They were originally founded in 1898, 70 years before the creation of Trans Union. Equifax has an annual revenue of over $3.1 billion. [72] The award included $18.4 million in punitive damages, and $180,000 in compensatory damages. Until his retirement in 1931, he successfully steered the company as general manager, president and chairman. Cator, a former bank employee, and Guy, a lawyer, employed simple notations to reflect merchants comments about their shoppers payment habits: Prompt, Slow, or Requires Cash. They published these findings as The Merchants Guide, sold it for $25, and offered individual credit reports. As of April 2023, The net worth of Equifax is estimated to be $5 billion. Over the years the company has produced several profitable data-gathering and transaction-processing progeny, including Certegy, which became a separate entity in 2001, and ChoicePoint, which became a separate entity in 1997. Until his retirement in 1931, he successfully steered the company as general manager, president and chairman. To add a flower, click the Leave a Flower button. Family members linked to this person will appear here. In New Georgia Encyclopedia. Today, we know that company as Equifax. They said they could have downloaded the data of all of Equifax's customers in 10 minutes: "I've seen a lot of bad things, but not this bad. Remove advertising from a memorial by sponsoring it for just $5. The company posted a loss of $2,242. With 4,600 employees in 13 countries worldwide, and $1.4 billion in annual revenue, the Atlanta-based Standard and Poors 500 firm is one of Georgias most profitable companies. In 1941, when the war began for the United States, the company was providing 7.5 million reports a year; many of its inspectors, however, were drafted into the military and other employees left the enterprise to engage in war-related endeavors. Equifaxs credit-scoring software is offered through many subsidiaries, and its customers include retailers, insurance firms, health-care providers, utilities, government agencies, banks, and other financial institutions. The companys name was changed to Equifax in 1976, perhaps, some thought, to counter the lingering memory of the companys brushes with government regulators. (France); UAPT-Infolink, plc (U.K.). Continuing with this request will add an alert to the cemetery page and any new volunteers will have the opportunity to fulfill your request. Woolford was sympathetic to Roosevelts illness, and he became one of the founders of the Georgia Warm Springs Foundation (later, Roosevelt Warm Springs Institute for Rehabilitation). Woolford, the founder of the Retail Credit Company - which later became Equifax. Learn more about merges. 1989: Equifax forms an alliance with CSC Credit Services. This browser does not support getting your location. I thought you might like to see a memorial for Cator Ringgold Woolford I found on Findagrave.com. [46], On September 18, 2017, Bloomberg News reported that Equifax had been the victim of a "major breach of its computer systems" in March 2017, and that in early March it had begun "notifying a small number of outsiders and banking customers" about this attack. "All you had to do was put in a search term and get millions of results, just instantlyin cleartext, through a web app," they said. [66], In 1982, Retail Credit Company was criticized for collecting "facts, statistics, inaccuracies and rumors about virtually every phase of a person's life; his marital troubles, jobs, school history, childhood, sex life, and political activities. Sorry! Oops, something didn't work. Our History: From Cator Woolford Gardens to Our Disabilities Programs Our History Frazer Center is tucked away on 39 acres of old-growth forest in the heart of Atlanta. GREAT NEWS! The company was founded by Cator Woolford and Guy Woolford in 1899 and is headquartered in Atlanta, GA. Show more---Top 5 ETFs holding EFX. "Equifax." Equifax Inc (NYSE:EFX) 196.37. With the company's sales running at $350,000, the Woolfords decided to incorporate. Fostering inclusive communities is the heart of Frazers mission. Another achievement is being named a Top Technology Provider, Top Workplace, and it was the winner of the InformationWeek Elite 100, among many others. This legislation gave consumers rights regarding information stored about them in corporate databanks. With opportunities for expansion growing more limited in the developed world, Equifax turned to the Latin American and Asian markets, acquiring full or partial ownership of firms in Chile, India, Argentina, Peru, and El Salvador. Two years later the San Francisco office was entirely destroyed by earthquake and fire. The business soon became very successful. By 1920, it has 37 branches throughout North America. Today, in addition to its credit-reporting and risk-management businesses, Equifax markets credit cards and provides fraud-detection services, database marketing, and risk consulting. For instance, in 1908 the company began issuing reports for automobile liability insurers. Two brothers, Cator and Guy Woolford, created the company. Equifax is headed by Mark L. Feidler as the chairman of the board, Mark W. Begor, as the CEO, and John W. as the vice president as well as the CFC. [85][86] Equifax ultimately reached a settlement with regulators for up to $700 million. With the 1993 acquisition of Integratec Inc., Equifax gained a leading provider of debt collection and other back-office services for credit card issuers and other lenders. Please help update this article to reflect recent events or newly available information. In 1899 Cator and Guy Woolford, two brothers from Woolford, Maryland, began operations as the Retail Credit Company in Atlanta. Your support helps us commission new entries and update existing content. Also proving helpful was the advent of credit bureau associations which had begun springing up as the exchange of information between fellow creditors became more common. In doing so, the company expanded its computerized files enormously and paved the way for greater diversification. Edit a memorial you manage or suggest changes to the memorial manager. Other failings were on the exposure of American salary data, and website malware. THE CATOR WOOLFORD ESTATE 1815 S. Ponce de Leon, Ave, NE, Atlanta, GA 30307 Determination and Scope for Fence Permit . We Have Some Questions", "Equifax, Inc. (EFX) Income Statement - Yahoo Finance", "Equifax Inc. 2022 Annual Report (Form 10-K)", "How to protect yourself against the theft of your identity", "All Products and Solutions | Business | Equifax", "All Credit Score, Credit Report & Identity Theft Products | Equifax", "Equifax breach just another page in the sordid history of credit bureaus", "A Summary of Your Rights Under the Fair Credit Reporting Act", "ANNUAL REPORT PURSUANT TO SECTION 13 OR 15(D) OF THE SECURITIES EXCHANGE ACT OF 1934 FOR THE FISCAL YEAR ENDED DECEMBER 31, 2001", "GeoTrust acquires Equifax's digital certificate business", "DEFINITIVE PROXY STATEMENTS RELATING TO MERGER OR ACQUISITION", "Equifax buys local eThority: Company to stay, grow in Charleston, founder says", "Who controls opinion polling in Australia, what else we need to know about the polls, and why it matters", "The Dizzying Number Of CFPB Complaints Against Equifax Since 2012 Should Infuriate You", "Equifax just discovered 2.4M more account breaches", "Equifax, Apache Struts, and CVE-2017-5638 vulnerability | Synopsys", "Equifax CIO Put '2 and 2 Together' Then Sold Stock, SEC Says", "Former Equifax employee sentenced for insider trading", "Former Equifax Executive Gets 4 Months for Insider Trading | SecurityWeek.Com", "Former Equifax manager sentenced to 8 months home confinement for insider trading", "Ex-Equifax Manager Gets Home Confinement for Insider Trading | SecurityWeek.Com", "Equifax Is Said to Be Near $650 Million Settlement for Data Breach", "Equifax agrees to pay $700M after massive data breach", "Report: Equifax to pay $700 million in breach settlement", "Opinion | Equifax Doesn't Want You to Get Your $125. In 1934, he co-founded the short-lived Correct Address Company, with Edwin K. Large . Equifax (EFX) has a Smart Score of 9 based on an analysis of 8 unique data sets, including Analyst Recommendations, Crowd Wisdom, and Hedge Fund Activity. Equifax was founded by Cator and Guy Woolford in Atlanta, Georgia, as Retail Credit Company in 1899. Credit books for Athens, Rome, Columbus, Macon, and Augusta were developed and marketed and a branch office was opened in Augusta. This beautiful garden underwent major renovations in 1996 and 2017. Cooper Sanchez, an artist, gardener, and designer, has used his magical skills to convert the Cator Woodford Garden to a popular event venue in Atlanta. All photos uploaded successfully, click on the Done button to see the photos in the gallery. All rights reserved. 20042023 Georgia Humanities, University of Georgia Press. This heightened activity was fueled by the 1993 decision to subcontract the running of Equifax's computer operation to IBM, a move that freed Equifax's large technical staff to develop new ways of packaging the company's data in consultation with its customers. Roosevelt Warm Springs Institute for Rehabilitation, Statutory and Executive Boards and Commissions, Georgia National Fairgrounds and Agricenter. Becoming a Find a Grave member is fast, easy and FREE. Once the home of Cator Woolford, a principal founder of what is now known as Equifax, the Italian-style gardens serve as a wedding and event venue infused with decades of classic beauty and Southern charm. [27][28], In July 2019, The New York Times, the New York Post and other media reported Equifax had agreed to pay approximately $650 million to settle with the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) to resolve investigations by several state attorneys general, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, the FTC, and a consumer class-action lawsuit related to the data breach. 28. Please complete the captcha to let us know you are a real person. Under this law, consumers were given the right to gain access to their credit files and correct errors in them. In 1935 Cator Woolford donated a parcel of land he owned in Glynn County, adjacent to an old river plantation known as Elizafield, to the state of Georgia for use as a state park. Three years later, Retail Credit ran afoul of the new federal regulations and was charged with violating the Fair Credit Reporting Act and the Federal Trade Commission Act. According to Bloomberg, Equifax enlisted Mandiant (owned by FireEye, Inc.) to assist in investigating the March attack. By the end of the company's second year, the staff had expanded to eight and the volume of sales was growing steadily. The company also developed its first form containing questions relating to fire insurance. Nevertheless, after the company pledged to monitor its procedures more carefully, the government halted its investigation. The U.S. entry into World War II had a serious impact on Retail Credit's business. Try again later. Please reset your password. Equifax is a multinational American consumer credit reporting agency that is among the top three consumer credit reporting agencies. [75] A federal judge reduced the award to $1.62 million in 2014. (TRW's credit bureau was spun off as Experian Inc. in 1996.). The agency handles information on more than 88 million businesses and 880 million individuals globally. Once the estate of Cator Woolford, founder of the company now known as Equifax, these lovely grounds include the beautiful Cator Woolford Gardens. Equifax, one of the nations top three credit-reporting agencies, along with Experian and TransUnion, holds information on more than 400 million credit holders across the. Translation on Find a Grave is an ongoing project. Consolidation in the credit bureau industry continued throughout the 1980s, as Equifax and its two largest competitors, TRW Inc. and the Trans Union Corporation, divided up the nation's smaller credit bureaus amongst themselves. (U.K.); Transax pty Ltd. (Australia); Transax S.N.C. 2015 mmwoodruff (Atlas Obscura User) The Cator Woolford Gardens, a 39-acre park just a few miles outside of downtown Atlanta, Georgia, are one of the last remaining historic estates anywhere in . Please enter your email and password to sign in. [73] The jury's verdict is believed to be the largest award in an individual case under the Fair Credit Reporting Act. Revenues had reached a record $1.62 billion by 1998, but the outlook was somewhat clouded by the economic uncertainties that had begun with the Asian financial crisis of 1997. Different inspectors carried out the two types of investigations. That year also saw Equifax introduce a record 25 new products. To use this feature, use a newer browser. In addition to consumer and commercial credit information services, Equifax has a diversified array of operations including payment services, software, modeling, analytics, consulting, and direct-to-consumer services. Other services offered by Equifax include selling credit monitoring to their customers as well as fraud prevention services. In June the pages of the book were run out on a mimeograph machine and bound between hard covers with the title "Merchant's Guide.". Similarly an agency that had previously limited its activities to claims inspection also joined the fray. Year should not be greater than current year. . After a couple of years, the company expanded into commercial credit reports on big companies in the UK, the US, and Canada. In addition, the agency sells fraud prevention and credit monitoring services to their customers. Share this memorial using social media sites or email. Cator Woolford got his start in the credit bureau business as a grocer in Chattanooga, Tennessee. Eventually the Frazers and Lanes acquired the former estate of Cator Woolford (founder of the Retail Credit Company, now Equifax), 39 acres located in Lake Claire/Druid Hills. [citation needed] The company also had a division selling specialist credit information to the insurance industry but spun off this service, including the Comprehensive Loss Underwriting Exchange (CLUE) database as ChoicePoint in 1997. By 1920, the company had offices throughout the United States and Canada. Retail Credit set a pattern of aggressive development in the life insurance-related business that would later be applied when entering other fields. Having already moved into check verification and credit card processing in the early 1990s, Equifax diversified again in 1992 through the acquisition of Health Economics Corporation, which moved the company into the field of healthcare information. [69][70], In July 2013, a federal jury in Oregon awarded $18.6 million to Julie Miller of Marion County against Equifax for violations of the Fair Credit Reporting Act. Equifax Inc. Copyright (c) 2022 Company-Histories.com. In the following year, the company's capacity grew 40 percent, to cover all 50 states. Attempts to run facilities in Baltimore, Greensborough, and Philadelphia during this time failed, and the offices were closed. Some of the company's data storage equipment is pictured circa 1978. Gathering information by telephone, as well as simplifying forms for recording information, were two of the steps taken towards this end. [81], Consumer lawsuits claiming damages under the FCRA have been successful in small claims court. For many years, Equifax has operated mostly on the business-to-business sector, where it sold consumer credit and insurance reports. The settlement was for those who were affected by the data breach, and it cost Equifax over $700 million. In the fall of 1901, the company dispatched a salesman to the Northeast to drum up business in the home offices of the nation's largest insurance companies. Miller contacted Equifax repeatedly in writing and over the telephone, but Equifax refused to delete dozens of false collection accounts from Miller's credit report. In June 1901 Retail Credit branched out into another industry, as it began providing so-called "moral hazard" information on potential policyholders to the Equitable Life Assurance Society. 1920: Retail Credit Company continues to grow. Are you sure that you want to delete this photo? Its headquarters are located on Peachtree Street in downtown Atlanta. Please contact Find a Grave at [emailprotected] if you need help resetting your password. "[80] Equifax selected the law firm DLA Piper to work on the case in D.C. By 1913 Retail Credit had developed a special form for automobile insurance, to be completed by the investigator. In addition, the company modified the processes for correcting mistakes in its files, making it easier for consumers to set the record straight. Nevertheless, after the company pledged to monitor its procedures more carefully, the government halted its investigation. Failed to delete flower. Heres a look at how the Atlanta-based company grew into the credit reporting giant that it is today. [59], On October 12, 2017, Equifax's website was reported to have been offering visitors malware via drive-by download. Equifax also divested itself of two unprofitable units in 1989, Equifax Insurance Systems and Enercon, Inc. As the 1990s arrived, the company strove to enter the European market. Your Scrapbook is currently empty. Despite Equifax's flat earnings, the company moved past its main competitor, TRW, to seize the lead in market share among credit bureaus in the beginning of 1992. [24] After an investigation by the FBI, Ying pleaded guilty, was sentenced to four months of prison plus a year of supervised release, and was fined $55,000.00 and ordered to pay restitution of $117,117.61 in June 2019. Resend Activation Email, Please check the I'm not a robot checkbox, If you want to be a Photo Volunteer you must enter a ZIP Code or select your location on the map. 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