Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA) Lawsuit

Consumers can file lawsuits and seek compensation for violations of the Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA) when Equifax and other agencies inaccurately report credit scores and other financial information.

What You Can Do & How We Can Help

The Schmidt Firm, PLLC is currently accepting FCRA cases in all 50 states. If you or somebody you know has been harmed by the wrong credit score from Equifax, mistakes on your credit report, inaccurate financial information, or other violations of the Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA), you should contact our lawyers immediately for a free case consultation. Please use the form below to contact our Class Action Litigation Group or call toll free 24 hours a day at (866) 920-0753.

Equifax Credit Score Errors Affect 2.5 Million Americans

Equifax, one of the nation’s top credit bureaus, admitted to sending out inaccurate credit scores for around 2.5 million people who applied for credit cards, mortgages and auto loans during a 3-week period between March 17 and 6, April 2022.

Credit Report Errors Cause Financial Chaos

Equifax estimated that fewer than 300,000 consumers experienced a score shift of 25 points or more in either direction, which is enough to cause financial chaos — changing a “good” score to “fair,” or from “fair” to “poor.”

What is the Problem?

Creditors might reject a loan, or charge a higher interest rate, leading to higher monthly payments. In some cases, Equifax made huge errors on credit reports, showing scores that were hundreds of points off.

Equifax Facing FCRA Lawsuits After Credit Score Fiasco

Equifax is already facing lawsuits from people who were harmed by credit score errors. According to a class action lawsuit, one woman from Florida was rejected for a her pre-approved auto loan because Equifax sent the dealership a credit score that was 130 points lower than it should have been. Other people had scores in the 700s, but Equifax sent out reports with no score at all. These lawsuits accuse Equifax of violating the Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA), a law that requires credit bureaus like Equifax to provide accurate financial information.

What is the Risk?

Rejected applications: People who were qualified for loans may have been rejected for credit cards, mortgages or auto loans.
Higher payments: If the financing was approved, the consumer may have paid higher interest rates and monthly payments due to an inaccurately low credit score.
And more

What Can I Do?

Many consumers are still not aware that they were affected by Equifax’s errors on their credit score. This is because Equifax has not notified individuals who were affected.

If you applied for a credit card, mortgage, auto loan, or personal loan in March and April 2022, there are a few ways to find out if you were harmed. If so, you might also qualify to file a lawsuit against Equifax.

First of all, take a look at the documents related to your credit card or loans in March and April.

If your application was denied because of your credit score, you should have received a letter called an “adverse action notice,” which will include your credit score and the name of the bureau who sent that score to your lender.

You should also check other documents related to the decision to see if your credit score from Equifax was referenced. If so, check if that credit score was significantly lower than it should have been.

If you can’t find your paperwork, contact your creditor to request documentation. You are entitled to receive a free copy of the credit report(s) within 60 days of the adverse action notice.

Get a Free Copy of Your Credit Report

Under the Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA), you are also entitled to a free copy of your credit report at any time. Visit the official government website www.AnnualCreditReport.com to get your free annual credit report, which is a right that is guaranteed by federal law.

Contact Your Lender or Credit Union

Equifax is working with banks and other creditors, but not consumers. Equifax still has not notified individual consumers who were affected by the credit score errors. It is not clear what creditors will do to help.

The problem is that interest rates have increased since April, so it is not as simple as just re-applying for a loan or credit card that was rejected based on inaccurate information. So far, creditors have not promised to give people the lower interest rates from March or April.

If you think you were impacted, your creditor might be able to:

Reconsider the terms of your loan
Approve an application that was previously denied
Change the interest rate
Refinance the loan

Get Help From a Lawyer

If you have evidence that Equifax’s credit score errors negatively impacted your mortgage, auto loan, personal loan, or credit card, you should consider talking to a lawyer and seeking legal advice.

If you believe you are entitled to a small amount of money, a class action lawsuit may be the best way to seek justice and compensation. For more significant claims, an individual lawsuit may be worthwhile.

How Much Money Can I Get?

Each violation of the FCRA may carry a fine between $100 and $1,000. The amount of money could be higher if you have actual damages, like paying a higher interest rate on a loan due to an inaccurate credit score, or significant time and out-of-pocket expenses while you tried to fix the problems. The court may also add actual and punitive damages, as well as attorneys’ fees.

If your rights under the FCRA are violated, you may be entitled to recover:

Actual or statutory damages (compensation for actual costs incurred due to the violation)
Attorney’s fees
Court costs
Punitive damages if the court determines that the violation was willful

Help For Disputes With Credit Unions

If you believe you were treated unfairly by a credit union due to Equifax’s errors on your credit report, you can file a complaint with a federal regulatory agency called the NCUA (National Credit Union Administration). They may be able to help you resolve the disputes.

What is the Fair Credit Reporting Act?

The Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA) is a federal law that requires credit reporting agencies to provide financial information that is accurate, fair and private. The law was enacted by Congress in 1970 to protect consumers against the inclusion of erroneous data in their credit reports.

What Does the FCRA Do?

The FCRA sets rules on how agencies can collect, access, use and share your financial information. It primarily applies to the big three consumer credit bureaus — Equifax, Experian and TransUnion — but also other organizations that collect and use your financial information, such as banks and credit unions, who might look at your credit history to decide whether to give you a credit card, or approve a new loan.

Requirements of the Fair Credit Reporting Act

Correct or delete inaccurate, incomplete or unverifiable information within 30 days
Provide accurate credit reports
Only use financial information for specific purposes
Give consumers free access to see their own credit reports
The “seven year rule” — Financial reports may not contain any arrest records or adverse non-conviction information oder than 7 years

Do I have a FCRA Lawsuit?

Attention Lawyers: We consider a referral from another law firm to be one of the greatest compliments. If your firm is interested in referring us a case or for us to send you a list of previous award judgments and/or average referral fees, please visit the Lawyer Referral section of our website.