Category: Credit

In September 2017, Equifax announced a data breach that exposed the personal information of 147 million people.  A settlement has now been reached and finalized, which will include up to $425 million to help affected individuals to receive free credit monitoring services, help recovering from identity theft that may have occurred, and even cash reimbursements for certain situations.

If you were affected by the breach, you are eligible for at least 4 years of FREE credit monitoring from all three credit bureaus – Equifax, Experian, and TransUnion – and up to 6 more years from Equifax, for a total of 10 years.  The settlement administrator recently began sending emails and letters to people who filed a valid claim requesting these monitoring services.

*ACTION IS REQUIRED!*

• Eligible claimants will get free membership in Experian IdentityWorks℠ for four years.
• This service is free for you. You do not need to provide any payment information to enroll, and you do not need to cancel the service when it ends.
• To enroll, visit the Experian IdentityWorks website: www.experianidworks.com, and enter the Activation Code from the email or letter you received.  You can also call 1-877-251-5822.
• You must use the Activation Code by June 27, 2022. Your activation code will not work after this date.
• Legitimate emails about this settlement will come from Equifax Breach Settlement Administrator info@equifaxbreachsettlement.com.  The administrator will NOT call you about the settlement, but you can reach the administrator by phone at 1-833-759-2982.

Unsure if you were affected, or if you are eligible for the free credit monitoring provided by the Equifax Data Breach Settlement? 

CCCS of Buffalo offers Credit Report Review sessions, where you would speak one on one with one of our certified counselors who will pull all three of your credit reports from Equifax, Experian, and TransUnion, review everything that appears on your reports with you, go over ways to build on and improve your credit, and show you how to dispute anything if necessary.  Please call us at (716) 712-2060 to schedule an appointment!

During the past year, many of us have been facing unprecedented challenges and financial uncertainty. It is important, for some now more than ever, to ensure that you are in good financial health and that the information on your credit reports is accurate.

Many people are familiar with www.annualcreditreport.com which is the only authorized site to get a completely free copy of each of your three credit reports once per year. The site is authorized by Federal Law. Because of these unprecedented times, everyone can now get free weekly credit reports.

There are three different credit bureaus that report our credit history: Equifax, TransUnion, and Experian. It is important to check all three for accuracy, as some lenders may only report to one or two credit bureaus.

This is a wonderful way to be able to stay on top of your credit reports, and gives you more opportunities to check in, especially if you are working to pay things down, or take care of older collections accounts.

If you are unable to request your reports online, you may call 1-877-322-8228 to go through an automated system to verify your identity and request your free credit reports be mailed to you.

Here at Consumer Credit Counseling Service of Buffalo, we encourage everyone to take advantage of the increased availability of our credit reports. If you or someone you know needs help with accessing or understanding their credit report or needs help to figure out a plan to manage debt, please contact us at www.parachutecreditcounseling.org or call us at 716-712-2060. We specialize in providing financial education and counseling to help with your credit!