Months after class-action attorneys and regulators unveiled a $700 million dollar settlement with Equifax for a massive data breach affecting 147 million people, new court papers say approximately 3 million consumers have chosen the deal’s free credit monitoring services.
The July settlement let consumers choose between either 10 years of free credit monitoring — four years with the three credit bureaus, Equifax EFX, +0.16%, TransUnion TRU, +0.30% and Experian EXPGY, -0.14% and another six years through Equifax — or up to $125 in cash compensation for those who already have credit monitoring services.
Both the plaintiffs’ lawyers and regulators have previously said the free credit monitoring was the better deal — especially considering that the people hoping for cash will, in all likelihood, get far less than $125. By contrast, the retail value of credit monitoring was an estimated $1,920, court papers noted.
