Equifax Settlement Checks Bounced – Less than 5,000 clients receiving the Equifax settlement checks as part of a legal settlement related to Equifax’s 2017 data breach bounced due to “clerical error,”. Here is what you need to know if your check was one of those that bounced.
The Equifax settlement checks were drawn against a Signature Bank account as part of a litigation settlement related to the credit reporting company’s 2017 data leak. After large-scale money withdrawals by account holders on Sunday as a result of last week’s failure of Silicon Valley Bank, the bank was taken over by regulators. (Photo by https://www.nytimes.com/)
A surprise awaited some customers who attempted to deposit an Equifax settlement checks in recent days: it bounced.
The Equifax settlement checks were drawn against a Signature Bank account as part of a litigation settlement related to the credit reporting company’s 2017 data leak. After large-scale money withdrawals by account holders on Sunday as a result of last week’s failure of Silicon Valley Bank, the bank was taken over by regulators.
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According to Jennifer Keough, CEO of JND Legal Administration, which is administering the Equifax settlement checks that were returned unpaid are unrelated to the bank’s failure.
“What occurred here is that some cheques that should have passed were refused by other banks due to a clerical error at Signature Bank,” Keough explained.
One of the largest data breaches in recent memory occurred in 2017, exposing the personal information of over 145 million Americans. (Image courtesy of https://www.forbes.com/)
Less than 5,000 consumers are impacted, according to Keough. According to her, the class-action lawsuit that resulted in the settlement involved almost 18 million people.
Following the 2017 data breach at Equifax, which exposed the names, birth dates, and Social Security numbers of over 147 million customers, the company was the subject of numerous lawsuits. In 2019, it reached a settlement with the Federal Trade Commission, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, and all states and territories in the United States.
The public was first informed on September 7, 2017, that the largest cyberattack in recent memory had struck Equifax. Customers’ names, birth dates, addresses, credit card numbers, and, in some instances, driver’s license numbers were accessed by hackers. (Image courtesy of https://rosenberglaw.ca/)
Because of this, customers who were impacted by the incident could sign up for either free credit monitoring or credit monitoring worth up to $125 at all three of the major credit reporting agencies: Equifax, Experian, and TransUnion.
The cash payments, which could total much less than $125 and instead be as low as $5 or $21, started to be sent out in the middle of December via email from the settlement administrator either as a check, payment to a PayPal account, or prepaid card, depending on how the consumer wanted to receive it.
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If your Equifax settlement checks bounced, here’s what you need to do
The administrator will get in touch with you if your check was one of those that bounced, Keough added.
You should contact the administrator if your bank assessed you a fee for the occurrence. You can contact them via phone or email at [email protected] (1-833-759-2982).
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