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Last week, another class action lawsuit was filed against T-Mobile USA Inc. and Experian North America Inc. over a data breach that potentially affected 15 million people.
Lead plaintiff Jennifer Leitner alleges that the companies fail to protect the personal information of millions of customers and responded inappropriately by offering limited credit monitoring services.
“Unlike credit card and bank account numbers, the compromised personal data does not expire,” Leitner alleges, arguing that limited credit monitoring services is not enough to protect hacked consumers from harm. “Plaintiff cannot change her Social Security number or her driver’s license number as a preventative measure, and she is now subject to the misappropriation of her personal data for years to come.”
On Oct. 1, T-Mobile announced that its customers’ data was lost in a hack on databases belonging to Experian North America Inc., which conducts credit checks for T-Mobile USA Inc. According to T-Mobile, customers’ names, addresses and dates of birth, encrypted Social Security and driver’s license numbers may have been lost to hackers when they bypassed encryptions in the Experian system.
According to the data hack class action lawsuit, T-Mobile offered two years of credit monitoring to its customers. Leitner argues that two years of credit monitoring is not enough to protect hacked consumers from harm. Leitner says that experts have determined that identity theft victims face significant harm for five to 10 years after a breach.
Leitner also alleges that she had determined that the hack had affected her and that T-Mobile and Experian failed to notify her that she was affected by the breach. The plaintiff also argued that it was not appropriate for T-Mobile to use Experian to monitor consumers’ credit in response to the breach since the hackers had breached Experien’s systems in the first place.
“Defendants are effectively asking affected persons to choose to trust in the very entities that placed them in this predicament: T-Mobile and Experian,” Leitner alleges in the data breach class action lawsuit. “That choice is no choice at all,” she concluded.
This class action joins another filed over the data breach earlier this month. In the T-Mobile data hack class action lawsuit, lead plaintiffs Brendan Moore and Matthew DeVito allege that Experian and T-Mobile were negligent in their duty to protect the confidential information of their customers. The plaintiffs filed their data hack class action lawsuit in Illinois federal court on Oct. 2 but abruptly dismissed their claims four days later.
By filing the data hack class action lawsuit in California, Leitner seeks to represent both a nationwide Class as well as a Class of customers from her home state as an alternative. Leitner alleges that Experian both negligently and willfully violating the Fair Credit Reporting Act and filed various state law claims against both defendants.
Additionally, on Thursday of last week, consumer groups asked the Federal Trade Commission and Consumer Financial Protection Bureau to determine whether the T-Mobile/Experian data breach affected all 200 million people whose information is held by Experian.
Leitner is represented by Gillian L. Wade of Milstein Adelman LLP, Bryan L. Clobes, Kelly Tucker and Daniel O. Herrera of Cafferty Clobes Meriwether & Sprengel LLP.
The California T-Mobile, Experian Data Hack Class Action Lawsuit is Leitner v. Experian Information Solution Inc., et al., Case No. 8:15-cv-01620, in the U.S. District Court for the Central District of California.
UPDATE: January 2019, the Experian data breach class action settlement is now open. Click here to file a claim.
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18 thoughts onAnother Class Action Filed Against T-Mobile, Experian Over Hack
I am also a new T-Mobile customer who was affected by this. Unfortunately I’m a college student in his 20s, this news made me question my financial stability in any reason of graduating. I also would like in a class-action lawsuit we have strength in numbers.
I was one of the affected too..always worrying now, no peace of mind. Somewhere out there somebody is trying to be me. They took our information and did not protect it. Sorry for inconvenience is not good enough. We should get together to sue them.
Experian needs to offer us, the affected, Credit Monitoring for LIFE, and also a Credit Freeze/Unfreeze for free, why should we have to pay for their negligence?! Two years is in no way adequated. After the two years are up, should we live in fear and anxiety from there on? We are sitting ducks in this situation. Experian screwed up, they need to make this right by us. I have a feeling it would be smarter for Experian to offer the above, rather than to be pummeled by an avalanche of class action lawsuits.
I am also one of the victims of this travesty and know that there is no way that a mere 2 years of credit monitoring is not enough to cease the potential damage that could occur because of negligents. I want to know how to get on this suit or begin my own.
Hi I like to know what can I do ,I’m sick of tmobile overcharges ,first when I got my service I got tell my bill will be arround $ 120 – $130 because taxes ,bUT is $179.80 ,now I been trying to pay my devices off since I got 4 ,got tell I can pay off anytime since is not contract but guess what I tried to paid didn’t let me ,now finally got to pay one off I thought my bill was going to be cheaper nope ,well now my bill is $230,
Not to mention, by using the complimentary service, you are waiving your rights to legal action. Better read the terms and conditions. They don’t care about us, they only want to reduce the number of lawsuits. Do not be fooled.
I do agree 2 years of monitoring is not enough since this is the same company that is doing the monitoring is Experian owned . And the learned not one thing about protecting the data of the people that was hacked the first time. And t mobile didn’t learn their lesson the first time and left this information in the hands of Experian.
I agree – Something more long term needs to be offered. Two years doesnt cut it. Whats the next steps to sign up for the class action ? I would like to join up as I got the letter in the mail.
I was affected and am military. I got a letter from the IRS as well
The so-called free credit report monitoring does NOT address the damage that WILL be done. It is not necessarily the bogus credit accounts that can be opened. Rather, with a DOB, SSN, and license number the scammers can file tax returns, apply for passports … obtain utility service to name a few. Changing your license number is difficult, and impossible to change your birthdate. THIS IS A HUGE FAILURE.
I too am a new T-mobile customer this year, potentially affected by Experians incompetent lack of data security. Two years of free credit monitoring from the same credit bureau who is responsible for the breach is a far from adequate protection and just shows how little they care about safeguarding consumers.