TransUnion $8.31 Million Credit Report Settlement: File by October 30, 2026 for Up to $1,000

The case is Brooks v. Trans Union, LLC, Civil Action No. 2:22-cv-00048-KSM, before Judge Karen Spencer Marston in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania. Plaintiff William Norman Brooks, III sued TransUnion in 2022.

A credit account (tradeline) can carry a remark such as "included in bankruptcy." The plaintiff says TransUnion sold reports that showed that kind of bankruptcy remark on an account while the same report had no bankruptcy in its public record section. The plaintiff's position is that when no public bankruptcy filing exists within 10 years before the report date, reporting bankruptcy information this way is inaccurate.

The legal claim is that TransUnion willfully violated the Fair Credit Reporting Act, 15 U.S.C. § 1681 and following, by failing to follow reasonable procedures to assure maximum possible accuracy. Under the FCRA, a willful violation can carry statutory damages of $100 to $1,000 per consumer, which is why the estimated payments here fall in that range. The court had already certified the case as a class action before settlement. TransUnion denies violating the FCRA and argues the reporting was accurate; the court has not decided who is right.

The settlement class is everyone residing in the United States or its territories to whom, between January 6, 2020 and January 31, 2023, TransUnion sold a credit report to a third party that:

• showed a bankruptcy remark on a tradeline;
• had no reference to a bankruptcy in the public record section of the same report; and
• concerned a person with no government-held public record of a bankruptcy filing in the 10 years before the report date.

The class is split into two groups based on public record searches by Social Security number:

Class members were identified from TransUnion's records, so if you did not receive a notice with a Claim Number and PIN, you are probably not in the class. You can contact the administrator to check.

The No Bankruptcy Group gets a better deal because, as the notice explains, the Aged Bankruptcy Group would face additional risks if the case went forward: TransUnion argues it was accurate to report an old, real bankruptcy. The estimates of $1,000 and $350 are based on typical claim rates in similar cases and could end up higher or lower depending on how many people file.

The $8.31 million fund also pays administration costs, up to $2,770,000 in attorneys' fees, up to $308,000 in litigation expenses, and up to $50,000 to Mr. Brooks as an individual settlement and service award. Class counsel's fee request is due October 16, 2026. You can choose an electronic payment on the website or get a paper check by mail. See our guide on the FCRA for how statutory damages work.

1. Find your notice (email or mail). Your group, unique Claim Number, and PIN are printed on it.
2. Go to the official settlement website linked above (BrooksBankruptcyClassaction.com) and open the File A Claim page.
3. Log in with your Claim Number and PIN and complete the claim form.
4. Confirm or update your mailing address, and choose electronic payment if you prefer.
5. Submit by October 30, 2026.

The settlement does not ask class members to upload proof; eligibility comes from TransUnion's own records and the public record searches already done. If you lost your notice, contact the administrator at (888) 279-4003 or through the website's Contact Us page. The administrator's mailing address for exclusions is Brooks v. Trans Union, LLC, c/o Settlement Administrator, P.O. Box 16, West Point, PA 19486.

If you are in the No Bankruptcy Group, filing is the difference between $100 and an estimated $1,000, so it is worth the few minutes. Our guide to filing a settlement claim covers common mistakes.

As of September 2026, the TransUnion settlement is open for claims and no payments have been made. Payments go out only after final approval and any appeals.

To opt out, send a statement to "Exclusion Requests, Brooks v. Trans Union Settlement Administrator" with your name, address, email, phone, a clear statement that you want to be excluded, and the unique identifier from your notice, by October 30, 2026. Opting out means no payment but keeps your right to sue TransUnion yourself.

That can make sense for someone with larger losses, such as a denied mortgage or higher interest rate tied to the bankruptcy remark, because the FCRA allows actual damages and attorneys' fees in individual cases. An individual FCRA case generally must be filed within 2 years after you discover the violation and no more than 5 years after it happened. If you think the remark cost you real money, a free case review can connect you with independent attorneys who handle credit reporting cases, and our credit report errors page explains those claims. To object instead, write to both the administrator and the court by October 30, 2026.

Other credit reporting settlements include the Equifax credit reporting settlement, the GEICO credit reporting settlement, and the Wells Fargo bankruptcy reporting settlement. To fix an error on your current report, see how to dispute a credit report error. For this settlement, file on the official settlement website linked above by October 30, 2026.