TransUnion has agreed to an $8.31 million settlement over allegedly inaccurate bankruptcy references on credit reports. What you can receive depends on which of two groups you belong to. One group receives $100 automatically and can claim more; the other must apply for any payment.
Benefit Summary
No Bankruptcy Group: This group covers otherwise eligible class members for whom searches of public records using Social Security numbers could not locate any bankruptcy filing. You must remain in the settlement to receive its benefits.
These benefits can combine when their individual eligibility and claim requirements are met. Members of this group receive $100 without filing a claim, provided they stay in the settlement and it becomes final and effective. The check is sent to the address TransUnion has on record. You can also file a valid claim for an additional payment, estimated at $1,000. This is on top of the automatic $100. The claim payment can be higher or lower because it depends on how many claims are submitted.
Aged Bankruptcy Group: This group covers otherwise eligible class members whose public-record search found bankruptcy filings only from more than ten years before the date of the TransUnion report. You must remain in the settlement to receive its benefits.
You need to file a valid claim to receive money. The expected payment is $350, but it can be higher or lower depending on how many people claim. This group does not receive the automatic $100.
The $8.31 million fund pays class benefits and settlement administration, as well as approved legal fees, case expenses and the plaintiff’s individual settlement and service award. Payments cannot be sent until the court approves the settlement and any appeals finish.
Available Awards
No Bankruptcy Group: Automatic $100 + Additional payment, estimated $1,000; Aged Bankruptcy Group: Estimated $350
Who Is Included
You may qualify if you lived in the United States or its territories and TransUnion sold a credit report about you to someone else between January 6, 2020 and January 31, 2023. An account on that report must have carried a bankruptcy remark, while the same report’s public-record section showed no bankruptcy. There must also have been no government-held record of a bankruptcy filed within the ten years before the report date.
- Proof required: Use the Claim Number and PIN on your notice to check your assigned group. A claim form is needed for the extra No Bankruptcy Group payment or any Aged Bankruptcy Group payment. The notice does not specify what supporting records or verification a valid claim requires.
Claim and Payment Information
- Claim method: Online claim form
- Claim deadline: 2026-10-30
- Instructions: Use the online form on the official settlement website and submit it by October 30, 2026. Check your assigned group with the Claim Number and PIN from your notice. No Bankruptcy Group members can apply for an extra payment; Aged Bankruptcy Group members need to apply to receive any money.
Questions & Answers
How do I check which payment group I am in?
Look below the Claim Number and PIN on your notice for your group. You can also enter those details on the official settlement website to check.
Use that assignment when choosing what action to take: the No Bankruptcy Group has an automatic payment, while the Aged Bankruptcy Group must file a claim to receive money.
Can I receive the automatic $100 and claim more?
Yes, if you belong to the No Bankruptcy Group and stay in the settlement. Its $100 payment does not require a claim. You can also submit the online claim form by October 30, 2026 for an additional payment estimated at $1,000.
Those payments can be combined. The extra amount is an estimate and may change with the number of claims.
Does the notice require documents with my claim?
The notice says a claim must be valid but does not list the supporting documents, information or verification that may be needed. Follow the actual claim form’s instructions.
This uncertainty should not be treated as a promise that no proof will be required.
Are the $1,000 and $350 figures fixed?
They are estimates. The additional claim payment for the No Bankruptcy Group is expected to be about $1,000; the Aged Bankruptcy Group payment is expected to be about $350.
The estimates use claim rates from similar cases. Actual payments can go up or down with the number of claims submitted in this settlement.
How will I receive the payment?
You can set up an electronic payment through the official website. Otherwise, payment is sent as a paper check by U.S. mail. The claim form lets you update your mailing address.
There is no guaranteed payment date. Final court approval and resolution of any appeals must come first.
What rights do I give up by staying?
If the settlement receives final approval, members who remain give up the claims it resolves against TransUnion and the other parties covered by the release. These include specified claims about bankruptcy reporting under the Fair Credit Reporting Act.
The release covers claims raised in the lawsuit or that could have been raised there. Question 9 of the notice points to sections 1(ii) and 12 of the settlement agreement for the exact terms. Opting out is the way to retain any right to bring the covered claims separately.
How do I leave the settlement?
Send an individual request that clearly asks to leave and includes your full name, address, email, phone number and the unique identifier from your notice. The deadline is October 30, 2026.
Direct it to “Exclusion Requests – Brooks v. Trans Union Settlement Administrator” at Brooks v. Trans Union, LLC, c/o Settlement Administrator, P.O. Box 16, West Point, PA 19486. Question 10 gives the notice’s instructions.
If you leave, you receive no settlement payment.
How can I object?
Submit your objection by October 30, 2026 through the court’s electronic filing system or by letter to the court clerk. Send a copy to the settlement administrator as well.
Question 15 provides the addresses and a detailed checklist. It requires your reasons and supporting documents, contact and lawyer details, information about objection-related agreements and past objections, what you want the court to do, any plans to attend or testify, and your signature. Follow that complete checklist when filing.
Can I attend or speak at the hearing?
Attendance is optional. The hearing is scheduled for December 2, 2026, at 10 a.m. at the James A. Byrne U.S. Courthouse, 601 Market Street, Philadelphia, PA 19106. The notice does not specify a time zone. The hearing could move or become virtual, so check the official website.
To ask to speak, first submit a compliant objection. You must also send a Notice of Intention to Appear that arrives by November 18, 2026, with copies to both sides’ lawyers. Question 18 lists the required information, supporting material and your personal signature.
Does all $8.31 million go to class members?
The fund also covers administration and amounts the judge approves for legal work, expenses and the person who brought the case.
The requests are up to $2,770,000 in legal fees, up to $308,000 in litigation expenses, and up to $50,000 for the plaintiff’s individual settlement and service award. Class members do not pay these approved amounts directly; they come from the fund.
Other Important Dates
- Exclusion deadline: 2026-10-30
- Objection deadline: 2026-10-30
- Final approval hearing: December 2, 2026 at 10:00 a.m.
- Hearing location: United States District Court, Eastern District of Pennsylvania, James A. Byrne U.S. Courthouse, 601 Market Street, Philadelphia, PA 19106
Case Details
- Total settlement fund: $8,310,000
- Case name: Brooks v. Trans Union, LLC
- Case number: 2:22-cv-00048-KSM (E.D. Pa.)
- Court: United States District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania
- Official Settlement Website: https://www.BrooksBankruptcyClassAction.com
Sources
Claim form, FAQ, deadlines, administrator information
Court-approved notice describing eligibility and benefits