An Oregon woman found that her Equifax credit report contained false information and sued Equifax when she was denied credit by multiple banks.
As a result, she won HUGE in court.
Julie Miller said she contacted the company eight times over two years in an attempt to correct false information about her SSN, DOB and credit lines.
At one point, Equifax told her that her account had accidentally been combined with another person’s. Miller eventually took Equifax to court in 2011.
Friday, a jury ordered Equifax to pay Miller $18.6 million, one of the largest-ever financial victories for consumer complaints against credit companies.
Miller’s lawyer, Justin Baxter, told ABC News that the jury was extremely sympathetic to the multiple ways that bad credit had impacted her life.
In one case, Miller couldn’t obtain credit for her disabled brother.
He also said that Equifax’s failure to protect Miller’s personal account information constituted a breach of privacy that likely influenced the jury.
“There was significant damage to her reputation, a breach of her privacy and the lost opportunity to seek credit,” her attorney said.
Equifax has yet to comment on the decision, which it may appeal.