Published
May 8, 2025
Updated
August 1, 2026
The $23 million Norman settlement addressed allegations that TransUnion failed to reasonably investigate written disputes of hard inquiries and instead sent consumers a standardized 502 Letter.
Current Status
The settlement received final approval on July 22, 2025. Automatic payments required no claim, while the deadline to seek a higher pro rata payment was June 24, 2025. The official site has not posted a later notice confirming when payments were distributed or completed. No new or late claim process is open.StatusFinal Approval; Distribution Not Announced
Higher-Payment Claim DeadlineJune 24, 2025 — Passed
Settlement Fund$23 Million
Historical ProofNotice ID and PIN for Higher Payment
What Was the TransUnion Hard-Inquiry Lawsuit About?
The plaintiff alleged that TransUnion did not conduct a reasonable investigation after consumers submitted written disputes stating that a hard inquiry on their credit file lacked a permissible purpose. According to the lawsuit, TransUnion did not contact the company that obtained the report or remove the disputed inquiry and instead mailed a standardized response known as a 502 Letter. Plaintiffs claimed that this practice violated the Fair Credit Reporting Act. TransUnion denied the allegations and denied engaging in wrongful conduct.Who Is Included in the Settlement?
The settlement class includes consumers with an address in the United States or its territories to whom TransUnion sent its 502 Letter in response to a written dispute of an inquiry from December 5, 2016 through January 31, 2025. The administrator estimated that the class contained roughly 485,000 consumers. Membership was based on TransUnion’s records, and people identified as class members received notice. This is not a settlement for every person who has ever disputed information on a TransUnion report.What Is a Hard Inquiry?
A hard inquiry is a record created when a lender or another authorized party accesses a consumer report in connection with an application or another permissible purpose. It differs from a soft inquiry used for activities such as certain account reviews, prequalification, or a consumer checking their own report. The lawsuit did not contend that all hard inquiries reduce a score by the same amount or that every inquiry is unauthorized. It concerned TransUnion’s response when a consumer disputed an inquiry in writing.What Was the 502 Letter?
The 502 Letter was TransUnion’s standardized response to covered written disputes. It generally explained what an inquiry is, how long inquiries remain visible, and the permissible purposes for accessing a consumer report, while directing the consumer to contact the company that made the inquiry. The lawsuit alleged that sending this response without contacting the requesting company or removing the inquiry did not satisfy TransUnion’s FCRA reinvestigation duties. TransUnion disputed that legal theory.What Did the $23 Million Settlement Provide?
TransUnion agreed to create a $23 million non-reversionary settlement fund and to make changes related to its inquiry-challenge process. The fund covers class-member payments, approved administration, attorney fees and litigation expenses, and the court-approved service award. The agreement reserved $4,583,333 for additional pro rata payments to class members who submitted valid higher-payment claims. Remaining funds are handled under the agreement rather than returned automatically to TransUnion.What Was the Automatic Payment?
Every participating settlement class member who did not opt out was entitled under the agreement to a $20 base payment, whether or not that person submitted the higher-payment claim. The notice initially described the expected automatic amount as approximately $20 to $30 because it discussed anticipated fund administration. The settlement agreement itself specifies the $20 automatic component. A class member did not need to upload documents or complete a claim form for that base payment.How Did the Higher Payment Work?
A class member seeking more than the automatic component had to submit a complete claim by June 24, 2025 using the Notice ID and PIN supplied with the settlement notice. The claimant attested to experiencing specified harm connected with the alleged FCRA violation. The $4,583,333 reserve was divided pro rata among valid claimants, in addition to their $20 automatic payment. The notice estimated that the combined amount could be up to roughly $160, but the final value depended on the number of valid claims.What Did Final Approval Establish?
The final hearing occurred in July 2025, and the administrator posted an update stating that final approval was granted July 22, 2025. That order approved the settlement; it did not reopen the claim deadline. Under the agreement, distribution follows settlement effectiveness and claim administration. Because the official homepage has not published a payment-sent or completion notice, this page does not state that checks have definitely arrived.What Should Class Members Do Now?
The filing deadline and exclusion deadline are over. A participating class member should retain the original notice, claim confirmation if a higher-payment form was submitted, and any payment-selection record. Address and case-status tools are available through the official administrator site. OpenClassActions is not the settlement administrator and cannot accept a Notice ID, PIN, credit report, or dispute documents.How This Differs From the Wilson TFC Settlement
Norman concerns written disputes of hard inquiries and TransUnion’s 502 Letter. Wilson concerns TFC data allegedly sent to a debt collector after deletion requests. Norman has a $23 million fund and included an optional higher-payment claim; Wilson has a $2.5 million fund with automatic pro rata payments only. The similar defendant and FCRA label do not make the class definitions interchangeable.Official Information
Review the latest information on the official Norman v. Trans Union settlement website website.
Case
Norman v. Trans Union, LLC
Case Number
2:18-cv-05225-GAM
Court
U.S. District Court, Eastern District of Pennsylvania
Settlement Fund
$23 million
Class Period
December 5, 2016–January 31, 2025
Higher-Payment Deadline
June 24, 2025
Final Approval
July 22, 2025
Official Website
official Norman v. Trans Union settlement website
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