If you are eligible, your next stop is the Equifax website set up for people wishing to file a settlement claim. Even if you don't care about the cash or the free monitoring, you should go through this process. Accepting one of the settlement options means you're waiving your right to later sue Equifax (say, if your identity is stolen).
Full Answer
What is the settlement with Equifax?
The company has agreed to a global settlement with the Federal Trade Commission, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, and 50 U.S. states and territories. The settlement includes up to $425 million to help people affected by the data breach. The initial deadline to file a claim in the Equifax settlement was January 22, 2020.
How do I Check my Equifax breach settlement status?
For more details and to check your claim status, visit EquifaxBreachSettlement.com . If you were affected by the Equifax data breach, you can still claim financial reimbursement for costs you incurred, or time you spent dealing with fraud or identity theft, after January 22, 2022.
Were You affected by the Equifax breach?
In September of 2017, Equifax announced a data breach that exposed the personal information of 147 million people. Under a settlement filed today, Equifax agreed to spend up to $425 million to help people affected by the data breach. If you were affected by the Equifax breach, you can't file a claim just yet.
Did you get an email about free credit monitoring through Equifax?
Lots of people recently got an email or letter about free credit monitoring through the Equifax settlement. That’s because the settlement with Equifax was just approved by a court. So now, if you signed up for credit monitoring as part of that settlement, you can take a few steps to switch it on. The email or letter tells you how.
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Has anyone received money from Equifax?
After a data breach in 2017 exposed personal data of more than 147 million consumers, including in some cases Social Security and driver's license numbers, credit bureau Equifax agreed to pay hundreds of millions in compensation to help affected consumers.
How much will Equifax pay me?
There are several benefits available under the Equifax class action lawsuit settlement. Consumers can choose between free credit monitoring services or a $125 cash payment. Additionally, the settlement provides up to $20,000 in expense reimbursement and at least seven years of free identity restoration services.
What happened to the Equifax payout?
Equifax denied any wrongdoing and no judgment or finding of wrongdoing was made. If you are a Class Member, the deadline to file Initial Claims Period claim(s) for free credit monitoring or up to $125 cash payment and other cash reimbursement passed on January 22, 2020. The Settlement is now effective.
Has Equifax settlement been paid?
Equifax data breach settlement. In 2017, Equifax announced a breach that exposed the personal data of approximately 147 million people. The legal settlement is now final. Here's how you can use the services provided through the settlement to protect and monitor your credit.
How much is Equifax settlement?
On July 22, 2019, Equifax agreed to pay up to $700 million in a settlement over its lapse in security.
What are the harms of Equifax?
In its complaint, the FTC alleges that Equifax failed to secure the massive amount of personal information stored on its network, leading to a breach that exposed millions of names and dates of birth, Social Security numbers, physical addresses, and other personal information that could lead to identity theft and fraud ...
Who qualifies for Equifax settlement?
You are a Settlement Class Member if you are among the approximately 147 million U.S. consumers identified by Equifax whose personal information was impacted by the Equifax Data Breach.
Is Equifax being sued?
In 2017, hackers broke into Equifax in a breach that exposed the financial information of 147 million Americans. A federal court in 2020 approved a $380 million settlement of class actions lawsuits, with no finding or judgment of wrongdoing made.
Does Equifax sell your information?
We use and sell personal data to nonaffiliated third parties for the following commercial purposes: Consumer credit reporting. Some of our affiliates collect, use, and sell personal data when acting as a consumer reporting agency, as this activity is regulated by the FCRA.
How much did Equifax pay for data breach?
In fact, the credit reporting agency disclosed this week that it expects to pay out an additional $100 million for its role in the breach. Last year, the company set aside then agreed to pay out nearly $700 million to settle numerous federal and state investigations.
What happened to Equifax after the data breach?
In the wake of Equifax's 2017 data breach, which compromised the personal information of roughly 147 million consumers — including names, birthdates and Social Security numbers — the company ended up as the target of multiple lawsuits and reached a settlement in 2019 with the FTC, the Consumer Financial Protection ...
Where is my Equifax check?
You can also log into your myEquifax account and view your status by clicking the “check status of a dispute” button. If you are checking your status by mail or phone, please make sure you have the confirmation number that was provided to you when you submitted your dispute.
How does Equifax get paid?
In the U.S., these three major consumer credit bureaus primarily make money selling credit reports, developing analytics and scoring systems, and selling credit-related services to consumers. Editorial Note: Credit Karma receives compensation from third-party advertisers, but that doesn't affect our editors' opinions.
Is Equifax your FICO score?
Equifax credit scores are not used by lenders and creditors to assess consumers' creditworthiness. FICO scores are general purpose credit scores developed by the Fair Isaac Corporation, which are used by lenders and creditors to help assess consumers' creditworthiness.
Who pays for the services of a credit bureau?
Creditors and Credit Bureaus Creditors and lenders such as banks and credit card companies must pay to report information to any of the three major credit-reporting bureaus, which are Experian, Equifax, and TransUnion.
How does Equifax business model work?
"It's a pretty simple business model, actually. They gather as much information about you from lenders, aggregate it, and sell it back to them," said Brett Horn, an industry analyst with Morningstar. Equifax had more than $3.1 billion in revenue last year, largely from selling data to other companies.
What is the lawsuit against Equifax?
District Court in Oregon on Sept. 7 accuses the company of negligence by failing to take appropriate measures to protect consumer data. The suit estimates billions of dollars in losses.
How many class action suits have been filed against Equifax?
Since the Equifax breach—which involved the theft of names, birth dates, addresses, credit card numbers, and full Social Security numbers—more than 50 class-action suits have reportedly been filed against the credit bureau.
What is class action lawsuit?
Class-action lawsuits are usually initiated by lawyers on behalf of consumers who they say have been similarly harmed by a company because of fraud or other unlawful conduct.
How many credit files were compromised by Equifax?
If your personal information is among the 143 million credit files compromised in the Equifax cyberattack, you might be wondering if you have any recourse against the company.
What are the benefits of class action?
One of the biggest benefits of a class action is that it discourages companies from engaging in fraud or other illegal activities , says Myriam Gilles, vice dean at the Cardozo School of Law in New York City.
Does Equifax have class action lawsuits?
Equifax, under pressure from consumer groups, said last week that it would not prevent consumers from filing class-action lawsuits in connection with the data breach. The company said that its typical binding arbitration clause in its contracts with customers would not be applied to those affected by the data breach or to those who sign up ...
Do you have to do anything to be covered by a class action lawsuit?
You don’t need to do anything to be covered. Class-action lawsuits automatically cover everyone the court determines to be part of the class. So if you do nothing, but your data was breached, you’ll automatically be included and entitled to any benefits once the case is resolved.
What has Equifax done?
The company also gave consumers more control over their Equifax data and introduced a free credit-alert service.
What can consumers do with credit reports?
Examine all your listed accounts and loans to make sure that the personal information is correct and that you authorized the transaction. If you find something suspicious, contact the company that issued the account and the credit-rating agency.
How much can you claim for time spent on Equifax?
The Equifax settlement has a provision through which victims can claim a cash payment for "time spent.". This means that you can claim a rate of $25 per hour for up to 20 hours of the time you wasted dealing with the fallout of the breach.
How much can you claim for a credit freeze?
If you spent hours researching what to do about the breach, setting up credit freezes, hopping on the phone with your bank, or doing anything else remotely relevant, you can claim up to $250 for that time without needing to show any specific evidence.
Can you still get your money from Equifax?
The Equifax settlement process has been absurd, but don't worry. You can still get your money. Photograph: David Muir/Getty Images
Does Equifax have free credit monitoring?
The free credit monitoring Equifax offered after its breach has now expired, but many states offer a list of disclosed breaches that you can check. Many of those companies have given out free credit monitoring as recompense.
When did Equifax breach?
In September 2017 , Equifax announced a breach that exposed the personal data of approximately 147 million people. If your data was impacted, under a legal settlement, you may claim free services and payments.
How long does it take to get a free credit report from Equifax?
You can get six free credit reports from Equifax in a 12-month period, for seven years beginning January 2020. These are in addition to the free reports you’re already entitled to under the law.
Can you request reimbursement for Equifax?
You can request reimbursement if you spent money, for example: For certain Equifax products before the breach. To freeze or unfreeze your credit. For credit monitoring services. Dealing with fraud or identity theft after the breach.
The Equifax settlement options
The Equifax settlement provides two compensation options for everyone affected: 10 years of free credit monitoring or a cash payout of up to $125.
Should you choose cash or credit monitoring?
Here's the problem with taking the cash -- the fund for this alternative reimbursement only has $31 million available. That money will be divided between everyone who chooses the cash payout, which means if too many people choose this option, the payout amounts will be reduced.
Additional compensation
Whether you take the cash or credit monitoring, the settlement also allows you to claim compensation for time spent or unreimbursed out-of-pocket losses you suffered that can be traced back to the data breach.
How to file a claim
The settlement administrator has created an Equifax data breach settlement site where you can read more about it and file your claim.
Getting the most value from the Equifax settlement
When news of the Equifax settlement first broke, it wasn't clear that the cash settlements could be reduced, so there was plenty of talk about "claiming your $125". Based on the number of people who have already filed, the cash payout won't amount to much.
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About the Author
Lyle is a writer specializing in credit cards, travel rewards programs, and banking. His work has also appeared on MSN Money, USA Today, and Yahoo! Finance.
