Fact Checked

Filed a claim to get up to $125 from the Equifax settlement? There’s another hurdle.

Written by: Paris Ward
• •2 min read
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If you filed a claim in the recent Equifax data breach settlement, your paperwork may not be done quite yet.

Consumers who filed a claim before Aug. 2 this year and opted for up to $125 in alternative compensation should receive an email saying that unless they verify or amend their claim by Oct. 15, it could be denied.

If you were affected by the breach and filed a claim for cash payment, don’t ignore this email. Read on to find out what your next steps are to verify or amend your claim.

Want to know more?

What email should you look for?

Equifax is sending emails to people who requested up to $125 in alternative compensation for claims that were filed before Aug. 2. If you were among those who did, according to the FTC you should receive an email from the Equifax Breach Settlement Administrator and the subject line should relate to your Equifax claim.

Although the email may look suspicious, it’s not a scam — it’s important to read the email and follow the instructions closely so your claim can be processed.

How do you verify or amend your claim?

If you receive the email, you’ll be directed to Equifax’s official settlement claim website. You’ll need to enter your claim number from the top of the email. Once you do, you’ll have an option to verify your claim by entering the name of the credit monitoring service you were using when you filed your claim and that you will have for at least the next six months.

As a reminder, if you’re a Credit Karma member you may have credit monitoring through Credit Karma and can check your account to confirm.

If you’ve decided you’d like to opt for free credit monitoring instead of the alternative compensation, you can amend your claim to request free credit monitoring.

What will your potential compensation look like if you verify your claim?

If you verify your claim for alternative compensation, you’re opting to receive a cash payment of up to $125 rather than free credit monitoring, which includes at least four years of credit monitoring at all three credit bureaus. However, the cash payments are being paid from a pool of $31 million. The Federal Trade Commission is now warning that people who opted for alternative compensation are unlikely to receive $125 because of the high number of claims submitted and is highlighting that free credit monitoring provides a better value.

About the author: Paris Ward is a content strategist at Credit Karma, providing readers with the latest news that will aid their financial progress. She has more than a decade of experience as a writer and editor and holds a bachelor’s… Read more.