Experian / T-Mobile Data Breach Settlement: Payouts and Status

Who qualifies

• The class covered consumers whose personal information was on the Experian server that was breached — people who applied for T-Mobile postpaid wireless service or device financing, and therefore had a credit check run through Experian, between September 1, 2013 and September 16, 2015.
• About 15 million people were affected. Notice went to those Experian and T-Mobile could identify from their records; the October 2015 breach notification letters are how most class members learned they were included.
• Cash claims required documentation. Class members could seek reimbursement for out-of-pocket costs and fraud losses traceable to the breach, up to $10,000, and for time spent dealing with it at $20 per hour — capped at two hours without documentation and seven hours with it.
• Credit monitoring and identity-theft insurance were available to class members regardless of whether they had suffered any identified loss.
• This settlement did not cover T-Mobile's own 2021 breach, and it did not cover Experian customers generally — only people whose data was in the specific T-Mobile credit-application file that was stolen.

What happened, and what you can still do

1. 1

   Claims closed in April 2019

   The deadline to file was April 11, 2019, following the November 12, 2018 settlement and ahead of final approval in May 2019. There is no late-claim process and no money left in the fund. KCC LLC administered the claims and its role has ended.

2. 2

   Be careful with the old settlement web address

   The web address that once hosted this settlement's claim site, expdatabreachsettlement.com, is no longer an official settlement site — the domain now serves unrelated advertising redirects. Do not enter personal information, Social Security numbers or bank details there. Retired settlement domains are frequently re-registered by third parties once a case ends.

3. 3

   The state settlements were separate — and paid the states

   In November 2022, 40 state attorneys general reached a combined $16 million in settlements over Experian's breaches: about $12.67 million from Experian and $2.43 million from T-Mobile over the 2015 incident, plus $1 million over a separate 2012 Experian Data Corp breach. That money went to the states, not to consumers. Texas separately collected over $1.5 million from Experian and T-Mobile. Consumers affected by the 2015 breach were offered five years of free credit monitoring and two free annual credit reports through the multistate deal, but that enrollment window — six months from the November 7, 2022 announcement — has closed.

4. 4

   Protect the data that was exposed

   Social Security numbers do not expire, so exposure from a 2015 breach still matters in 2026. You can freeze your credit file for free at all three bureaus — Experian, Equifax and TransUnion — request your free reports at annualcreditreport.com, and report identity theft at identitytheft.gov. A freeze is the single most effective free step, and it does not affect your credit score.

5. 5

   Get told about the next breach settlement in time

   This settlement paid up to $10,000 for documented losses — but only to people who filed by a deadline seven years ago. ClaimBee tracks breach settlements as they open, scans your inbox for the notice letters companies send, and files the claim forms for you so a deadline like April 11, 2019 does not pass unnoticed.

Frequently asked questions