Check HERE if your personal information was impacted by the Equifax Data Breach.
You can also call the Settlement Administrator toll-free at 1-833-759-2982 to check on whether your personal information was taken.
Yes You might be eligible to claim cash |
No You aren’t eligible to make a claim at this time |
In 2017, Equifax announced a criminal hack that impacted the personal information of 147 million people. The stolen information included names, Social Security numbers, birth dates, addresses, and in some instances driver’s license numbers, credit card numbers, or other personal information.
Numerous class actions were filed against Equifax. A Georgia federal court approved a class action settlement to resolve class action lawsuits brought as a result of the data breach.
Equifax denied any wrongdoing and no finding of wrongdoing was made, but Equifax has agreed to pay at least $380.5 million into a Consumer Restitution Fund. If that runs out, Equifax will pay up to an additional $125 million to cover out-of-pocket losses of consumers.
The Georgia federal court approved the settlement in December 2019; however, that decision has been appealed by objectors to the settlement. The settlement cannot be distributed until the appeals are resolved. Currently, there is no timeline for resolution of those appeals.
On January 22, 2020, the Initial Claims Period Deadline passed. However, there is an Extended Claims Period that ends on January 22, 2024.
You should feel free to ask your lawyer to read the legalese here.
The Initial Claims Period expired on January 22, 2020. However, you may be eligible to make a claim during the Extended Claims Period. The deadline for filing Extended Claims is January 22, 2024.
If you suffered out-of-pocket losses or spent time dealing with fraud, identity theft, or other misuse of your personal information during the time period between January 23, 2020 and January 22, 2024, you may be eligible for reimbursement.
However, you must certify that you have not already been reimbursed from other sources and documentation is required for any time you spent in excess of 10 hours. If you claim less than 10 hours, then you do not need to submit documentation.
You may receive reimbursement for up to 10 hours of time spent dealing with fraud or identity theft or misuse or your personal information at $25 an hour without documentation—a total of $250.
You must provide a description of what you did or preventative measures you took and the time spent. You must also certify that your description is true. Valid claims will be reimbursed in 15-minute increments with a minimum reimbursement of one hour.
You may receive reimbursement for up to 20 hours of time spent (totaling $500) but you must provide documentation.
You may also be reimbursed for out-of-pocket losses up to $20,000 with the necessary documentation. Examples of relevant documents include: account statements with the unauthorized charges highlighted, police reports, IRS documents, FTC identity theft reports, letters refusing to refund you for fraudulent charges, notary fees, fax fees, postage costs, copying fees, phone charges, a detailed list of places traveled to with reason and mileage, and receipts, bills, and invoices from professionals such as lawyers and accountants.
However, these monetary amounts are not guaranteed. As long as there is money remaining in the Consumer Restitution Fund after payment of the claims from the Initial Claims Period, and the Extended Claims Period Claim is found to be valid, they will be paid on a first-come-first-serve basis.
Furthermore, payments can be adjusted based on the number of valid claims. Read the official FAQs on the Equifax Data Breach Settlement website.
Payment can only be made from the Consumer Restitution Fund after the appeals are resolved and the settlement is effective. As of now, there is no estimated timeframe for resolution of the appeals.
DDP will update you on any new developments. You can also check the Equifax Data Breach Settlement website periodically for updates.
Equifax will pay at least $380.5 million USD to the settlement’s “Consumer Restitution Fund.” Another $125 million USD is earmarked for time and money spent dealing with the data breach if the initial pool gets used up.
However, those numbers include payment to class counsel, litigation costs, and the costs of settlement administration.
Equifax has agreed to a 5-year Business Practices Commitments related to information security, which will be assessed by an independent third party and is enforceable in court. A description of Equifax’s Commitments is detailed in the Settlement Agreement, which is available on the Equifax data breach settlement website here.
There is a Spanish version of the site here.
You can read more about the Equifax settlement here.
Or You can email support@datadividendproject.zendesk.com with the subject line “Questions re Equifax Settlement”. Unless it is a question that requires the advice of a lawyer (which we cannot provide), we will do our best to respond within 72 hours.