Equifax got your credit report wrong?

Who Equifax is and why its errors spread

Equifax is one of the three nationwide credit bureaus. Headquartered in Atlanta, it describes itself as a global data, analytics and technology company that helps financial institutions, employers and government agencies make decisions about people.

Those decisions are about you. When you apply for a mortgage, a car loan, a credit card, an apartment or some jobs, an Equifax report is often part of the file. One wrong account, one wrong name or one false “deceased” flag gets sold to every company that pulls your report, and it keeps getting sold until Equifax fixes it.

Equifax’s record with federal regulators

On January 17, 2025, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau issued a consent order against Equifax, Inc. and Equifax Information Services LLC requiring a $15 million civil money penalty. The CFPB found that Equifax failed to properly reinvestigate disputed information, failed to prevent the reinsertion of previously deleted information, failed to give adequate notice of reinvestigation results, failed to follow reasonable procedures to assure maximum possible accuracy, and failed to properly block identity-theft information. The CFPB also found that Equifax showed excessive deference to the creditors that furnish data, and that it sold inaccurate credit scores and credit attributes after test code was introduced into its production environment.

Separately, in July 2019, Equifax agreed to pay at least $575 million, and potentially up to $700 million, in a settlement with the FTC, the CFPB and 50 U.S. states and territories over a 2017 data breach that affected approximately 147 million people.

Those are regulator findings, not findings about your file. But the problems the CFPB described in 2025 are the same ones consumers run into when they try to correct an Equifax report.

Errors that show up on Equifax reports

The most damaging Equifax errors usually come from how data is matched and how disputes are handled:

• Mixed files. Someone with a similar name or Social Security number ends up in your file, bringing their debts, collections and addresses with them.
• Identity theft accounts. Fraudulent accounts stay on your report even after you send proof, or come back after being removed.
• False deceased notations. A living person reported as deceased can be denied credit outright.
• Wrong balances and statuses. Debts paid, settled or discharged in bankruptcy still show as owed or past due.
• Reinserted items. An item deleted after a dispute reappears without the notice the law requires.
• Obsolete information. Collections and charge-offs kept past the seven-year reporting period.

How to dispute with Equifax

Disputing correctly matters, both to get the error fixed and to preserve a claim if Equifax does not fix it.

1. Get your report. Pull your Equifax file through AnnualCreditReport.com or directly from Equifax. Save a PDF or screenshots with the date visible.
2. Identify each error precisely. List the account name, account number (last digits), the wrong information, and what is correct.
3. File through Equifax’s official dispute page. Equifax handles online disputes through a myEquifax account on its official dispute page. Write the confirmation number down. If you would rather dispute on paper, use the mailing instructions Equifax publishes on its official site and send it by certified mail with return receipt.
4. Attach proof. Include copies (never originals) of documents that show the error: a paid-in-full letter, a bankruptcy discharge, a police or FTC identity theft report, a photo ID and proof of address.
5. Keep everything. Save every letter, envelope, upload confirmation and results notice. Note dates of phone calls and who you spoke with.
6. Watch the clock. Equifax generally must complete its reinvestigation within 30 days of receiving your dispute, extendable by up to 15 days if you send additional information during that period (15 U.S.C. § 1681i(a)(1)). It must notify the creditor of your dispute within five business days (§ 1681i(a)(2)) and send you the results within five business days after it finishes (§ 1681i(a)(6)).

If the error survives a properly documented dispute, sending the same dispute again and again rarely helps. That is the point to talk to a lawyer.

Your rights under the FCRA

• Accuracy (§ 1681e(b)). Equifax must follow reasonable procedures to assure maximum possible accuracy of the information it reports about you.
• Reinvestigation (§ 1681i). When you dispute, Equifax must conduct a reasonable reinvestigation and delete or correct information that is inaccurate, incomplete or cannot be verified. It cannot reinsert deleted information unless the furnisher certifies it is complete and accurate, and it must notify you within five business days if it does (§ 1681i(a)(5)(B)).
• Identity theft block (§ 1681c-2). With an identity theft report, Equifax generally must block fraudulent information within four business days.
• Time limits (§ 1681c). Most negative information cannot be reported after seven years; bankruptcies after ten, subject to limited exceptions.
• Your file (§§ 1681g, 1681j). You have the right to see what is in your file and where it came from, and to free disclosures in the circumstances the statute provides.
• Creditor duties (§ 1681s-2(b)). The bank or collector that reported the data must also investigate once Equifax forwards your dispute. It can be liable too.

What you may recover

If Equifax negligently violated the FCRA, you may recover your actual damages, which can include credit denials, higher interest, lost opportunities and emotional distress, plus attorney’s fees and costs (15 U.S.C. § 1681o). If the violation was willful, you may recover actual damages or statutory damages of $100 to $1,000, punitive damages as the court allows, and attorney’s fees and costs (§ 1681n).

Because the statute shifts fees to the company, FCRA Attorneys handles these cases on contingency. There is no fee unless we win.

Get a free case review before your deadline

An FCRA claim against Equifax generally must be filed within two years after you discover the violation and no later than five years after it occurred (15 U.S.C. § 1681p). If Equifax is reporting something false about you, or a dispute came back “verified” when it should not have, gather your report, your dispute and the results letter and request a free case review. FCRA Attorneys has offices in Dallas, Houston, Chicago, Los Angeles and Atlanta, and files FCRA cases in federal court nationwide, directly or with local counsel.

Questions about suing Equifax

Can I sue Equifax?

Yes. Equifax is a consumer reporting agency, and the FCRA allows consumers to sue a consumer reporting agency in federal court for failing to follow reasonable procedures to keep reports accurate or for failing to conduct a reasonable reinvestigation of a dispute. Whether you have a viable claim depends on the error, what you did to dispute it, and the harm it caused.

Equifax says it verified the information. Is that the end of it?

No. A 'verified' result only means Equifax closed your dispute. If Equifax just passed your dispute to the creditor and repeated whatever came back while ignoring your documents, that may not be the reasonable reinvestigation that 15 U.S.C. § 1681i requires. Keep the results letter. It can be important evidence.

What does it cost to hire FCRA Attorneys?

Nothing up front. We handle FCRA cases on contingency, so there is no fee unless we win. The FCRA also allows a successful consumer to recover reasonable attorney's fees and costs from the company under 15 U.S.C. §§ 1681n and 1681o.

How long do I have to sue Equifax?

Under 15 U.S.C. § 1681p, an FCRA lawsuit generally must be filed within two years after you discover the violation, and no later than five years after the violation occurred. Evidence also gets harder to collect over time, so it is better to act early.

Related reading

• An Account on My Credit Report Is Not Mine: What Now?
• How to Fix a Mixed Credit File: A Step-by-Step Guide
• Reported Deceased After Your Spouse Died: How It Happens and How to Fix It
• Credit Karma Says I'm Deceased: Why It Happens and How to Fix It
• How to Dispute Credit Report Errors With Equifax, Experian and TransUnion
• Examples of FCRA Violations, Matched to the Section of the Law They Break

Sources

• Equifax Investor Relations: company overview (headquartered in Atlanta)
• CFPB enforcement action: Equifax, Inc. and Equifax Information Services LLC (January 17, 2025)
• FTC press release: Equifax to Pay $575 Million as Part of Settlement with FTC, CFPB, and States Related to 2017 Data Breach (July 22, 2019)
• Equifax official credit report dispute page

Updated November 2026. This page is general information, not legal advice.