UNITED STATES OF AMERICA

FEDERAL TRADE COMMISSION

WASHINGTON, D.C. 20580

Office of the Secretary

March 5, 2013

Ms. Theresa Ellis

State of Rhode Island

Re: In the Matter of Equifax Information Services LLC, File No. 102 3252

Dear Ms. Ellis:

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 assert that the fine is not high enough and that consumers who

were injured should receive compensation. 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 in the proposed consent order 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 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 to disgorgement, the 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).

 Having considered all of the facts of this case and all of the comments submitted in
response to the proposed order, 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, Commissioner Leibowitz and Commissioner Wright not

participating.

Richard C. Donohue

Acting Secretary