Equifax reported inaccurate credit scores for millions of people in the US looking for loans in three weeks in 2022, the Wall Street Journal reported Tuesday. The company confirmed the issue on its website.
“Equifax identified a coding issue within a legacy, on-premise server environment in the U.S. slated to be migrated to the new Equifax Cloud™ infrastructure,” the company said Tuesday.
WSJ cited “bank executives and others familiar with the errors.”
Lenders use credit scores to help determine whether to approve people for various types of loans. Credit scores can also be an important factor when renting an apartment or leasing a car. They are reported by major three agencies: TransUnion, Equifax, and Experian.
What are Equifax’s credit errors?
Per the outlet’s report, Equifax sent the incorrect scores to lenders including JPMorgan Chase and Wells Fargo, when folks were looking to apply for mortgages, credit cards, and car loans, with some scores off by as much as 20 points — enough to change interest rates or cause someone to be rejected.
Equifax said, “initial analysis indicates that only a small number of them may have received a different credit decision.”
The company also said in its statement that fewer than 300,000 customers had a score that was wrong by 25 points or more. While scores were sometimes inaccurate, full “credit reports,” which scores are calculated from, were not affected, per Equifax.
“We are collaborating with our customers to determine the actual impact to consumers,” Equifax’s statement added. “We can confirm that the issue has been fixed.”
Per CBS News, this was previously reported by National Mortgage Professional in May, and the company later acknowledged the issue.