Equifax Agrees to $100 Million Settlement Over Credit Score Glitch: Were You Affected?

What Happened?

In 2022, Equifax had a coding error that caused some consumer credit scores to be calculated incorrectly.

The problem lasted for about three weeks, from March 17 - April 8, 2022. During that time, lenders requesting Equifax credit information could have received an incorrect score. Equifax previously acknowledged that approximately 300,000 consumers experienced a score change of 25 points or more. The proposed settlement covers a much larger group of roughly 4 million consumers whose scores were affected.

And 25 points can matter.

A credit score can determine whether you're approved for a mortgage, car loan, or credit card. It can also affect the interest rate you're offered. Someone doesn't necessarily have to be denied credit to have been financially harmed by an incorrect score.

You could have been approved and still paid more because you were placed into a worse interest rate tier.

Who Should Pay Attention?

Think back to March 17 - April 8, 2022.

Did you apply for a mortgage, car loan, credit card, personal loan, or another type of credit during that period? Were you denied? Offered a surprisingly high interest rate? Asked for a larger down payment? Did a lender tell you your credit score was different from what you expected? None of those things automatically mean the Equifax error affected you. But if the dates line up, this settlement is worth paying attention to.

What Should You Do?

For now, don't pay anyone to file a claim for you and don't click random settlement links appearing in texts, emails, or social media posts.

The $100 million agreement is a proposed settlement and still requires approval from a federal judge in Georgia. The official notice and claims process will come afterward. Equifax itself disclosed to investors that the parties reached an agreement in principle in June and filed notice of the settlement with the court.

If you believe you may have been affected, start gathering anything you still have from that period. Look for loan applications, denial letters, credit disclosures, emails from lenders, interest rate offers, or paperwork showing the credit score a lender used.

If an official settlement notice arrives, don't throw it away.

Can You Contact Equifax?

You can review your Equifax credit information and contact Equifax if you believe information in your current credit file is inaccurate. But understand that a regular credit report dispute is not the same as filing a claim in this settlement.

The court approved settlement process will determine how eligible consumers submit claims and what documentation, if any, will be required. So don't let somebody online convince you there's already a special $100 million Equifax claim form that needs to be completed today.

There isn't one yet.

Important: Don't Confuse This With Other Equifax Settlements

There are currently multiple Equifax settlements being discussed online. A separate $2.2 million case involves duplicate collection accounts on some consumers' credit reports and has a September 1, 2026 claim deadline. That is not the same case as this new $100 million credit score settlement.

There is also the much older settlement involving Equifax's 2017 data breach. That's another separate matter.

Before giving anyone information, make sure you know the correct Equifax case that pertains to you.

Sources: U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Georgia, In re: Equifax Fair Credit Reporting Act Litigation, Equifax SEC filings