As most of you may already know like even though Walmart is a major player in retail worldwide, the company is currently facing a legal suit against them for customers in a class action suit who claim they have been unfairly charged for some products. Basically, consumers are accusing Walmart of wrongfully calculating their price tags which resulted in them paying more than they should have, you know? This is kinda a big deal because it directly affected many customers, so, let’s just go over what went down and what is the Walmart Class Action Lawsuit Settlement, shall we?
How Did This All Start?
So, you see, the case against Walmart was initiated in October 2022. Customers and their attorneys alleged that Walmart charged customers inappropriately inflated prices for certain grocery inventory mainly based on weight, that were unexpectedly higher than the prices indicated on the shelves. Their allegations implicated the disproportionate costs of things like meat, poultry, seafood, etc. Plus, bags of citrus fruits, such as oranges and grapefruits. And as you might have already expected, yes, Walmart claimed that it was not guilty. However, to prevent a long, protracted court case, the company took the decision to reach a settlement in the matter, and that’s precisely what we are talking about today because it has been in the headlines recently.
Important Dates and Details You Should Know
Let’s say you purchased products by weight from Walmart between October 19, 2018, and January 19, 2024, you may be part of the “class” that can benefit from this lawsuit. And just so you know, the case, which is being tried in the U.S. District Court in Florida, comprises every shopper within the U.S. or Puerto Rico who made the purchase of the above mentioned items during the said period). Therefore, if you are eligible for this settlement, you have up till the 6th of June, 2024, to submit your request for a refund. Since this is the November month of 2024, that deadline is far gone, so there is not much you can do now.
How Much Money is Walmart Paying, and Who Gets It?
Well, as far as the Walmart Class Action Lawsuit Settlement is concerned, you see, Walmart decided to dish out a whopping $45 million as a settlement. So, if you are part of a customer group who might feel the pinch, you do not need to bring receipts. Walmart has made it easy as pie:
You can submit your receipts for reimbursement for the actual amount of money you spent if you have them. If you do not have receipts, you can still submit a claim and get between $10 and $25 due to an estimate of how much you probably bought as a customer. After you have completed the application, you can retrieve your payment via a variety of methods like Venmo, Zelle, or a prepaid Mastercard.
Though, Walmart’s Pricing Problem Continues
However, the whole circus didn’t stop only with the class action lawsuit. Apart from the other problems that Walmart faced were accusations from the Attorney General of New Jersey that the company’s stores resorted to unfair pricing tactics. Like, New Jersey has specific laws requiring that the unit prices such as price per pound or price per 100 items be displayed by the stores so that customers can compare prices easily. As per the state, at times, the unit prices used by Walmart were either incorrect or confusing and this made it a challenge for customers to determine if they got the best deal.
So the way it went down was that Walmart in the end had to bring a check of $1.64 million to New Jersey, which in this case is the civil penalty (essentially the fine).
