Disputed a Hard Inquiry With Equifax? A $30 Million Settlement Has a November 29 Deadline, and a TransUnion Bankruptcy-Reporting Settlement Closes October 30

October 12, 2026
Posted by AmyGinsburg

If you ever mailed Equifax a letter saying a credit check on your report wasn’t yours, and got back a form letter telling you that “inquiries are a factual record of file access,” you may be owed money. Equifax has agreed to pay $30 million to settle four class action lawsuits over how it handled disputes of hard inquiries. Claims are due November 29, 2026.

A second credit-bureau settlement has an even closer deadline. TransUnion agreed to pay $8.31 million to settle a Philadelphia federal case over reports that showed a bankruptcy on an account when there was no matching bankruptcy record. Those claims are due October 30, 2026, which is less than three weeks away.

Both settlements are proposed. The courts still have to give final approval, and both companies deny that they broke the law. But if you received a notice, the deadlines are real.

The Equifax hard-inquiry settlement (Hines v. Equifax)

A “hard inquiry” is the record left on your credit file when a lender or other company pulls your report. Too many of them can lower your score. If you never applied for that credit, the inquiry can also be a sign of identity theft.

The plaintiffs say they disputed inquiries they didn’t authorize, and Equifax didn’t contact the companies that pulled their reports or remove the inquiries. Instead, according to the settlement notice, Equifax mailed letters saying, in part: “Inquiries are a factual record of file access. If you believe this was unauthorized, please contact the creditor.” The lawsuits claim this violated the Fair Credit Reporting Act’s reinvestigation rules (15 U.S.C. § 1681i) and similar New York and New Jersey laws.

The settlement resolves four cases: Hines v. Equifax (E.D.N.Y. No. 1:19-cv-06701), Rivera and Neubauer (N.D. Ga.), and Oblack v. Equifax (D.N.J.). There are about 3 million class members, split into groups:

Certified Group (about 1 million people): people who mailed Equifax a dispute of a hard inquiry between October 4, 2016 and March 27, 2026, coded as “not mine” or “unauthorized,” and got the “factual record of file access” letter. Class counsel estimates about $300 each.
General Dispute Group: people Equifax’s records show disputed a hard inquiry between August 31, 2021 and March 27, 2026. Estimated payment is about $100.
New York Subclass (about 35,000 people): New Yorkers in the Certified Group from November 27, 2017 to September 10, 2024. Estimated payment is about $400.

These are estimates. Actual amounts depend on how many people file. Up to $10 million of the fund may go to attorneys’ fees. Key dates:

Claim deadline: November 29, 2026 (online with the Claim Number and PIN from your notice, or by mail)
Opt-out and objection deadline: November 20, 2026
Final approval hearing: December 10, 2026, in Brooklyn

Membership is based on Equifax’s own records. If you got an email or mailed notice, you’re in the class. The settlement administrator can be reached at (833) 244-4150 or questions@EquifaxDisputeClassAction.com.

This is not the $100 million Equifax credit-score settlement we covered earlier this month. That case is about a 2022 coding error, and its claim deadline is December 28, 2026. You can read about it in our post on the $100 million settlement. Some people may qualify for both.

The TransUnion bankruptcy-remark settlement (Brooks v. Trans Union)

This case was filed in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania (No. 2:22-cv-00048). The plaintiff says that between January 6, 2020 and January 31, 2023, TransUnion sold credit reports that put a bankruptcy “remark” on an individual account even though the report’s public-record section showed no bankruptcy, and there was no government record of a bankruptcy filed in the 10 years before the report. A bankruptcy notation can sink a loan or rental application, so an inaccurate one does real damage. The claim is under the FCRA’s accuracy rule, 15 U.S.C. § 1681e(b).

About 57,000 people are in the class:

No Bankruptcy Group (about 21,000): no bankruptcy filing could be found at all. These members get an automatic $100 and can file a claim for a larger payment, estimated at about $1,000.
Aged Bankruptcy Group (about 36,000): the only bankruptcy found was more than 10 years old. These members must file a claim to be paid anything. The estimate is about $350.

Claims, opt-outs and objections are all due October 30, 2026. The final approval hearing is December 2, 2026, at the federal courthouse in Philadelphia. The administrator’s number is (888) 279-4003. If you think you belong in the class but never got a notice, the settlement website says to contact the administrator.

Why these cases matter, even if you didn’t get a notice

Both cases come down to the same point. When you dispute something on your credit report, the bureau can’t just stamp it “verified” or send a form letter. Under the FCRA, a credit bureau that receives a dispute generally has 30 days to conduct a reasonable reinvestigation, and that includes notifying the company that furnished the information. Bureaus also have to follow reasonable procedures to make reports as accurate as possible. A company can only pull your report if it has a “permissible purpose,” such as an application you made.

When a bureau willfully ignores those duties, the law lets consumers recover actual damages or statutory damages of $100 to $1,000, plus punitive damages and attorney’s fees. New Jersey has its own credit-reporting statute, and both settlements involve class counsel based in Philadelphia, so these issues are very much alive in our region.

What to do now

Look for a notice. Search your email and mail for messages about “Hines v. Equifax” or “Brooks v. Trans Union.” Each one has a Claim Number and PIN.
File before the deadline. TransUnion claims are due October 30. Equifax claims are due November 29. Use only the official settlement websites. Scammers love settlement deadlines.
Think before opting out. If you had serious harm, like a denied mortgage or a lost apartment, an individual claim might be worth more than a class payment. You have to opt out by the deadline to keep that right, so talk to a lawyer first.
Check your reports now. You can get free reports from all three bureaus at AnnualCreditReport.com. Look for inquiries you don’t recognize and bankruptcy notations that aren’t yours or are too old.
Dispute in writing and keep copies. Send disputes by certified mail, explain exactly what’s wrong, and keep every letter the bureau sends back. If you get a form response, that paper trail is your evidence.

Ginsburg Law Group represents consumers whose credit reports contain errors, including unauthorized inquiries, mixed files and inaccurate bankruptcy or collection accounts. The FCRA lets consumers who win recover their attorney’s fees from the bureau or furnisher. If a bureau ignored your dispute or an error cost you credit, housing or a job, contact us for a review.

This article is for general informational purposes only and is not legal advice. Both settlements are pending court approval, and Equifax and TransUnion deny wrongdoing. Payment amounts are class counsel’s estimates and may change. Consult a licensed attorney about your specific situation.