(orlandosentinel) Angela P. Williams says she got nothing but a runaround from Equifax as she tried for more than a decade to clear up an identity mix-up that ruined her credit. Now she's hitting the credit-reporting giant where it hurts: on the bottom line. An Orlando jury awarded Williams a multimillion-dollar verdict against Equifax for years of failing to correct dramatic errors in Williams' credit report that led to her credit score being trashed. Atlanta-based Equifax must pay the medical-transcription worker 9,000 in actual damages and .7 million in punitive damages for negligent violation of federal credit-reporting laws, according to the verdict Friday in state Circuit Court in Orlando. It is the largest punitive-damages award ever against Equifax, which would not comment on the case. An appeal is expected. Williams, who recently moved from Brevard County to the Jacksonville area, said she was surprised but gratified by the decision. "This has been a nightmare," she said Monday. "It's not so much about the money, but about the punishment. I know I'm not the only one that has gone through this. But people need to know their rights. They need to check their credit report and try to be in charge of their credit history." The verdict was a big vote of confidence for people who wrestle with a flawed credit-reporting system and take on big corporations that refuse to acknowledge mistakes, said Steven Fahlgren, a Florida-based consumer lawyer who represents Williams. "We've fought this battle for years, and, despite all the evidence, Equifax denied almost until the end that there were any mistakes in my client's credit file," he said. "But I'm so proud that the jury saw the evidence for what it was. This is a great victory for consumers." Her lawyers showed how Equifax repeatedly confused Williams with someone who had a similar name but whose credit file was rife with bad debt. Though Williams disputed and debunked the errors numerous times, Equifax kept passing along the false information, ruining her credit, she testified. After eight years of trying to resolve the issue, she sued the company in 2003. In the meantime, Williams, 37, who works for Orlando Foot & Ankle Clinic, from the Jacksonville area, was denied student loans, credit-card accounts, ATM cards and other financial applications, she said. She also couldn't apply for a mortgage, fearing more recurrence of the credit problems.

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