Equifax Credit Chief Slams Free Credit Reports
Equifax's chief executive says he opposes federal legislation that lets consumers obtain a free copy of their credit report to help them monitor financial accounts for fraudulent activity.
CEO Thomas Chapman called the legislation unconstitutional and un-American because it cuts into profits that Equifax and two rival credit reporting agencies -- Experian and TransUnion -- earn from selling credit reports and monitoring services. Equifax maintains credit data on 220 million Americans. The company earned $1.27 billion in revenue last year.
"Our company felt, and still does ... that it's unconstitutional to cause a public company who has a fiduciary responsibility to return profit to shareholders to give away the product," Chapman said to reporters following a speech at the Commonwealth Club of California in San Francisco on Monday. "Most of my shareholder group did not think that giving away our product was the American way."
Chapman was referring to the Fair and Accurate Credit Transactions Act, which since last December has required credit agencies to provide consumers with a free copy of their credit report every 12 months to check for inaccuracies and fraudulent activity. Chapman said that viewing a credit report once a year wouldn't protect consumers against fraud.
"That's like turning on the smoke alarm once a year," he said.
Chapman has chaired Equifax since 1999 and plans to retire at the end of the year. He initiated his appearance before the public affairs group after a recent spate of data security breaches made headlines and exposed the personal information of millions of consumers to identity thieves. The data industry is facing increased legislation as a result.
Read the rest of the article on Wired.com
CEO Thomas Chapman called the legislation unconstitutional and un-American because it cuts into profits that Equifax and two rival credit reporting agencies -- Experian and TransUnion -- earn from selling credit reports and monitoring services. Equifax maintains credit data on 220 million Americans. The company earned $1.27 billion in revenue last year.
"Our company felt, and still does ... that it's unconstitutional to cause a public company who has a fiduciary responsibility to return profit to shareholders to give away the product," Chapman said to reporters following a speech at the Commonwealth Club of California in San Francisco on Monday. "Most of my shareholder group did not think that giving away our product was the American way."
Chapman was referring to the Fair and Accurate Credit Transactions Act, which since last December has required credit agencies to provide consumers with a free copy of their credit report every 12 months to check for inaccuracies and fraudulent activity. Chapman said that viewing a credit report once a year wouldn't protect consumers against fraud.
"That's like turning on the smoke alarm once a year," he said.
Chapman has chaired Equifax since 1999 and plans to retire at the end of the year. He initiated his appearance before the public affairs group after a recent spate of data security breaches made headlines and exposed the personal information of millions of consumers to identity thieves. The data industry is facing increased legislation as a result.
Read the rest of the article on Wired.com
posted by Dave at 7:51 AM
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