JPMorgan Chase Bank has agreed to pay $8.75 million in order to settle a class action lawsuit that alleged the company violated the Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA).

Plaintiff Eva Duncan of Texas filed the FCRA class action lawsuit over claims that JPMorgan Chase accessed consumer credit reports in order to conduct an Account Review Inquiry of customers even after they, for numerous reasons, no longer had a relationship with the bank.

JPMorgan Chase allegedly implements an Account Review Inquiry during an annual audit which means Chase requests the credit information on individual customers. This does not include prescreening potential customers.

According to the terms of the JPMorgan Chase FCRA class action lawsuit settlement, the banking institution has not only agreed to pay the cash Settlement Fund but they have also agreed to change annual auditing for a few years.

The JPMorgan Chase class action lawsuit settlement states that for the next three years, annual audits will confirm that individuals who owe no debt to Chase, retain no interest in any property securing a debt owed to Chase, and have no other account with Chase will be exluded.

JPMorgan Chase denies any liability in the FCRA class action settlement but agreed to the terms in order to avoid the cost of further litigation.