Millions Of Americans Issued Incorrect Credit Scores Due To 'Coding Issue'

Credit reporting agency Equifax sent the incorrect credit scores of millions of Americans to lenders, impacting their ability to apply for mortgages, auto loans, and credit cards.

According to Business Insider, the credit scores, which in some cases were 25 points lower, resulted in people getting denied loans.

Equifax said the incorrect scores were sent out for about three weeks because of a "coding issue." The company said that the issue has since been fixed and that only a tiny percentage of customers were affected by the mistake.

"We have determined that there was no shift in the vast majority of scores during the three-week timeframe of the issue," Equifax said in a statement. "For those consumers that did experience a score shift, initial analysis indicates that only a small number of them may have received a different credit decision."

"Our data shows that less than 300,000 consumers experienced a score shift of 25 points or more. While the score may have shifted, a score shift does not necessarily mean that a consumer's credit decision was negatively impacted," the statement continued.

Equifax said it is working with lenders and banks on how to handle those who had their loans rejected based on an incorrect credit score.