God Gazarov, 27, a native of Russia currently living in Brighton Beach, Brooklyn, has finally received a settlement in his federal lawsuit against Equifax, the credit reporting agency. This news comes after a year-long legal battle with the credit giant, according to the report from New York Post.
In April 2014, Gazarov sued the agency the company who had been rejecting him from entereing their database due to his first name. As a result, he couldn't prove his credit rating which can be traced back to Russia. Crippled by this misunderstanding, the jewelry store owner wasn't able to secure any loans for his business.
Gazarov has apparently been asking Equifax to correct the glitch for two years. But following several calls and letters, the credit company had failed to address the problem, according to a previous report, also from the New York Post. So, he filed a lawsuit.
Gazarov and Equifax reached an agreement last Wednesday, with Gazarov will receive a "confidential payout" from the credit company as part of the settlement. He is also the receipient of a new credit score: 820.
"I never claimed I'm the almighty leader of the world," said Gazarov, in a report from Metro.
"This country is built on immigrants, and there's nothing wrong with people carrying non-American names. It's not like I'm trying to say I'm Mickey Mouse and my address is Disney World in Orlando," he added.
A name change, which was suggested by Equifax's customer service representatives, was far from Gazarov's mind because he was named after his grandfather.
"I'm proud to carry his name. He was a very big commander in the army and well respected back home," Gazarov said in the Metro report.
"There are plenty of people who come here from other countries who have unusual names. American companies need to understand they are real people with real names that should be recognized," said Gazarov's lawyer via Huffington Post UK.
Now that the matter is settled, Gazarov said he's using the settlement money to purchase a BMW, according to The Journal.
