Budapest Post

Cum Deo pro Patria et Libertate
Budapest, Europe and world news

Florida woman files class action lawsuit against Equifax over credit score errors

Florida woman files class action lawsuit against Equifax over credit score errors

The lawsuit claims that Equifax's error violated the Fair Credit Reporting Act

A series of credit score errors by Equifax that the firm blamed on a coding mistake has now led to a class action lawsuit brought by a Florida woman who claims the company violated the Fair Credit Reporting Act by providing inaccurate credit scores.

Nydia Jenkins claims that because of Equifax's error, her credit score was off by 130 points when she applied for a car loan, resulting in her getting denied before having to take a different loan that is costing her $150 more per month. Jenkins' lawyers are looking to add potentially millions of other claimants who may have been affected to the lawsuit, which was filed Wednesday in Atlanta federal court.

"Equifax is allowed to perform credit reporting services, involving such sensitive consumer credit information, only if it adheres to the requirements of laws meant to protect the privacy and accuracy of such information, such as the FCRA," the complaint says. "Equifax’s maintenance, use, and furnishing of consumer reports is and was intended to affect Plaintiff and other Class Members, and the harm caused by the inaccuracies on consumer reports resulting from the Glitch was entirely foreseeable to Equifax."

The Wall Street Journal reported that Equifax told an auto lender that just 10% of applicants had wrong scores due to the glitch, which impacted applications for a three-week period in March and April. That number is far from small, however, given that lenders requested a total of roughly 2.5 million credit scores during that time, the Journal reported, citing industry officials.

Equifax said in a statement that "less than 300,000 consumers experienced a score shift of 25 points or more." The company has said that they are working with lenders and providing updated credit scores for those affected, but Jenkins's lawsuit says this is not enough.

"The damages that Plaintiff and Class Members bear as a result of the Glitch cannot be rectified by merely updating the affected credit reports," the complaint says. "In addition, while credit reporting agencies offer consumers one free credit report per year, consumers who request more than one credit report per year from the same credit reporting agency (such as Equifax) must pay a fee for the additional report. Such fees constitute out-of-pocket costs to Plaintiff and Class Members."

Close-up of the upper corner of a consumer credit report from the credit bureau Equifax, with text reading Credit File and Personal Identification, on a light wooden surface, September 11, 2017.


Jenkins' attorneys, John Morgan and John Yanchunis from the law firm Morgan & Morgan, said in a statement that "millions of American" use credit for "the most important purchases in their lives," such as cars and houses.

"This lawsuit alleges that Equifax failed to live up to its responsibility as one of America’s major credit reporting agencies by providing inaccurate information on millions of Americans," the statement said. "We believe that many of the people impacted – some of whom may still be unaware of what happened – suffered severe financial consequences. We will hold Equifax accountable for these alleged failures and win justice for everyone impacted."

Fox Business reached out to Equifax for comment on the lawsuit, but they did not immediately respond.

The American Association of Consumer Credit Professionals weighed in on the error, calling it "deeply troubling" for causing problems for so many people "at a time when many Americans were already struggling to purchase homes and automobiles[.]"

AI Disclaimer: An advanced artificial intelligence (AI) system generated the content of this page on its own. This innovative technology conducts extensive research from a variety of reliable sources, performs rigorous fact-checking and verification, cleans up and balances biased or manipulated content, and presents a minimal factual summary that is just enough yet essential for you to function as an informed and educated citizen. Please keep in mind, however, that this system is an evolving technology, and as a result, the article may contain accidental inaccuracies or errors. We urge you to help us improve our site by reporting any inaccuracies you find using the "Contact Us" link at the bottom of this page. Your helpful feedback helps us improve our system and deliver more precise content. When you find an article of interest here, please look for the full and extensive coverage of this topic in traditional news sources, as they are written by professional journalists that we try to support, not replace. We appreciate your understanding and assistance.
Newsletter

Related Articles

0:00
0:00
Close
Japanese Technology Firm Fujitsu Launches Advanced Artificial Intelligence Tool for Corporate Disclosures
South Africa Officially Launches Nationwide Campaign for Highly Contested Local Government Elections
United Kingdom Commits Additional Funding for Unexploded Ordnance Clearance in Laos
Singapore Announces Stringent New Greenhouse Gas Regulations for Commercial Cooling Systems
Cambodia and Thailand Hold High-Level Border Security Talks at United Nations Headquarters
Myanmar Military Government and China Sign Major Agreement to Upgrade Media and Cultural Cooperation
Knife Attack at Swiss Train Station Leaves Three Injured in Suspected Act of Domestic Terrorism
Transnational Extortion Gang Threatens Canadian Police With Army of One Thousand Armed Operatives
Australia Imposes Forty-Two-Day Quarantine on Cruise Ship Passengers Following Deadly Hantavirus Outbreak
International Monetary Fund Unlocks Seven Hundred Million United States Dollars for Sri Lanka Following Economic Reforms
Australia Launches Record One Point Four Billion Dollar Lawsuit Against Chemical Giant 3M Over Contamination
China and Canada Foreign Ministers Meet in Ottawa in Effort to Stabilize Strained Diplomatic Ties
Indonesia Demands Urgent United Nations Security Council Reform Amid Escalating Global Conflicts
Extreme Weather Patterns Trigger Severe Drought in Madagascar and Destructive Flooding in East Africa
Indian State of Karnataka Faces Political Upheaval as Chief Minister Siddaramaiah Abruptly Resigns
Philippines and Japan Reaffirm Defense Ties as Crucial for Indo-Pacific Regional Stability
Norway Joins French Nuclear Deterrence Initiative in Major Shift for European Security Architecture
Global Critical Mineral Alliances Expand as Western Nations Move to Counter Chinese Supply Dominance
United States Imposes Fifty Percent Tariffs on Mexican Steel and Aluminum Ahead of Trade Pact Review
European Union and China Head Toward Major Trade Conflict Over Clean Technology Exports
United States Economic Growth Severely Downgraded to One Point Six Percent as Stagflation Fears Mount
World Health Organization Warns Central African Ebola Epidemic is Outpacing Containment Efforts
United States Treasury Department Conditions Sanctions Relief on Reopening of the Strait of Hormuz
Iranian Air Defenses Intercept and Destroy United States Military Drone Over Bushehr Province
Iranian Armed Forces Launch Ballistic Missiles Toward Unspecified Targets Prompting Regional Condemnation
United Nations Secretary-General Warns Global Order Facing Highest Level of Conflict Since 1945
Israel Issues Sweeping Evacuation Orders in Southern Lebanon Amid Intensified Hezbollah Conflict
Russia Announces Systemic Military Strikes Targeting Ukrainian Defense and Energy Infrastructure
United States and Iranian Negotiators Reach Draft Agreement to Extend Ceasefire and Resume Nuclear Talks
United Nations Security Council Deeply Divided Over United States Capture of Venezuelan President
US and Iran Exchange Direct Military Strikes Amid Fragile Gulf Ceasefire
World Health Organization Warns of Catastrophic Ebola Outbreak in DR Congo
Russia Threatens New Wave of Strikes on Ukrainian Infrastructure and Embassies
Scientists Warn Atlantic Ocean Currents Could Collapse Faster Than Projected
Anthropic Reaches $900 Billion Valuation in Historic AI Funding Round
Washington Imposes Crippling Sanctions on Iranian Maritime Authority
Japan and the Philippines Initiate Strategic Intelligence-Sharing Pact
Microsoft Deploys Autonomous Computer-Using AI Agents to Global Markets
Anthropic Secures $45 Billion Compute Infrastructure Agreement With SpaceX
U.S. Director of National Intelligence Resigns Amid Administration Shakeup
Micron Technology Crosses Trillion-Dollar Valuation Amid Unprecedented Hardware Demand
Canada and Germany Finalize Historic Long-Term LNG Export Agreement
China Expands International Travel Restrictions on Domestic AI Researchers
Japan Approves Sweeping Overhaul of National Intelligence Apparatus
Global Airlines Scramble Logistics as Middle East Airspace Remains Fractured
Japan's Naphtha Imports Plunge 47 Percent Amid Strait of Hormuz Closure
Global Crude Prices Retreat Below $96 as Gulf Tensions Momentarily Ease
Generative AI Outperforms Human Baselines in Landmark Global Creativity Study
NASA Partners With Private Aerospace to Unveil Permanent Lunar Base Architecture
South Korean Equity Markets Surge on Next-Generation Memory Chip Frenzy
×