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It's always seemed odd to me that Experian and Equifax have the upside of being both arbitrarily in charge of so much data and wield ridiculous power, and yet s

It's always seemed odd to me that Experian and Equifax have the upside of being both arbitrarily in charge of so much data and wield ridiculous power, and yet somehow they're still largely independent and profit making. I'll watch the outcome of this breach with interest. It strikes me that at the very least credit rating agencies should be non-profit and very closely monitored by government. This will include ensuring security best practice is followed. As others have rightly pointed out, they even have the audacity to call us customers. Like somehow we turned 18 and signed up for their service. I certainly didn't, and it annoys me that a company whom I have no control over can make or break my credit history.

g051051 9y ago
You're what's called a "consumer", as in "Consumer Financial Protection Bureau". You're only a "customer" of Equifax if you purchase one of their products. The CRAs don't make or break your credit history, that's the businesses that supply information to them. The CRAs are aggregators, and just report what their members tell them.
- mbillie1 9y ago
  Credit algorithms, specifically your FICO score, are not transparent. There is no reason beyond the naive assumption of good faith on the part of these companies to believe that they don't make or break at least your credit SCORE.
- cr0sh 9y ago
  I don't think you're even a consumer. You are the product. The sell this "information" (your identity and more) between businesses looking to establish whether to give you credit or whatnot.
floatrock 9y ago
> It strikes me that at the very least credit rating agencies should be non-profit and very closely monitored by government. This will include ensuring security best practice is followed. Tell that to people riding their free class-action credit monitoring from when their OPM background investigation records got leaked to the russians or chinese thanks to the government's "security best practices".
visarga 9y ago
> It strikes me that at the very least credit rating agencies should be non-profit and very closely monitored by government. Personal data should be treated with the same care as nuclear fuel. Very very strict conditions.

g051051 9y ago

You're what's called a "consumer", as in "Consumer Financial Protection Bureau". You're only a "customer" of Equifax if you purchase one of their products. The CRAs don't make or break your credit history, that's the businesses that supply information to them. The CRAs are aggregators, and just report what their members tell them.

mbillie1 9y ago
Credit algorithms, specifically your FICO score, are not transparent. There is no reason beyond the naive assumption of good faith on the part of these companies to believe that they don't make or break at least your credit SCORE.
cr0sh 9y ago
I don't think you're even a consumer. You are the product. The sell this "information" (your identity and more) between businesses looking to establish whether to give you credit or whatnot.

floatrock 9y ago

> It strikes me that at the very least credit rating agencies should be non-profit and very closely monitored by government. This will include ensuring security best practice is followed. Tell that to people riding their free class-action credit monitoring from when their OPM background investigation records got leaked to the russians or chinese thanks to the government's "security best practices".

visarga 9y ago

> It strikes me that at the very least credit rating agencies should be non-profit and very closely monitored by government. Personal data should be treated with the same care as nuclear fuel. Very very strict conditions.