Just do it yourself online. It just takes a few moments:

https://www.alerts.equifax.com/AutoFraud_Online/jsp/fraudAlert.jsp

Once you submit it to Equifax they will automatically send it to the other two credit agencies.

"Generally, credit granters -- such as auto dealerships or retail stores offering credit cards -- are urged to call consumers to verify their identities when a fraud alert is in place."

This is an example of stupidity in government. The law should provide that credit granters MUST contact the consumer before granting credit, or the GRANTER eats anything fraudulently gained. In other words, put the onus of verifying credit on the granter, rather than on the consumer.

Be sure of this. I am not an employee of Lifelock. I had a credit card statement delivered to the wrong address and the recipient started using it for internet purchases. They also tried to apply for credit. I hired Lifelock to protect and represent me and that is what they did. I have an attorney for legal matters, a tax man for my taxes, a financial manager for my investments and Lifelock for my credit safety. Experian had incorrect information on my report and it was very difficult to correct it directly with them. I find comfort in having Lifelock. The government needs to butt out of my affairs and let me decide how I will protect myself as an individual. They only seem to be getting involved after the problem has gone too far!

We have paid Lifelock for PRECISELY what they promised. To remove our names from WEBSITES that get and sell your information. To remover our names from CREDIT OFFER lists. To remove our names from JUNK MAIL. ALL of these things have been done. AND on top of that, LIFELOCK DID renew our fraud alerts after the initial 90 days. I didn't have to remember and go through the hassles of trying to get a live person on the phone and renew the fraud alert. Oh, by the way ... the credit bureaus WON"T allow a renewal after 90 days UNLESS you pay THEM for the service OR PROVE your identity has been compromised. The fraud alerts USED TO BE 9 months .... not 90 days. The credit bureaus are NOT your friend or doing anything in YOUR best interest. Lifelock is and does!

>>we deserve to protect our identify from being stolen!
Yes we do. I have removed a least 30 items off my credit report that were bogus in the last 15 years. That is a avg of 2 a year. What a big pain. Maybe they should pay me for my time. Or pay when they alow someone to steal my identy.. O yea they do not want to be held responsible for that or anything else for that matter.... First the Credit card companies. Now we need to go after the credit reporting companies with congress and laws. Put them all on fraud alert for everyone all the time..... No special protection needed. There just required to be carefull with our personal data.

the quick fix here people without all this ridiculous litigation is to change the fraud alerts to last for 1 yr instead of 3 mos....

Without the fraud alert, its business as usual with the consumer having to prove that someone stole their identity.

One of my kids' friends stole our credit cards and started charging at the local stores. The signatures were bogus and obviously none of the stores checked the cards. These businesses don't care and are part of the problem.

Without the fraud alert, its business as usual with the consumer having to prove that someone stole their identity.

One of my kids' friends stole our credit cards and started charging at the local stores. The signatures were bogus and obviously none of the stores checked the cards. These businesses don't care and are part of the problem.

Continuing from my last post, many people say they hire tax professionals to do their taxes, gardeners to take care of their lawns, and so on. Oh, and your credit score is *not* free. That is a numeric value that is assigned using one of several proprietary formulae (the most commone is the FICO, or Fair Isaac Company, Score, which is ironically the one provided by Experian). The companies can charge. Your actual history should be free, but only a few states have laws that mandate complimentary reports (in addition to the one provided by FACT). If you're from Georgia, their state law provides for two complimentary reports from each bureau (for a total of three).

By the letter of the law, the judge's ruling was correct. The lawsuit itself was rather frivolous, but companies issue frivolous lawsuits all the time. Regardless, my experience with Experian hasn't been the best in the world, but I have had better as well. Overall, I would rate Experian the worst of the big three US bureaus in terms of its practices. I have a bone to pick with Trans-Union as well, but not for credit-related information. That being said, Experian may be a whiny entity because they have to do more work, but the brutal truth is this: There is not a single for-profit company in the world that has the consumers' best interests in mind. In fact, when it really comes down to it, the only person that has your interests in mind is you. Lifelock seems like a decent company, but it doesn't do anything I can't do myself...

Somebody kick that judge off the bench. Experian and their ilk are the lowest form of life and don't deserve any breaks. They don't like Lifelock's practice because it interferes with their modus operandi which consists solely of trashing people's credit and helping create a system that feeds information to cyber thieves from all over the world. Experian bah humbug.

Anyone ever try to communicate with any of the credit reporting bureaus about a problem? It's like they don't exist except on that paper in the mail--no phone numbers either. If people use life lock, it's because the isolation and remoteness of the credit reporting agencies. The fact that someone is doing what they claim to be doing is why they're ticked off

Have any of you checked on LifeLock and how Todd Davis got started? I recommend you dig into LifeLock before you get this service. Secondly, Liflock claims they protect your credit....what about your driver license, social security number, criminal identity..someone comitting crimes in your name, using your resume etc...the only service that covers all these areas for $ 10 bucks a month is Pre-Paid Legal Services.....AND they have been in business for 35 years and have the backing of 5 former attorney generals, The National Association of Attorney Generals, the FTC, The National Black Chamber of Commerce....they have received glowing reviews from Wall Street Journal, Money Magazine, Forbes, and Black Enteterprise. Why use a service that is based on Todd Davis and his background. Check him out. You will find out just what kind of person is "handling" your personal information.

The judge's ruling was correct. I don't like the law, but a judge is not supposed "correct" bad, but constitutionally valid laws (got that, Liberals). The law should be changed in favor of consumers/citizens and the business (profit) interests of Experian, Trans Union and Equifax should not be taken into account (got that, Congress). And, tough, harsh, Federal anti-identity theft legislation and prosecution is badly needed (as in "steal identity, do ten years in Leavenworth!").

I can't speak for all lenders, but I can speak for most commercial banks in general. We take fraud very seriously. Banks are also a victim when ID theft occurs. (Who do you think usually ends up taking the loss?)

We pay close attention to making sure the information on the credit report matches what we know about the person who is applying for credit. If there are any red flags, we take appropriate action -- in fact, we're required by law to do this under the FACT Act.

The purpose of these alerts are to tell users of the reports to use an extra amount of caution because the consumer said something unusual is going on. If every consumer starts asking for "permanent" fraud alerts the value of the alerts to the consumers diminishes.

Alerts are a red flag that something unusual may be going on and to proceed with caution. If you saw a caution sign at every minor bend in the road, after a while you would probably stop thinking they were important and then you might be sorry when you find out too late you're entering a hair-pin turn on the side of a mountain.

A Fraud Alert is advisory and can be ignored--and some companies do. A Credit Freeze puts an absolute lock on your credit report. But not all states allow you to put a freeze on your credit report.

"Time will either promote you or EXPOSE you."

Wow, there are so many LifeLock employees on this feed pretending to be regular citizens.

Experian what a bunch of litigious hypocrites. Try getting anything for free from Experian the web site is so difficult to navigate and drives customers to pay for some crazy monitoring service they don't need or want before sending a credit report. Yes they are supposed to give you a Free credit report , but nothing says they need to make it easy. Lifelock just gets the job done saves me time and money.
PS: Lifelock pleasantly answers there phones 24hrs a day, you try calling Experian?

Before you attack the judge or the ruling, take a moment to understand it. The law (FCRA) was explicit and without question: fraud alerts are meant to be set by "individuals", NOT companies. They specifically wrote the law this way, it isn't an issue of interpretation. The job of a judge is to uphold the law. Lifelock violated the law which is why this claim by Experian DID NOT EVEN GO TO TRIAL. The judge granted a summary judgment which means a trial is not necessary on the claim.

Think before you make a post hating on the judge. He did his job which is to respect, interpret and uphold the law. Lifelocks actions were illegal. If you don't like it, work to have the law changed.

What people don't understand is LifeLock is not complete protection from Identity Theft, what if a criminals change your address to take over accounts? Fraud alerts do not protect you for this form if ID theft, you will not receive any type of notification for account take overs. Why pay $110/year for services that are free? If it's for convenience, hire someone you know, all that's required is to call a credit bureau 4 times a year and to go to the free annual credit report website to request your free reports, but again, even this doesn't protect you from ID Theft. Monitoring your credit and receiving alerts via email, text messaging or US mail provides more protection by making you aware of what activity is taking place on your credit. Some credit monitoring services like not only monitors the 3 credit bureaus, but also monitors your SSN, credit card #'s and bank account #'s from websites used by ID theives. Plus you get public record monitoring and an ID risk assessment to tell you your risk of being a victim of ID theft, internet security softwares, ID theft recovery services and 3 bureau credit scores for only a few $'s more then LifeLock's $10/month. You need to research these ID theft protection products and not fall for faulse and/or misleading advertising.

I tried LifeLock's services and received letters in the mail from the credit bureaus saying I must verify my identity before a fraud alert would be placed, so that explains the mailing costs to the bureaus for a service I paid LifeLock for which I needed to do myself anyway. And when I added protection for my child, all LifeLock did was notify the Social Security Administration to mail me a form to fill out and mail back in, so why did I pay LifeLock again???

Before taking shots at Judge Guilford or Experian, one should review Judge Guilford's order, available with a PACER account from the court's web site at http://ecf.cacd.uscourts.gov, Case No. 08-cv-00165-AG. The order makes it clear that the relevant provision of the Fair Credit Reporting Act does not permit a company (such as LifeLock) to place fraud alerts on a consumer's credit bureau file.

The legislative history of FCRA is unambiguous: "A request for a fraud alert must be made directly by the consumer, or directly by an individual acting on behalf of or as a personal representative of the consumer." The language of the statute allowing requests for fraud alerts was selected by Congress "to ensure that the provision would only apply to specific individuals such as a consumer’s authorized family members or guardians (or attorneys acting as personal representatives), authorized representatives from bona fide military service organizations, and not to companies and entities . . . ."

Judge Guilford merely applied the law as written and intended - which demonstrates that LifeLock has been violating the law. In a country based on the rule of law, illegal conduct is illegal, even if there is a perceived benefit to consumers, and violators should not profit from their illegal conduct, especially when they do so at the expense of a third party.

If I were Todd David, I would muster a team of attorney's (before they take the initiatve on their own) and I would file a class action lawsuit against Experian on behalf of my customers.

We have 1,000's of attorneys who love to file class-action lawsuits and this is one of the more deserving for the benefit of the consumer.

If I want to contract with LifeLock for them to take action on my behalf through power-of-attorney initiated by myself and any judge nullifies my power of attorney as a result of a lawsuit filed by anyone challenging that POA then I believe a class-action lawsuit is both reasonable and necessary.

Whether the services offered by LifeLock can be obtained for free elsewhere is not the point. The point being that I am being told that I cannot pay someone to perform a service that I do not want to perform myself. From my standpoint that has value to me.

I also do not buy into the idea that it costs Experian more to process requests in volume received from LifeLock than it does to process requests received from individuals, one at a time. If the truth be known, Experian is hoping that consumers will not call every 90 days thus reducing the volume.

I hope to hear more from LifeLock regarding the status of this issue.

WOW! I find this horrifying. Do I use Life Lock? No. However, if a company wants to offer me to do all the work for me, why shouldn't I be allowed to hire them to do it? The thing that scares me here, WHY are the credit reporting agencies so against this? Are they in fact the problem? Are they the ones to blame for identity theft? They really do make it easy for someone to file under a random social security number. I've been told in the past that they make sure to "maintain separate files for each name under a social security number." What is that? Why are there different names? That should throw up a big red flag right there. Why are they still extending credit? What should be reported back to the company requesting the report or score should be something referencing the duplicate number and then credit should be denied. I have no faith in this system. Clearly it's run by the very people who kill our reports and scores as it is.

This is great news. LifeLock is the biggest scam. I have a freind that still works there and he states that they are struggling. They blew through the Goldman Sachs money and they are not paying their partners on time. Their CEO sounds like an arrogant prick.

So it isn't legal to use a company to try to keep another company that you never gave permission to use your information from using it to your detriment? How does this make sense. I want a judge to tell all of the credit bureaus that they need authorization from a person to release any information they have - in every instance. That would really cut down on their profits but would be much more reasonable. They are not liable for the mistakes they make or for the misuse of the information that they provide to the detriment of the individual. How is that right?

I have gotten the 'free' credit report and even though I have an accounting degree, the thing was a fragging nightmare to decipher.
i never did get the bureau involved to correct the errors we found, so as far as I am concerned, Experian is as worthless as t--- on a Bull Hog.(this includes to other two also!)Best Wishes to Lifelock and I hope the judge, and experians Board of directors get their lives destroyed by Identity Theft.

Looks like another Bush appointee looking out for the little guy...

I'm glad the judge has the consumers' best interest! *rolling my eyes*

Lifelock is a crap company. If you want a company that will protect your information and restor your identity if it comes to that, go to prepaidlegal.com.
They work with Kolls and have lawyers on staff to make sure noone uses any of your information, from your credit cards to you social security number with all the illegals out there.

Lifelock saw that Prepaidlegal had a good niche market and decided to give it a try for themselves. The biggest difference is that they put up fraud alerts wich only watches your credit, it doesnt put a stop to it. Whereas PrePaidlegal monitors your personl information daily on all levels, and in the event thatsomething happens they can stop it or fix it depending on the situation.

Stop griping about Experian. It isnt that companys job to do Lifelocks job.

Credit reports ARE NOT FREE by default. The FCRA mandates that:

You are entitled to one every 12 months, OR
If a company takes adverse action against you, such as denying your application for credit, insurance, or employment, and you ask for your report within 60 days of receiving notice of the action.
http://www.ftc.gov/bcp/edu/pubs/consumer/credit/cre34.shtm

You can't just ask for it and get it-you have to know your rights. I have LifeLock and yes, now I will have to deal with Experian and placing fraud alerts on my and my husband's accounts - what a PITA. You don't have to have LifeLock but it sure is handy to have if you don't want to manage all that crap yourself.

Experian is a foreign company and doesn't even have human beings working there. If you need help, try to get someone from Experian on the phone- then try LifeLock.. Guess who is on the side of the consumer? This foreign company absolutley must have greased some palms.. Get ready judge- karma can be a real pain..

This judge comes form California and was appointed by GWB. Is there any wonder that he would come up with this convoluted ruling. I would try to get my Congressional representatives working to reverse this but they have already sold themselves to the Financial industry. You don't think that the fact that most of the members of Congress have million dollar incomes is a result of hard work do you?

I don't personally use the service LifeLock but I think it is a great idea to help assist people who could never find the information necessary to protect themselves from identification theft. Think of your elderly grandmother in a nursing home, for $10 a month she could be protected from having her enire life savings secured and guaranteed. How would you like it if a corporation, that is supposed to look out for you and your credit security, totally turned it's back on you and those you love, and let thieves and scoundrels acquire your information that much easier. I think we all need to write to our Congresspersons and let them know we can't stand for this kind of injustice any longer. We need to start being proactive in our government instead of reactive. We need to start to take a stance for ourselves and those who cannot stand for themselves and make our voices be heard for the common good. If we continue to sit there and watch our government allow a playboy be elected to our highest seat of office, just because he speaks well and loks good on television, then we are truly losing face as a country to look to for right and wrong. We, the people, need to start doing right for the people, because Lord knows that this ruling shows that we have noone in our corner any longer, everyone is only loking out for number, and that is big business.

Let me get this straight: Experian wants to cry about Lifelock's system using resources that cost them money: Their toll-free number, their website, their employees' time and resources?
This is called cost of doing business. Experian is paying these costs whether or not Lifelock is "clogging" their system (this really makes me laugh). If Experian wants to accurately convey the problem here, they should change their name to "DMV". Obviously the only real problem is they don't want to actually do anything useful.

Anyone can place a fraud alert on their own credit report easily and at no cost. To do so online with Equifax (and it will automatically apply to TransUnion and Experian as well) go to:

http://www.equifax.com/cs7/Satellite?c=EFX_Page_C&childpagename=CP%2FEFX_Page_C%2FGetcreditCP&cid=1182376319625&p=1182376320471&packedargs=locale%3Den_cp&pagename=EFX%2FWrapper

For more free information on fraud alerts go to: http://www.identitytheft.info/fraudalert.aspx

There's no need to pay any service to place a fraud alert.

I think there should be a way for everyone to "OPT OUT" of all the credit reporting agencies. I for one would file for it in a heart beat. Whats the worst that happens..."We are sorry sir but you have no credit history so we can not sell this to you"...ok so ill pay cash...lol

PC in Texas, you said it. The credit rating industry is a monster with a glutinous appetite and with no one to audit it. The fed needs its partner in crime. Since they can't lend to government at a decent rate why not lend to the sheeple at 30% ?

The "Fair Credit Reporting Act" What's fair about making money from criminal activity?

I think Experian is just mad they didn't think about selling this service first...

Sounds like Experian needs to be taken to courts by a customer or a few thousand customers. So Lifelock creates extra work for them which cost them extra money, Experian and the other credit bureaus do that to us every day. If I had the money I’d try lobbying Congress or try to take the bureaus to court for what they cost “we” the consumer every day. Credit card companies are lowering credit limits in enormous drops constantly. I get it. However this blows the debt to credit available ratio out of the water, all of a sudden consumers’ look like they maxed out their limits when in fact they had not. This in turn lowers consumer credit scores, which in turn costs consumers tens of thousands possibly even hundreds of thousands of dollars a year in higher interest rates from the lower credit score. Lifelock is trying to protect us the credit bureau are constantly hurting us. Looks like a double standard on Experian’s part to me, they cry unfair practice about Lifelock and yet the system the credit bureaus’ use against timely paying consumers still slams our credit. Go figure that one?

I am a LifeLock member myself, LL has very good business practices. They are very proactive to protect my good name. Everyone knows they can request their own fraud alerts, and order their own credit reports, but who wants to remember to renew them every 90 days, why not hire a company to do it for you and offer a One Million service Guarantee, if in an event you become a victim of Identity Theft. I believe will pull through this minor set back.

It just sounds like legal extortion of consumers money to me

"Davis said he was surprised by the judge's order, which he said favored credit bureau Experian over consumers."

Why would that surprise anyone? That has been the practice, i.e. ruling in favor of companies over consumers, for decades. Now it's time for the Congress to start regulating these companies and forcing them to treat people fairly. They have been allowed to operate with impunity for too long.

Alrighty now... Reading thru all this makes me wonder what gives Credit bureaus the right to PROFIT off of our PERSONAL information, including but not limited to selling our Social Security numbers? Is that a crime? I should sell off all the PRIVATE information on clients that I have ammassed in the 30 years I was in business, INCLUDING Social Security Numbers, creditors, phone numbers etc. Why are they allowed to SELL our information without our permission? They also allow durogatory information be placed on OUR credit file without REAL proof of validity. PEOPLE.... we need to do something about this. Credit Bureaus are SELLING OFF YOUR PERSONAL INFORMATION AND PROFITING FROM IT! I don't ever remember giving them permission to accumulate my personal information.

I know I can't buy a DVD movie, Music CD's etc.. and make copies of it and then SELL them LEGALLY.... Soooooo....

"HEY.... CREDIT BUREAUS..... WHERE'S MY ROYALTY PAYMENTS FOR SELLING MY INFORMATION? YOU DON'T OWN IT! I DO!"

A friend of mine wanted to apply at Staples for work and they asked him for permission to do a credit check. Even landlords are asking for them these days. What about people with outstanding student loans?

So let me get this straight...
Experian can't afford the cost of providing a sufficient phone service and website for reports of identity theft and have somehow turned it around to be LifeLock's fault?

From what I understand, Lifelock acts as an agent for the average person who doesn't want to deal with identity theft and other credit-related stuff, much like a lawyer does for legal matters. What's wrong with that? Are credit companies scared they'll have a harder time scamming you if you have an agent?

Personally, I just use cash and have never had credit of any kind. It's against my better judgment to let some greedy bastards make money off interest on lending me money they don't even have. Google "fractional reserve banking" for an explanation of how all that works.

Holy mackerel! The thing I haven't seen anyone mentioned yet is that, quite simply, Experian is complaining that LifeLock is actually making Experian do what they're supposed to to anyway. If those same customers who were making use of LifeLock's service were to file the *same* paperwork on their own, Experian would have no grounds for complaint! Experian as much as admits that the process has only recently become prohibitively expensive because LifeLock has made it easy enough for consumers that they actually make use of the service on a widespread basis, and thus cause Experian to have to make use of it's web site and phone banks and mail out notices. Experian fails to acknowledge that Lifeock customers *have every right* to file said paperwork and are not doing so for selfish purposes, but to protect their credit rating... the one which Experian is largely responsible for tracking!

Now that Experian has to actually do what they're *supposed* to anyway in order to to empower consumers, and has the sheer balls to *sue* LifeLock for empowering cosumers to make use of Experian's own services in order to protect themselves. Unbelievable. I would suggest a boycott of some sort, but they're pretty much omnipotent and utterly immune to just about everything in today's credit-driven world. Companies such as Experian have helped me to decide to avoid credit at all costs. Screw 'em.

I'm to the point where I don't even *want* credit. I'll just pay cash for everything, thank you.

And yes, I mean a car and a house...I'd rather it take longer than have to deal with any of this nonsense ever again.

The credit companies hold our future in their hands. Their files determine if the banks will allow us to buy a house or car. Yet they answer to no one, they are practically impossible to deal with, and getting a straight answer to a simple question like "What is my exact credit score?" is almost impossible. We are forced to jump through hoops to protect our credit rating, which includes having to deal with companies like Experian.

If the credit companies were easier to deal with and they punished the lenders that give out loans to people who aren't who they say they are, then the typical person wouldn't need a service such as LifeLock. But because the credit companies don't do what they should do, now they want to be upset that people are using a service that makes it a bit easier to protect those ratings?

Hey Experian, get off the power trip (some people think government is bad, but you guys take the cake on power tripping). Realize that you and your business practices are the problem, not companies like LifeLock.

Or look at it this way, if someone could call in and get a live representative on the phone without a big headache, discuss an issue, fix a problem, or request a FULL report (and I mean FULL as in every single detail you've got on them), and be able to reasonably communicate with you, would they really need a company like Lifelock? Of course not. So take a look in the mirror and fix your own company before going after someone else. Frankly I cannot believe the judge didn't point out that you did this to yourself while he laughed you out of his courtroom.

So a big thumbs down to both Experian and the judge in this case.

I can change my own tire, but I have AAA. I can do my own taxes, but I have someone do it for me. I can do lots of things myself but the convenience factor of having someone do that for me allows me to work and live my life worry free, with peace of mind. Isn't Experian the one who sells my stuff to the credit cards in the first place, what about that? I vote boo hoo to this judge.

I can change my own tire, but I have AAA. I can do my own taxes, but I have someone do it for me. I can do lots of things myself but the convenience factor of having someone do that for me allows me to work and live my life worry free, with peace of mind. Isn't Experian the one who sells my stuff to the credit cards in the first place, what about that? I vote boo hoo to this judge.

Lifelock was getting a benefit from Experian and not having to pay for it. Why shouldn't they be forced to stop?

Another point that large corporations (and their billion dollare share holders) are running this country and not the citizens. And these are the same people that brought (bought) us our canidates in all levels of government. There is one way around this and that is that Congress can amend this rule. But here is the catch!!! Will they??? Probably not, because of their obligations to the people who fund their campaigns. We are not a capitalistic nation nor a socialist nation. We are actually becoming a Facist nation (to those that don't know this is where big business and big government work together to split the pie up between them, and not us).

I think it is a great system that LifeLock is providing. It's a complete horror to deal with creditors even if you have good credit and more so if your credit is in jeopardy. Experian is being unfair in this case.

They apparently never check their systems or they would know how annoying they are. You end up spending 6 hours waiting for someone to talk to and yet they're the ones getting ripped off? Hardly. It's not like all of LifeLock's customers are on the red flag list spamming Experian. They're just being the usual big company beating down the little guy relentlessly until the only thing left for the little guy to do is die.

It's interesting though, because creditors and credit check still get the cash, regardless in whether it's fraud or not. So, what really is the incentive for them to fix your credit? Why should they? Experian probably likes the idea of having identity theft. More money in their fat pockets.

If Experian doesn't want to do their work, they should close up shop. Given their abject failures in the past when it comes to protecting consumers, which in my opinion is a pretty good indication that they simply never do their jobs properly, it would appear that everyone would win. LifeLock doesn't have to worry about Experian, their inept employees don't have to worry about incidentally having to do any work, and the consumers can be protected from this unprofessional business "accidentally" leaking consumer information to parties that may do harm.

Just shut down Experian; it's quite clear that the company is not run well enough, nor are its employees trustworthy enough, to do their job to the benefit of the consumers upon whom they prey.

I'm not sure who is the worse of two evils here. Personally I can't understand those folks that use Lifelock. And don't try to tell me you know exactly what they are doing, and that you haven't bought into marketing hype here.

Regardless, it was said best in a previous post, "scammer versus scammer"

I wonder who's campaign/judge experian has contributed to in the last few years. It seems our "system" is based on grease.

I don't have a lot of sympathy for the credit bureaus. I know they serve a purpose, and I know their customer is NOT the average consumer. However, the data they keep and sell has a tremendous impact on the life of that average consumer.

I feel like an idiot saying something like "they owe it to us" or "they should treat us better" - both of those statements are not correct, and I know that.

Regardless, there is something sleazy about the way the credit bureaus operate, and it is made significantly sleazier by their obvious disdain for the average consumer. So, it's "hard" for Experian to provide fraud alerts? Why is that? Isn't it just a flag on the consumer's file? I don't buy it at all.

The fact that a service like LifeLock is viable just underscores how unfair and unnecessarily complex the existing system really is.

There's no incentive for companies like Experian to give a flip about what you or I think. But, dang it, that's where the courts are supposed to come in. There's right, and then there's right, and the courts are supposed to be there to apply the law in a fair and just manner. Sure doesn't seem like they are now, does it?

One can only hope that Judge Andrew Guilford has his identity stolen very, very soon!

You can do the same and more for a one time fee using www.OptOutDetectives.com

LifeLock does provide a service. There are three credit agencies, and you have to file an alert with each one every 90 days to be covered. Yes, you can do it for free, but it's a pain to actually get done (the credit agencies make it difficult, and after reading this decision, I have to assume they make it difficult on purpose).

I agree with Ryan - Experian wants to do away with people availing themselves of the "extra precaution" to protect their credit and identity. Whose side, EXACTLY, are they on, anyway?

Let me get this straight, the credit bureaus bury this feature so deep and make it non-user friendly so a company offers to perform this function as a convenience for its customers who expressly want this service and the court says no-no can't do that?

Gee, does flagging each account per request as required by law really cost that much? Must be why the credit bureau were legally required to do it, otherwise it wouldn't be done at all as cost prohibitive.

I don't see how lifelock is a scam, yes I could do this myself but I don't have the time. I buy many services because it is more convenient to me. Why would this be different?

Wait, so the company that sells your information and keeps you on hold 16 hours when there is something erroneous on your credit report is sueing the other company that, for a small fee, helps you navigate the BS of the credit bureaus and fraud?

Experian, you are so transparently obvious why you are doing this it is sickening.

Experian is obviously the in business to help their customers - ie, Banks, Mortgage, Car Dealers, and now Insurance Co's are jumping on because you will more nterest to them, if your credit score is low, even if is not your fault - Example: Identity Theft.

Really interesting logic. The credit bureau is incurring costs. Hmmm...who granted the credit bureaus the right to be the exclusive monitors of credit rating? Who is ensuring that they effectively monitor it? Where is my cut for allowing them access to my SSN and credit related information?

What a scam! The credit bureaus fought to keep from having to give us free access to our own information (rather to check that they were maintaining accuracy in their collection of our personal information). If only they were penalized somehow for the convoluted mess they've made of our personal data.

Experian is crying because this limits their ability to unknowingly and unnecessarily trash someones credit. It also probably cuts into their revenue stream by stopping them from allowing junk mailers to get consumer information to mail out all of the junk mail. They don't give a rats a-- about fair credit reporting, they care about their revenue stream and LifeLock is cutting into their profits.

Interesting that Experian, TransUnion, and Equifax have the audacity to charge me for is actually mine: my credit score. Has anyone ever filed a dispute? It takes YEARS to repair a mistake they have made. i applaud Todd Davis and raspberry the credit score companies that want to play God and block anyone that tries to prevent them from such.

After being flim-flammed by freecreditreports.com I welcome companies like Lifelock.

revealing CEO Todd Davis' Social Security number is the same number my mother in laws friends is. How do two people have the same number?

well i'm glad the judge didn't find "freecreditreport.com" owned by Experian didn't practice "unfair" nor "deceptive" business practice by selling to consumers something available for FREE !!
Welcome to the "Union of Soviet Socialist United States"

Dear cyfi Asheville, NC

That can't be true. Are you serious ? Can you post some link. If true, that ought to be the most ridiculous ruling i have ever seen. Who cares under what circumstances an illegal used a fake SSN ? Just the fact that they did should be enough to prosecute them. I mean if their being illegal is not cause enough.

Why waste money on LifeLock, if someone takes my identity I have full faith in Obama making me whole again. Heck none of us should ever have to worry about anything bad happening to us. In the new America there are no winners or losers. Just participants.

Banks are scum, lenders are scum, usury is an evil practice, credit reporting agencies are certainly scum, and they indeed do all work incahoots to screw the common fellow. Free credit report dot com my ass! Obviously false advertising, but hey, look who they are tied to and follow the money. I hate banks and greedy bankers and I'm getting in an "all cash" biz so I can screw the gov't out of taxes like the big boys do! Why the hell not? If you can't beat 'em join 'em? Maybe we can become an entire society of thugs, tramps and grifters? Wait? We're just almost there already, that right!

Experian has a huge conflict of interest here! They buy and sell OUR consumer data as their core business. Then they sell us back our OWN data by selling consumers "credit monitoring". Pure profit to Experian and they DO NOTHING to truly "protect" consumers! This is a government backed sham...

Identify theft is an amazing mess. Anybody who has either had their identity stolen or had to work on behalf of somebody who has in the credit arena know how little the credit reporting agencies seem to care (or how little effort they will put forth to correct even the simplest of errors.) Truth be told, Lifelock is a sham, same as tax preperation. This is yet another context in which our simple rights and resources are so mired in red tape that we haven't the savvy to martial them. As Mark and Jason alluded to at the outset, it is deeply perverse that it is our reponsibility to make sure that our identies are not misused by criminals, and that we could ever suffer any deficit of time or money from the failure of a private company to ensure the viability of a fraudulent transaction. Everybody (except for the consumer) is out of line here.

While you are all talking about Experian, You should all know that Experian is NOT even An American Company. yet they control a large amount of economics in this country.

As a credit fraud victim ($25,000 worth) I have been willing to pay Lifelock to file the alerts for me and they have also stopped someone from using one of my credit card numbers. The credit bureaus are a major pain to deal with no matter their claim people should do this themselves. Try, dear reader, just one time to get a living, breathing person on the phone at one of these credit bureaus. If you've gone through the hell of fixing your credit you'll know why this matters.

IF THERE IS A NEED FOR LEGAL CLAIMS, THE CREDIT AGENCIES SHOULD BE INVEESTIGATED!ASK ANYONE WHO HAS EVER DEALT WITH THEM. THEY HOLD THE CREDIT FATE OF EVERY CONSUMER WITHOUT RECOURSE!

This decision make absolutely no sense to me.

I can change my oil but if I mess it up I am responsible for paying for the damages. I can also set my own fraud alerts but if someone steals my identity, I then have to clean up the mess! Why shouldn't LifeLock be allowed to set consumers fraud alerts?? If you contact LifeLock directly they don't sugar coat the business and they will let you know you can perform some of the services for free on your own, but they offer services that are not free. You are protecting yourself, why shouldn't you be allowed to??? Why is TransUnion partnered with LifeLock if its such a scam? Point blank, Experian is just bitter they are losing business to a legitimate company.

Scammer vs. scammer.

I'm all for personal responsibility, but if I want to pay Lifelock to do automated tasks for me, I should be able to. Experian is not looking out for anybody's interest other than Experian's.

I believe, if somebody is being issued credit whether for a vehicle, home loan, or credit card, that it's incumbent upon the lender to make certain the person they're offering credit to is actually the person they're claiming to be. Why is it the consumer's responsibility to absorb the cost and time to repair their credit when their identity is used to obtain goods, services, and money fraudulently? Why shouldn't the business that extended the credit absorb that cost? I'm betting if they did, we'd eliminate identity theft.

once again our glorious leaders show us they are not capable of doing anything correctly.

They are all a bunch of scammers!!!!!

If Experian wants to play this way, then they better get a handle on identity theft themselves. I am tired of the people always being the victims of these corporate entities. Experian had better get a clue, because millions are victims of this crime annually. We are tired of it. Either get better locks in place or get the h*ll out Experian.

If I understand this correctly, Experian offers a free service. Lifelock, on behalf of those who subscribe, use this free service for it's clients. Experian is complaining that the cost associated with everyone wanting to protect their credit is prohibitive to its business model ("costs of allocating Experian’s electronic resources and employee time, plus the maintenance costs of Experian’s toll-free telephone number and Web page used to accept fraud alert requests"). Experian clearly doesn't want this 'free' service widely known or used. Companines that base their survival off of offering a free service that they hope very few people use should be run out of town. This smells more like Experian wants a piece of the Lifelock pie.

U.S. District Judge Andrew Guilford of the Central District of California should be allowed to experienced the theft of his personal identity information (PII). Then, he would be able to realize the detriments his rulings may have on consumers.

So, Experian will incur the same man-hours/labors regardless whether Lifelock or the individual files fraud alerts. The only difference is that if the individual consumer does not file, then it does not cost Experian anything.

In this digital information age where PII thefts are continuing to be on the rise, we all need to petition our congressmen and state representatives to strengthen the current regulations of credit verifications and reduce PII thefts, i.e. require the 3 credit bureaus to have an fraud alert system in place regardless of whether a PII theft has occurred or not.

Fraud alerts are kind of useless anyway. Credit issuers are under no obligation to contact the consumer. They can just ignore the alert and grant the credit anyway. If someone is truly worried about identity theft, I thought we could now have our credit history frozen. Is this not the case anymore?

Great - let's stomp out another small business! My brother went to work for Lifelock after being laid off from his job of 24 years. He said working there was like a breath of fresh air; they treat their employees like real people. And he says they operate with integrity. Why doesn't Experian use their funds to improve credit theft instead of lining the pockets of lawyers to destroy the little guys who they perceive as competition.

Again our judicial system favors the few and powerful over we the people. It is for reasons like this that all judges should be elected and not appointed. The banks and their affiliates have had a free hand, for some time, to do what ever they wish. It's time for change to end the tyranny of the banking system and the Federal Reserve.

The solution obviously is to make fraud alerts PERMANENT until the consumer specifically withdraws it.

Of course, this would make ghouls like Experian unable to pimp out your personal information, and cut into their obscene profits.

We hope Congress will reign in these leeches as well.

And my opinions on the credit bureaus are free speech. I'll let you know if their legal goons try to sue me. . .

LifeLock charges customers for everything they can get for free. All they are doing is taking advantage of poor consumer education by the federal government. Maybe Obama will fix that too...right....

LifeLock charges customers for everything they can get for free. All they are doing is taking advantage of poor consumer education by the federal government. Maybe Obama will fix that too...right....

The three primary credit reporting agencies do not provide any service. Most of the time, their reports contain errors and they will not change them.

I even went to my Congressman for help and his reply is my only option is to file a lawsuit. Big help! I do not need to incur this cost to correct something that any dummy would know is in error without effort.

These same credit rating agencies are the same ones who facilitated the credit problems rampant today in our mortgage loan crisis. Are we to believe they are in need of help?

Congress should ban these agencies or make them liable for their screw-ups.

Pass the K-Y jelly people. With these courts and Experian "looking out" for our best interest we are going to need it. Ouch!

Judge Guilford agreed.
"Experian clearly incurs costs each time it must process a fraud alert made by LifeLock." he said. "Experian also incurs postage and printing costs in mailing disclosure letters to each consumer on whose behalf a fraud alert is requested."

**************************************************

He should have gone on to say "and identity theft victims who lose thier life savings don't have to pay postage."

It's all clear to me now .........................

A fraud alert is intended to alert the business extending credit to use extra caution when approving credit in that individual's name and Social Security Number. The fraud alert basically says "hey, spend the extra time and effort to double check". It would make more sense if credit grantors automatically went the extra mile to protect themselves from issuing fraudulent credit.

By placing up to 1.5 million fraud alerts on consumers files that may not be at risk, LifeLock is abusing the alert system as a form of general protection. By crying wolf 1.5 million times, credit grantors will be retrained to ignore fraud alerts which have been placed by consumers who legitimately feel their credit information may have been compromised.

Why is it the consumer that needs to protect their identities. I am who I am and need no protection to ensure that it does not change. It is the Banks and other financial companies that need to protect against fraudulent use of people's identies. Nice of them to once again dodge responsibility and make it our problem. But hey, they can probably make a buck or two (or 15 Million a month - Lifelock)...