Equifax loses $18.6 million in lawsuit over credit report mix-up disaster
For two years an Oregon woman tried without success to get mistakes in her Equifax credit report fixed. Now a jury has awarded her $18.6 million for her trouble.
Miller's troubles began in 2009, according to her complaint, when she was denied credit from Huybbard Bank based on her Equifax credit report. She requested and eventually received a copy of her report, which, she discovered, contained false identifying information, an incorrect Social Security number, a false birthday and false, derogatory collection accounts attributed to her. Later in 2010 Miller was denied credit by Key Bank, based on her Equifax report.
After filing further protests with Equifax about the inaccuracies in her report, Equifax representatives told Miller her data had become "mixed" with another person's. They told her she would need to dispute the false information directly to her creditors. In all, Miller tried eight times to get her report corrected. Finally, she brought suit in Oregon Federal District Court in October 2011.
Baxter says Miller's failure to qualify for credit cost her several ways. She wasn't able to help her brother, who is disabled and who wasn't able to get credit on his own. She was unable to help her husband, who needed a shop added onto the Miller's home.
http://abcnews.go.com/Business/equifax-loses-186-million-lawsuit/story?id=19803421
This is the phrenology of the 21st century, a measure of your 'worth' that everyone from banks to employers use, the problem here is that at least phrenologists didn't read the bumps on the head of the wrong person to analyze you. Credit reports and their usage need to be regulated.
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