UNITED STATES OF AMERICA

FEDERAL TRADE COMMISSION

WASHINGTON, D.C. 20580

Office of the Secretary

March 5, 2013

Mr. Bill Sortino

State of New Mexico

Re: In the Matter of Equifax Information Services LLC, File No. 1023252 

Dear Mr. Sortino:

Thank you for your comment regarding the Federal Trade Commission’s consent

agreement in the above-entitled proceeding. The Commission has placed your comment on the

public record pursuant to rule 4.9(b)(6)(ii) of the Commission’s Rules of Practice, 16 C.F.R. §

4.9(b)(6)(ii), and has given it serious consideration.

In your comment you express concern that the monetary relief obtained in the proposed

consent order is too low. The Commission is committed to protecting consumers in financial

distress as well as safeguarding consumer privacy and believes that the proposed order with

Equifax Information Services LLC (“Equifax”) will further this objective. 

The monetary remedy obtained in this matter is disgorgement, which is limited to the

amount of the entity’s ill-gotten gains. The order requires Equifax to pay $392,803 which

represents its gross revenue from the sale of the lists at issue and does not include any deduction

for overhead or other expenses. In deciding whether the amount and type of monetary remedy in

this or any other consent order is appropriate in relation to the alleged violations, the

Commission carefully considers a variety of factors, including the type of monetary relief

authorized by law, the specific facts at issue, and the alleged violations of the law. The

Commission considered these factors in this case and determined that disgorgement and

injunctive provisions will provide the appropriate level of relief. 

In addition, the proposed consent order includes a number of injunctive provisions

designed to prevent future violations of the Fair Credit Reporting Act. For example, the order

prohibits Equifax from furnishing prescreened lists to anyone that it does not have reason to

believe has a permissible purpose to receive them and from failing to maintain reasonable

procedures to limit the furnishing of prescreened lists to anyone except those who have a

permissible purpose to receive them. Further, the order prohibits Equifax from selling

prescreened lists in connection with offers for debt relief products or services and mortgage

assistance relief products and services, when advance fees are charged, with limited exceptions. 

Should Equifax violate any term of the final order, it could be liable for civil monetary penalties

of up to $16,000 per violation per day (pursuant to Section 5(l) of the FTC Act).

Your comment also expresses concern that no one has gone to jail for the alleged
violations in this case and that fines are not enough to not deter companies from wrongdoing. 

The Commission appreciates your concern that the consequences of violations of the law should

adequately deter future misconduct. The Commission is a civil law enforcement agency, and

thus does not have the authority to bring criminal charges or send individuals to jail. However,

in appropriate cases, the Commission will refer any suspected criminal activity to the appropriate

criminal law enforcement agencies. 

 Having considered all the facts of this case and all of the comments submitted, the

Commission has determined that the public interest would best be served by issuing the Decision

and Order in final form without any modifications. The final Decision and Order and other

relevant materials are available from the Commission’s website at http://www.ftc.gov. It helps

the Commission’s analysis to hear from a variety of sources in its work. The Commission

thanks you again for your comment.

By direction of the Commission, Commissioners Leibowitz and Wright not participating.