A class action lawsuit was filed against Equifax over allegations that the credit bureau violated the Fair Credit Reporting Act by reporting the same collection account twice on the same consumer report. Plaintiff Charmayne Bradberry, a Georgia resident, filed the Equifax duplicate account reporting class action case on December 1, 2022, in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Georgia, alleging Equifax violated FCRA section 1681e(b) by failing to follow reasonable procedures to assure the maximum possible accuracy of information in consumer reports. Bradberry, represented by Francis Mailman Soumilas, P.C. and Marcus & Zelman, LLC, argued that Equifax's system let a single collection account appear more than once on the same file, artificially worsening a consumer's credit picture. Equifax has denied any wrongdoing throughout the case, but after roughly three years of litigation the parties reached a settlement resolving the Equifax duplicate account reporting class action case without any admission of liability.
Equifax has agreed to resolve the Equifax duplicate account reporting settlement update for $2,200,000 in cash, plus a separate $425,000 attorneys' fee award tied to practice changes the company already put in place. The settlement covers roughly 37,651 U.S. consumers whom Equifax's own records show were mailed a "Duplicate Reporting Letter" in August or September 2022, informing them a collection account may have appeared twice on their file. Beyond the cash fund, Equifax agreed to keep its duplicate-reporting fixes in place for six months, scrub any remaining duplicate collection accounts from affected files, and give every class member six months of free "Equifax Complete" credit monitoring, worth about $60 and including up to $500,000 in identity-theft expense coverage. The claim deadline for this Equifax settlement eligibility window is September 1, 2026, and the credit monitoring benefit is automatic — no claim form needed. A final approval hearing is set for October 6, 2026 before Judge Michael L. Brown in Atlanta.
There's no flat guaranteed check in this one — the Equifax settlement amount per person for the cash portion depends on how many valid claims come in, but the administrator estimates payments of up to $600 per person. Every eligible class member gets the six-month Equifax Complete credit monitoring automatically just by doing nothing, but the cash payment requires filing a claim by September 1, 2026 and checking at least one box confirming the specific harm experienced — either that Equifax sent a report showing the duplicate account to a third party, or that the duplicate account contributed to an actual credit denial. Claimants choose how to get paid: PayPal, Venmo, Zelle, a virtual prepaid card, or a mailed paper check. Payments go out only after the court grants final approval at the October 6, 2026 hearing and any appeals resolve, so there's no fixed payout date yet. Anyone who doesn't receive an expected payment should contact the settlement administrator listed on the official settlement website rather than Equifax or the court directly.
This Equifax class action eligibility claimants group is unusually narrow: unlike most settlements where anyone who bought a product can self-identify, here you're only in the class if Equifax's own internal records show it mailed you a Duplicate Reporting Letter in August or September 2022, since there's no way to opt in from outside that list. To qualify, you must have received that letter, experienced at least one specific harm from the duplicate account (a report sent to a third party, or a credit denial it contributed to), and not be an Equifax officer, director, affiliate, presiding judge, or judicial staff member, and you must not have previously opted out of the Settlement Class. The claim form itself asks two things: which harm or harms you experienced, and your preferred payment method among PayPal, Venmo, Zelle, virtual prepaid card, or check.
Unlike most settlements, membership isn't based on self-identifying as a customer — it's based entirely on Equifax's own mailing records showing who received a Duplicate Reporting Letter in August or September 2022.
It's the notice Equifax sent to consumers in 2022 disclosing that a collection account may have appeared more than once on their credit file at the same time a third party made an inquiry.
The $2.2 million fund is divided among everyone who files a valid claim, so the actual per-person amount depends on how many people claim — $600 is the administrator's current estimate, not a guarantee.
You still automatically receive six months of free Equifax Complete credit monitoring worth about $60, but you give up the right to sue Equifax later and won't receive any cash payment.
Six months of Equifax Complete, plus up to $500,000 in coverage for certain out-of-pocket expenses related to identity theft.
Class Counsel is requesting $733,333.33 (one-third of the cash fund) for the cash and credit monitoring settlement, plus a separate $425,000 specifically for the work that pushed Equifax to change its duplicate-reporting practices.
You'd keep the right to sue Equifax individually over the same duplicate-reporting issue, but you'd receive no cash payment and no credit monitoring from this settlement.
Claimants choose PayPal, Venmo, Zelle, a virtual prepaid card, or a traditional mailed check.
You must check at least one box confirming you experienced either a duplicate account being reported to a third party or a credit denial connected to it, signed under penalty of perjury.
Not until after the October 6, 2026 final approval hearing and any appeals are resolved — there's no set date yet.