Consumer complaint received 2023-11-03
Company: EQUIFAX, INC.
State: GA
Product: Credit reporting or other personal consumer reports
Sub-product: Credit reporting
Issue: Problem with a company's investigation into an existing problem
Sub-issue: Their investigation did not fix an error on your report

Complaint:
Tue, XX/XX/XXXX, XXXX, I completed a questionnaire in reference to the Equifax Data Breach with XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX .

Then on Mon, XX/XX/XXXX, XXXX, I was contacted to complete another questionnaire to determine how I was impacted. I completed the process and was contacted via telephone by XXXX XXXX, a legal assistant for XXXX XXXX XXXX, XXXX. She advised me I would be a part of the lawsuit and could be requested to testify in court and if chosen would I be okay with it? I advised her I would. She informed me to monitor my emails so they would be in contact. 

Then on Tue, XX/XX/XXXX, XXXX, I was sent an email from XXXX XXXX , a XXXX Managing Partner for XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX , and in the letter, it stated, " At this time, we are not asking you to become a Named Plaintiff in a suit against Equifax . Your name will therefore not be included in any of our class action complaints. Based on the information you have provided ; however, you may be a Class MembeXXXX. This means you may be entitled to some recovery if the cases against Equifax are successfully resolved, even though we will not be acting as your legal representative. '' Then on Thu, XX/XX/XXXX, XXXX, I was sent a final email from XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX and they provided an update of the settlement and it stated, " Now that Judge XXXX has given preliminary approval to the settlement deal, the Leadership Committee is required to give notice to all Class Members that the case is being settled. The Leadership Committee will go through a formal process of providing notice, which will include sending emails to those individuals whose emails are known, plus using traditional media, social media, and a variety of other means to ensure that all 147 million members of the class receive notice. All the following information will be included in the Notice, but we provide the following as a courtesy in advance of the formal Notice. 

There is no need to wait for formal notice to begin to make claims. We encourage you to visit the following website to familiarize yourself with the terms of the deal, and if you so ch0ose, to initiate your process of making a claim : www.equifaxXXXX. Also, there is an attachment, " Equifax Data Breach Claim Form SETTLEMENT BENEFITS WHAT YOU MAY GET. " Then on Tue, XX/XX/XXXX, XXXX, I submitted my claim for funds distribution, and I also contacted In re Equifax Data Breach Settlement , c/o XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX, WA XXXX at XXXX and informed them I had submitted a benefit distribution form via their website at equifaxXXXX. Later, I was sent an email stating : " Thank you for reaching out to the Equifax Data Breach Settlement Administrator. 

The claim number you were assigned when filing your claim is : XXXX. 

Please keep this number for future reference. If you filed your claim online, you may check your claim status at XXXX XXXX XXXX '' Finally, I received a notice from the Equifax Settlement Breach Settlement Division advising me : " Your Claim Number : XXXX Dear XXXX XXXX XXXX : You filed a claim in the Equifax Data Breach Settlement. To be a Settlement Class Member you must have been one of the approximately 147 million U.S. consumers identified by Equifax whose personal information was impacted by the Data Breach that Equifax announced in XXXX of XXXX. However, according to XXXX records, you are not a member of the Settlement Class and are not eligible for Settlement benefits. '' On XX/XX/XXXX, I sent them a letter from XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX showing them that I was a victim of the data breach and their website also indicated I am eligible to make this claim. 

I will provide attachments covering all conversations and steps I have taken to adhere to the guidelines of the settlement.

Company response to consumer: Closed with explanation