A Court authorized Class notice to inform Class Members about the proposed Settlement and their rights. Before any final judgment is entered, the Court will have a hearing to decide whether to approve the Settlement. The notice is only a summary of the Settlement. More details about the proposed Settlement are in the Settlement Agreement.

The lawsuit is known as Hill-Green v. Experian Information Solutions, Inc., No. 3:19-cv-708 (E.D. Va.). Judge M. Hannah Lauck of the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia is overseeing the case. The person who sued is called “Plaintiff” or “Named Plaintiff”; and the company that she sued is called “Experian” or the “Defendant.”

The lawsuit claims that Experian violated the Fair Credit Reporting Act when it: (1) incorrectly reported some consumers’ residential addresses as high-risk or non-residential, (2) did not have procedures to make sure that it reported Fraud Shield Indicators accurately (or correctly), and (3) did not take off adverse information (that hurts your creditworthiness) on reports after seven years. Experian denies these claims and that it did anything wrong.

The Court did not decide whether either side was right or wrong. Instead, both sides agreed to the Settlement to resolve the case and provide benefits to consumers.

A class action lawsuit tries to bring similar claims into one case in one court. In a class action, one or more people called “Class Representatives” (in this case, Lisa Hill-Green) bring the case to court. They have their name listed in the title of the case. They sue on behalf of themselves and other people who have similar claims — called the Class or Class Members — which in this case may include you. One court resolves the issues for everyone in the Class. The Class Representative filed this case as a proposed class action.

The Court has not decided in favor of the Plaintiffs or Defendants in this case. Instead, both sides agreed to a Settlement to avoid the costs and risks of a lengthy trial and appeals process. Class Members will receive the benefits described in the notice. The parties think the proposed Settlement is best for all Class Members.

There is only one Settlement in this case, Hill-Green v. Experian, but it has changed over time. The Settlement provides both injunctive relief and monetary damages to certain consumers. An injunction occurs when a court orders a person or company to do or not to do something. In this case, the Court ordered Experian to change its business practices for its Fraud Shield product.

On April 27, 2022, the Court approved a Settlement that provided benefits to all Class Members in the form of Court-ordered changes to Experian’s business practices. It did not provide money to Class Members and did not resolve claims against Experian in the litigation.

Recently, the parties agreed to modify the Settlement to provide additional Court-ordered changes to Experian’s business practices (the “Expanded Settlement”), as well as the possibility that certain consumers who were potentially harmed by Experian’s reporting of high-risk and non-residential Fraud Shield Indicators (the “Money Settlement Class”) receive a payment (see FAQ 9). 

The Court granted Preliminary Approval of the Settlement on September 29, 2022. Settlement Notice was issued to Rule 23(b)(3) Class Members by mail and/or email.

The Court held a final hearing to decide whether to approve the updated Settlement on March 1, 2023 at 11:00 a.m., Eastern. The Court granted Final Approval of the Settlement.

The Court has decided that the following consumers are in the Money Settlement Class: (1) anyone who was likely affected by Experian’s reporting of certain Fraud Shield Indicators from July 1, 2018 through July 31, 2021; or (2) anyone who, from July 1, 2018 to July 31, 2021, contacted Experian to inquire about and/or dispute a non-residential or high-risk address indicator.

The complete criteria for who is included can be found in the Settlement Agreement.

As a Money Settlement Class Member, you could see which addresses Experian reported about you and labeled as non-residential or high risk when you filed a claim. 

If you are a member of the Money Settlement Class, you are also a member of the Policy Change Settlement Class, which includes:

All consumers in the United States for whom Experian, within two years prior to the filing of the Complaint in this action and during its pendency, furnished a consumer report to a third party containing an inaccurate Fraud Shield Indicator No. 10, 11, 16, or 17 indicating that the consumer’s address was either a high-risk or non-residential address.

When you apply for credit, potential creditors may contact Experian to obtain your credit report. In addition to a standard credit report, potential creditors may also ask Experian to provide additional information that help the creditor detect potential fraud. This additional information is provided by Experian’s Fraud Shield product.  If the information you provide when you apply for credit, or certain information already on your credit file meets certain criteria, the Fraud Shield product will return an “Indicator,” flagging the presence of the criteria.

Specifically, when you apply for credit, a potential creditor may request that Experian check the address you provided in your application, along with current and prior addresses in your Experian credit file, against address information that it obtains from other sources.  This information tells Experian whether an address has been used for a business and whether the business is of a type that Experian believes may be associated with fraud.  If an address has been associated with that type of business, Experian will report it as non-residential and will report what type of business it appears to be.  If Experian’s records indicate that the address is a certain type of high-risk business address (for example, a prison), Experian will also flag the address as potentially associated with fraud and advise the potential creditor to contact you directly to get more information.

If you are still not sure whether you are included in the Classes, call toll-free 1-877-917-0074 or review this Settlement website.

You may also contact the attorneys representing you for further information or assistance at: ExperianAddressSettlementCounsel@bm.net or write to: Experian Settlement Class Counsel, 763 J Clyde Morris Blvd., Suite 1A, Newport News, VA 23601.

Experian has agreed to pay $22,450,000 (the “Settlement Class Fund”) for the benefit of the Money Settlement Class. The Parties estimated Money Settlement Class Members will each receive between $300 and $900. This was just an estimate, and the precise amount of the payment depended on the number of individuals that submitted valid claim forms and what the Court decided to award for the Class Representative service payment, attorneys’ fees and expenses, and administration and notice costs. Payments to Money Settlement Class Members who submitted a valid claim form began issuing in May 2023.

Money Settlement Class Members also benefit from the additional changes Experian will make to its business practices. The Expanded Settlement requires Experian, at its expense, to design, implement, and maintain specific and substantial procedures that address the lawsuit’s concerns about how Experian handles non-residential data and reports Fraud Shield Indicators. More details about the policy change benefits are available under FAQ 6.

The deadline to file a Claim Form passed on January 30, 2023.

The Court granted Final Approval of the Settlement on March 2, 2023, and is now effective. Settlement payments to Money Settlement Class Members who submitted a valid Claim Form began issuing in May 2023. You may check the Settlement website (www.FraudShieldSettlement.com) for updates.

The Court granted Final Approval of the Settlement. You gave up the right to sue Experian in a representative or class action for any claims in this lawsuit, including claims relating to Experian’s reporting of high-risk or non-residential address Fraud Shield Indicators. This is called “releasing” your claims.

The Court’s decisions in this case applies to Class Members even if they objected to this Settlement or have any other claim, lawsuit, or proceeding pending against Experian relating to the same claims. If you have any questions about the release, you should visit the Settlement website for more information or consult with a lawyer (see FAQ 16).

If Class Members do not exclude themselves from the Money Settlement Class you will not be able to sue Experian for inaccurately reporting your address as non-residential or high-risk, if that reporting occurred before the Effective Date of the Settlement. Class Members agreed to a “Release of Claims,” stated below, which describes exactly the legal claims that they gave up.

“Released Claims” are claims of each member of the Rule 23(b)(3) [Money] Settlement Class and his or her respective spouses, heirs, executors, administrators, representatives, agents, attorneys, partners, successors, predecessors, assigns, and all those acting or purporting to act on their behalf that were actually asserted or that could have been asserted  based on the allegations in the operative complaint and/or [Experian’s reporting of Fraud Shield Indicators stating that the consumer’s address was either a high-risk or non-residential address (Fraud Shield Indicators 10, 11 16, and 17)] in this Litigation. Rule 23(b)(3) [Money] Settlement Class Released Claims do not include claims separate and unrelated to [Experian’s reporting of Fraud Shield Indicators 10, 11, 16 or 17] or claims brought under 15 U.S.C. § 1681i or for allegations of inaccuracy other than with regard to [Experian’s reporting of Fraud Shield Indicators 10, 11, 16 or 17]. The Rule 23(b)(3) [Money] Settlement Class Released Claims include claims for actual damages, statutory damages, punitive damages, attorneys’ fees, and any and all relief of any kind whatsoever, including claims asserted on a class, mass, or collective action basis and claims asserted on an individual, non-representative basis.

The deadline to opt out of the Settlement passed on February 13, 2023.

No. Unless Class Members excluded themselves from the Money Settlement Class, they will not be able to sue Experian for inaccurately reporting their address as non-residential or high-risk, provided that reporting occurred before the Effective Date of the Settlement. The deadline to opt out of the Settlement passed on February 13, 2023.

No. If you excluded yourself from the Money Settlement Class, you will not receive a cash payment.

Yes. The Court approved the following lawyers as “Class Counsel” to represent you and other Class Members:

• Leonard Bennett, of Consumer Litigation Associates, P.C., in Newport News, Virginia;
• Kristi Kelly, of Kelly Guzzo PLC, in Fairfax, Virginia; and
• E. Michelle Drake, of Berger Montague PC, in Minneapolis, Minnesota.

You will not be charged for these lawyers. You may hire your own lawyer to represent you, if you so choose, but you will be responsible for paying your attorney’s fees and expenses.

You may contact the attorneys representing you for further information or assistance at: ExperianAddressSettlementCounsel@bm.net or write to: Experian Settlement Class Counsel, 763 J Clyde Morris Blvd, Suite 1A, Newport News, VA 23601.

Class Counsel will ask the Court to approve attorneys’ fees and expenses in an amount up to 33% of the Settlement Class Fund and a $10,000 service payment to the Class Representative. If the Court approves these amounts, they will be paid out of the Settlement Class Fund.

Class Counsel filed a motion for attorneys' fees and expenses on January 1, 2023. You may review Plaintiff's Motion for Attorney's Fees, Costs, and Class Representative Service Award on the Important Documents page. The Court granted the motion on March 2, 2023.

The deadline to object to the Settlement was January 30, 2023.

Objecting is simply telling the Court that you do not like something about the Settlement. Opting out, or excluding yourself, means that you will not be included in the Settlement.

The deadline to object to the Settlement passed on January 30, 2023. The deadline to opt out of the Settlement passed on February 13, 2023.

The Court held a Final Approval Hearing on March 1, 2023 at 11:00 a.m., Eastern, before Judge Lauck, in the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia, Richmond Division, 701 East Broad Street, Richmond, Virginia 23219.

At the hearing, the Court considered whether the proposed Settlement is fair, reasonable, and adequate. The Parties and other interested persons were given an opportunity to be heard in support of and in opposition to the proposed Settlement. The Court granted Final Approval of the Settlement on March 2, 2023.

The Final Approval Hearing was held on March 1, 2023.

The Final Approval Hearing was held on March 1, 2023.

If you did nothing, you will not receive a cash payment. The Court granted Final Approval of the Settlement. You are bound by the Court's final judgment and the released claims explained in the Settlement Agreement.

More details about this Settlement, the dates when appeals are no longer allowed and when the Settlement is final, deadlines, and your options are available in a longer document called the Settlement Agreement.

In addition, some of the key documents in the case are posted under the Important Documents page.

You may also write with questions to the Settlement Administrator at Fraud Shield Settlement, c/o JND Legal Administration, P.O. Box 91215, Seattle, WA 98111. You can also email info@FraudShieldSettlement.com, or call the toll-free number, 1-877-917-0074.

Do not write or call the judge or any court personnel concerning this lawsuit or Settlement notice.