A £34bn claim has been filed against Experian after it has been accused of mis-selling people’s data.
A £34bn claim has been filed against Experian after it has been accused of mis-selling people’s data.
In addition, it is also believed that Experian has built potentially inaccurate profiles of 46 million individuals that can affect decisions on credit.
Lawyers acting for a representative claimant filed a writ at the High Court on 26 February.
It accuses Experian of collecting data on people through online questionnaires and website-tracking cookies, after which it sells it on for commercial gain.
If Experian is found guilty, each of the 46 million people in England and Wales will be entitled to £750.
The total of 46 million people, which it is believed Experian sold the data of, equates to 95% of the adult population in England and Wales.
In addition, the claim follows an Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) enforcement notice last October that found Experian was selling people’s data on to third parties.
It found that Experian had been selling individual’s data to political parties, without their consent, which can impose a £20m fine.
A spokesperson for Experian said: “We do not believe there are any reasonable grounds for bringing this case.
“A number of claims have been made that are simply not true – our offline marketing business does not use website tracking cookies and its data has no impact on people’s credit scores.”
