Equifax settlement: How much time you have to file your claim – CNET

Nearly half of the US population was affected in the 2017 Equifax data breach. But if you were one of the 147 million people whose data was exposed as part of the hack, you don’t have to rush to file a claim to be compensated for the time and money you spent recovering from the database breach of the free credit reporting company. 

According to the Federal Trade Commission, you have until January 22, 2020, to submit your claims. And you can either file yours online or mail one in. If you choose to mail your settlement, it must be postmarked no later than January 22, 2020.

To begin, check if your information were exposed in the data breach. If you are eligible to file, collect all your documents and receipts that show your losses and out-of-pocket expenses as a result of the hack. Then when you are ready, you can file. We have a guide for how to prepare and file your claims and what the settlement payments can cover.

The earliest you can expect to receive benefits, the FTC said, is the day after the submission deadline: January 23, 2020. If you did rush to submit your claim, the FTC said you can revise your request if you filed for the $125, especially in light of the FTC’s recommendations about which benefits to request. If you’ve filed, the FTC said you’ll receive an email from the settlement administrator with instructions on how to switch requests.