Equifax will pay $100 million to settle claims a 2022 coding error wrecked credit scores for millions of Americans, while still denying it broke the law.
Equifax has agreed to a proposed $100 million class-action settlement over allegations that a computer coding error sent inaccurate credit scores to lenders, insurers, and other firms, USA TODAY reported.
About 4 million Americans sit in the estimated class. The deal covers people who had a credit score or credit attribute incorrectly reported during a short window in early 2022. Individual payments are estimated at $95 to $280, though the settlement site says the final figure could land higher or lower.
The company denies it violated the Fair Credit Reporting Act. The court has not ruled on who was right. That is the pattern: disputed harm, a large check, and no admission of fault.
The lawsuit says Equifax misreported lowered credit scores from March 17, 2022, through early April 2022. Eligibility materials put the end date at April 8. The complaint description uses April 6. Either way, the window lasted roughly three weeks.
In some cases, scores dropped by more than 20 points, the suit alleged. Three plaintiffs said the bad numbers blocked them from getting loans. When a credit file is wrong at the moment someone applies for a mortgage, a car, or a card, the damage is immediate: denial, delay, or a higher rate.
Credit scores are not abstract. Banks, auto lenders, and insurers lean on them. A short error at a major bureau can ripple into real money lost and deals that never close.
Plaintiffs filed the case in August 2022 in federal court in Atlanta. Equifax agreed to the proposed settlement on Aug. 17. A judge later ordered email or mail notice to class members.
David Berger, a partner at Oakland-based Gibbs Mura and co-lead counsel, cast the result as a win for consumers and a warning to the industry.
"We’re thrilled to have achieved this result for consumers after nearly four years of litigation,"
Berger said in a news release. He also framed the stakes in plain terms.
"Credit reporting agencies must be held accountable when they fail to take common-sense measures handling data that affects people’s livelihoods."
Berger called the pact the largest Fair Credit Reporting Act-related settlement in history. Equifax’s posture is different. Settlement materials state the company settled for practical reasons, not guilt.
"to avoid the risk, expense, and delay of further litigation, including trial and appeals,"
the settlement website says. It adds a second, sharper line.
"Equifax denies that it violated the law. The settlement is a compromise of disputed claims."
Anyone who had a credit score or credit attribute incorrectly reported by Equifax because of the coding issue in that March, April 2022 span may be eligible. Class members can submit claims online or by mail to Equifax FCRA Litigation, P.O. Box 301132, Los Angeles, CA 90030-1132.
The claim deadline is Dec. 28. A final fairness hearing is set for Jan. 22, 2027. People who want out of the class can opt out under rules posted on the settlement site. Questions go to [email protected].
The court still has to approve the deal. Until then, the $100 million figure and the $95, $280 payment range remain proposed, not final.
Equifax is one of the major U.S. credit bureaus. Lenders and other firms rely on its files when they decide who gets credit and on what terms. A coding error that lowers scores for millions is not a paperwork quibble. It is a failure in the machinery that shapes household borrowing costs.
The settlement website is clear on two points the public should not miss. First, Equifax denies any lawbreaking. Second, the judge has not decided the merits. Consumers get a chance at modest checks. The company closes out years of litigation risk without a verdict.
That trade is common in big civil cases. It is also why accountability often stops at the checkbook. If common-sense data handling failed, as plaintiffs and their lawyers argue, the people who lived with denied loans or pricier credit carried the cost first. The settlement tries to price that harm after the fact. It does not force the bureau to say it got the files wrong.
When a handful of firms sit on the data that unlocks mortgages, cars, and credit cards, “we deny wrongdoing” plus a nine-figure payout is not the same thing as clean files and real consequences.