Jr. can be read it here.
