Scoring Mistake by Equifax Leads to Class Action Lawsuit Investigation
Last Updated on March 7, 2023
Investigation Complete
Attorneys working with ClassAction.org have finished their investigation into this matter.
Check back for any potential updates. The information on this page is for reference only.
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At A Glance
- This Alert Affects:
- Anyone who applied for a mortgage, auto loan or credit card between March 17 and April 6, 2022.
- What’s Going On?
- In August 2022, reports surfaced that a coding mistake in Equifax’s system provided inaccurate credit scores on behalf of millions of Americans applying for loans and credit cards. This may have caused some consumers to receive too high of an interest rate or have their applications wrongfully denied. Now, attorneys working with ClassAction.org are looking to get a class action lawsuit on file.
- How Could a Class Action Help?
- A class action lawsuit, if successful, could force Equifax to notify those who were affected by the scoring error, pay for credit repair services, and compensate people for the time and money they spent addressing the situation.
If you applied for a mortgage, auto loan or credit card between March 17 and April 6, 2022, attorneys want to speak to you.
They have been working to get a class action lawsuit on file since reports surfaced that an error in Equifax’s system allowed inaccurate – and sometimes worse – credit scores to be supplied to lenders. As a result, countless Americans may have received unfavorable interest rates or had much-needed loan or credit applications denied outright.
As part of the investigation, the attorneys are helping consumers who applied for loans or credit during this three-week period determine whether they were negatively impacted by the glitch – free of charge.
Equifax 2022 Credit Score Scandal Explained
On August 2, 2022, Equifax released a statement admitting that between March 17 and April 6, a coding issue “impacted how some credit scores were calculated.”
The Wall Street Journal posted an article the same day reporting that millions of Americans had their scores improperly reported to lenders including JPMorgan Chase, Wells Fargo and Ally Financial.
No stranger to scandal, Equifax itself admitted that a sizeable group of consumers – estimated at “less than 300,000” – had their credit scores shift by 25 points or more.
Unfortunately, a credit score that’s decreased by 25 points is enough for the lender to take an adverse action against the borrower – specifically, by denying their application or increasing their interest rate.
Attorneys believe that Equifax broke its obligation under the Fair Credit Reporting Act to ensure it provides accurate information in its credit reports and must be held accountable through a class action lawsuit.
How Do I Know If I Was Affected by the Scoring Defect?
It may be hard to establish whether the credit scoring defect affected you. This is why attorneys working with ClassAction.org are offering to review your credit report and other documents free of charge to help determine whether an inaccurate credit score may have been supplied on your behalf.
In general, you may have been affected by the 2022 Equifax mistake if:
- You applied for a mortgage, auto loan or credit card between March 17 and April 6, 2022.
- You received a higher-than-expected interest rate or had your loan or credit application unexpectedly denied.
- Paperwork from the lender indicates your credit score was provided by Equifax.
- You received a letter stating that your adverse credit decision was related to the “number of inquiries within one month” or the “age of oldest tradeline” or that there was insufficient credit history.
How Could a Class Action Against Equifax Help Me?
If successful, a class action lawsuit against Equifax could force the credit reporting agency to identify and notify every American who was affected by the credit scoring mistake.
It could also provide compensation for:
- Harm caused by a lowered credit score, including the inability to borrow money or obtain credit
- Time and money spent dealing with the effects of Equifax’s error, including the cost of obtaining credit reports to explain an unexpected denial
- Loss of opportunity due to the error
- Money back for paying an inflated interest rate
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