Consumers were outraged, lawmakers upbraided the chief executive and Equifax ultimately reached a settlement with regulators for up to $700 million. Despite the anger, the vast majority of the 147 million consumers eligible for the settlement are sitting it out. As of Dec. 1, just more than 10 percent of the consumers affected had filed for some type of compensation. It was also the initial deadline to seek payment for time spent dealing with the inconvenience, and for claims for out-of-pocket expenses or losses incurred because of the breach. In some ways, the initial settlement period was a success: According to a court document, the fund is expected to pay in full all legitimate claims for out-of-pocket losses.

Source: New York Times January 23, 2020 00:22 UTC