Famous Equifax Class Action Settlement Finally Paying Out

Equifax Class Settlement

Update 12/21/22: After all these years, the settlement – initially touted $125 – is finalized and ends up paying out somewhere between $5 and $24, from the numbers we’ve seen. Not clear what accounts for the variation. Readers report now getting this payment via Paypal or check.

Update 10/6/22: Lots of readers are getting an email to claim payment either by paypal or prepaid card. If you do nothing by Oct 14th they will mail you check. We still don’t know how much the payments are for. Safe to guess that it’s less than $125.

In September of 2017, Equifax announced a data breach that exposed the personal information of 147 million people. 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 settlement is offering a minimum of $5-$125 per person.

How Much?

Free Credit Monitoring and Identity Theft Protection Services

• Up to 10 years of free credit monitoring, OR
• $125 if you decide not to enroll because you already have credit monitoring.

The free credit monitoring includes:

• At least four years of free credit monitoring of your credit report at all three credit bureaus (Equifax, Experian, and TransUnion) and $1,000,000 of identity theft insurance.
• Up to six more years of free credit monitoring of your Equifax credit report.

If you were a minor in May 2017, you are eligible for a total of 18 years of free credit monitoring.

Cash Payments (capped at $20,000 per person)

• For expenses you paid as a result of the breach, like:
  • Losses from unauthorized charges to your accounts
  • The cost of freezing or unfreezing your credit report
  • The cost of credit monitoring
  • Fees you paid to professionals like an accountant or attorney
  • Other expenses like notary fees, document shipping fees and postage, mileage, and phone charges
• For the time you spent dealing with the breach. You can be compensated $25 per hour up to 20 hours.
• For the cost of Equifax credit monitoring and related services you had between September 7, 2016, and September 7, 2017, capped at 25 percent of the total amount you paid.

Direct Link | File A Claim Here | Check You Eligibility (requires last 6 of SSN)

Important Settlement Dates

Here are the applicable deadlines:

• File a claim for Out-of-Pocket Losses or Time Spent – January 22, 2020 (for current losses and time); January 22, 2024 (for future losses and time)
• File a claim for Credit Monitoring Services or Alternative Reimbursement Compensation – January 22, 2020
• File a claim for Equifax Subscription Product Reimbursement – January 22, 2020
• Access to Identity Restoration Services – No deadline. Services will be available for at least 7 years
• Exclude yourself from the settlement – November 19, 2019
• Object or comment on the settlement – November 19, 2019

If Eligible, Then Go for it!

Keep in mind that not everyone is eligible for the settlement; only the 147 million whose data was breached. That’s roughly half of all Americans. Check your eligibility here.

Many of us already have free credit monitoring in place from Discover, Credit Karma, etc. So it should/might be possible for us to file a claim for the $125, despite not really having any expenses laid out. If you aren’t subscribed for any credit monitoring services such as automatically with a credit card issuer, then technically you aren’t eligible.

You can self-certify the time you spend, up to 10 hours at $25 per hour, for the time you spent dealing with the breach. That’s another $250 on top of the $125 for credit monitoring. Of course, this is under the penalty of perjury so make sure not to make up stuff.

There’s a pool of $425M and there are 147M people affected so that leaves around $3 per person, not $125 per person. We assume lot of people won’t sign up for the settlement but go for the free credit monitoring instead which is what got us here in the first place.