It seems that Air Canada and Aeroplan aren't the only ones with flakey computer systems these days. (Is that enough of a connection to put it in this forum?)

A couple of weeks ago Mrs. Tax Dude got an email from Equifax Canada thanking her for purchasing their "Score Power" report for $23.95. For those of you who don't know, that report is a combination of credit history and FICO score. It's a good idea to look at your credit history periodically to see if there are any mistakes or unusual activity and it's kind of interesting to see your FICO score too. I had created Equifax accounts (or "profiles" as they term them) for both of us a while ago, however, the last time we had actually purchased reports was in February of 2007. The email gave us concerns that someone had accessed my wife's account and had run off a credit report giving them access to our credit card and LOC limits, outstanding loans, payment history, etc.

I emailed their customer services right away and got a "we'll get back to you" automatic response. I also spent a while changing the passwords of our various online accounts since I was concerned my incredibly simple common password had been compromised!

Today I was looking at our Visa bill online and saw two charges for $23.95 from Equifax and since I hadn't heard back from them I called their 800 number. They immediately knew what the problem was and said "a lot of people" had been affected and we would see a credit within 5 days. I eventually spoke to a manager who assured me that it was an internal error and that my wife's account hadn't been compromised and none of our information had been divulged. She also said that "all the April 21st charges" were being refunded, but that my wife's hadn't been processed yet. They were very apologetic.

That's all well-and-good, but I'm bothered that Equifax was able to run a couple of charges through on our Visa card without authorization. I wasn't aware that they even stored credit card numbers - to my recollection, no mention of this is made when setting up a profile and their "Site Terms of Use" makes no mention of it either. It's especially irritating that these bogus charges are from the company to which I paid a fee so that I can keep an eye on my credit report and watch for errors/identity theft/fraud/etc.

Rant over.

I'd guess that a lot of people were affected but I haven't read anything about it anywhere. Did anyone else here notice any unauthorized Equifax charges?

And here I am thinking Equifax is a new Canadian Airline!!!

OK, so obviously not enough of a connection to post it in the AP forum!

I suppose it should get moved.

I dont overly trust Equifax. They may be different now but when you used to request a free credit report, they would mail it to you in regular mail, not priority or anything.

My dad sent away for it, forgot about it and it turns out someone intercepted the mail and used the contents to create an identity. The guy went into the bank and cleaned my parents out.

Im staying away from the website all together now

Yes, the only time I was a victim of identity theft was when someone intercepted my credit report from Equifax. Apparently they listed all my credit card numbers on this report (not just a bunch of xs followed by the last 4 digits, but the numbers in their entirety ).

It's been a hassle ever since whenever I want to apply for a new credit card.

I'll never deal with those morons again.

The free report still comes (as of three months ago) regular post. The suggestion of priority post is a good one, but I think the cost would prohibitive on a large scale. The credit bureaux are required by law to release your record to you upon request for no charge. At $5 a pop for postage alone, that adds up quickly.

While what happened to your parents is truly upsetting, I don't know if blame can be laid squarely with Equifax. They fulfilled their legal requirements - it was the dishonesty of whoever stole the letter that caused your parents such trouble.

In order to avoid this happening (and to expedite the process), for a fee, the Equifax will show your report securely online. I would think that instead of making you wary of Equifax altogether, the above anecdote should be all the encouragement you need to use the website almost exclusively for the retrieval and display of your credit report.

Sorry, not for me to decide.

i state that: ibtl

I just go to the local office in person to pick mine up.

As you are inputting your payment details did you notice this little gem?

Note: By ordering Services hereunder, YOU acknowledge that your personal information may be stored or accessed from or in locations outside of Canada.

Great.

Now, at least with the online version, the credit card numbers are all xxx'ed out. Of course, it still identifies the credit cards, limits, balances, payment history, etc.

I also wasn't happy that when I contacted them the piece of information that they used to pull up my file was my SIN number. I don't like giving it out or when companies use it as an identifier, but they're not a government agency or related to one so I don't think there's anything "illegal" about that.

I had the same problem - a double 23.95 charge on April 21 for services I didn't order. I've emailed them and they're looking into it, but I haven't seen the credit yet. If it doesn't come credit within the week, I'll chargeback.

By the way, if you check your online account you'll find that they've also generated a credit report which you can print out now without cost.

I was charged four times on April 21 to two separate credit cards. I ordered a report earlier in the month, but that was charged separately. At this point, one charge has been reversed.

I'm definitely not amused with this blunder from a leading credit bureau!

Both of the charges have now been refunded to my card.