Equifax Agrees to $100M Settlement, The Largest of Its Kind, In Credit Score Lawsuit
Gibbs Mura partner David Berger and co-counsel are pleased to announce that they have received preliminary approval of the largest settlement ever obtained under the Fair Credit Reporting Act. The Northern District of Georgia granted their proposed settlement, which would provide $100 million to consumers whose credit information Equifax inaccurately reported in an incident between March 17 and April 6, 2022. Eligible consumers will be notified over the next several months and have the opportunity to file claims for compensation. The final fairness hearing is set for January 22, 2027.
Learn the Facts
What was the Equifax Credit Score Lawsuit About?
Equifax previously admitted it misreported lowered credit scores for hundreds of thousands of Americans who applied for mortgages, auto loans, or credit cards between March 17 and April 6, 2022. The massive coding error, described by Equifax as a mere “glitch,” has caused significant hardship for thousands of individuals.
In some cases, Equifax lowered scores by more than 20 points—enough to cause lenders to deny credit or charge consumers higher interest rates. Equifax generated the inaccurate credit reports using outdated computer applications and faulty computer code. It is unclear why Equifax was using outdated applications or why it failed to adequately test its computer code before affecting millions of credit scores. In fact, Equifax’s previous failure to update its computer systems was a factor in causing one of the most significant data breaches in history.
Even though Equifax reported inaccurate credit scores for millions of Americans, it downplayed the seriousness of the problem as a mere “glitch.” Equifax’s CEO, Mark Begor, even claimed the problem is “not something that’s meaningful to Equifax.”
If Equifax provided inaccurate credit information about you, you could be entitled to compensation under the Fair Credit Reporting Act.
In August 2022, Equifax announced that it discovered a coding error in its outdated computer systems that provided inaccurate credit scores on 2.5 million Americans who applied for mortgages, loans, and credit cards between March 17, 2022, and April 6, 2022. At least 300,000 of the affected individuals had their credit scores shifted by 25 points or more. In some cases, Equifax reported a credit score that was hundreds of points too low or reported the consumer had no credit score at all.
This means that hundreds of thousands or millions of Americans applying for loans from lenders like JPMorgan Chase, Wells Fargo, and Ally Financial had their interest rate unexpectedly increased, or worse, their application denied entirely. The fact that Equifax provided an inaccurately low credit score alone may be grounds for liability.
Was my credit affected by the Equifax “glitch”?
If you applied for an auto loan, mortgage, credit card, or relied on a credit check between March 17 and April 6 of 2022 and your credit information was inaccurate, you may have been affected.
You could get paid for the Equifax “glitch”
Affected individuals may be entitled to statutory damages (up to $1000) and punitive damages. They may also receive compensation for any:
Harm caused by a lowered or inaccurate credit score, including paying a higher interest rate than expected, being denied loans, or being unable to obtain credit;
Time spent dealing with Equifax’s error.
If you believe your credit was affected, contact one of our attorneys.
Jennifer litigates against the world’s largest tech companies, holding them to account when they fail to protect consumers’ privacy and personal data.
About Us
Gibbs Mura is a California-based law firm committed to protecting the rights of clients nationwide who have been harmed by corporate misconduct. We represent individuals, whistleblowers, employees, and small businesses across the U.S. against the world’s largest corporations. Our award-winning lawyers have achieved landmark recoveries and billions of dollars for our clients in high-stakes class action and individual cases involving consumer protection, data breach, digital privacy, and federal and California employment lawsuits. Our attorneys have received numerous honors for their work, including “Top Plaintiff Lawyers in California,” “Top Class Action Attorneys Under 40,” “Consumer Protection MVP,” “Best Lawyers in America,” and “Top Cybersecurity/ Privacy Attorneys Under 40.”
