Walmart Settlement: Grocery Shoppers Can Get up to $500 From Class Action Lawsuit
- Student Loan Debt Has Forced Over 70% of Borrowers to Delay Major Life Events
- 5 Tips to Help You Save Money on Soaring Car Repair Costs
- Airlines Must Give Cash Refunds for Canceled Flights Under New Rule
- True or False? Gas Prices Always Fall During Election Seasons
- The Surprising Way Inflation Can Be Good for People With Debt
- The Dow Is About to Cross 40,000 for the First Time Ever
- What Is the Great Wealth Transfer? (And How Could You Benefit?)
- Need Tax Help? Here Are Answers to 11 Last-Minute Filing Questions
- When Are State Taxes Due? Here Are the 2024 Deadlines
- Dollar Scholar Asks: Should I Share a Bank Account With My Best Friend?
Have you recently shopped for groceries at Walmart? You may be eligible to claim up to $500 from a major class action lawsuit over allegedly misleading prices.
To qualify for a share of the $45 million settlement, you need to have purchased certain products at a Walmart store between Oct. 19, 2018, and Jan. 19, 2024.
The groceries that qualify include specific meat, poultry, pork and seafood items that are priced based on weight, as well as some produce items (oranges, grapefruit and tangerines) that are sold in bulk in bags — like 3-pound bags of oranges.
You can view the complete list of items on the product descriptions tab of the settlement administrator’s website. Keep in mind that only in-person (not online) purchases qualify.
Why is this settlement happening? The lawsuit claimed that shoppers were overcharged and “paid more than the lowest in-store advertised price” for the products in question, according to the settlement website. Walmart continues to deny that claim, and a settlement is not an admission of a mistake.
How to claim money from the Walmart settlement
Some Walmart shoppers who are eligible to take part in the settlement received emails containing a notice ID and confirmation code; that information can be used to quickly submit a claim online.
The settlement amount is 2% of the purchases you made, up to a total of $500. Payments will be distributed via online methods like Venmo or Zelle, but there’s also a backup option to receive a check. (Payout amounts could be adjusted depending on how many claims are submitted.)
Realistically, very few people will qualify for the maximum amount — you’d have to average just under $5,000 of annual spending on the qualifying items to be eligible for the $500 payout. Also, claiming your part of the settlement will be more complicated if your purchases were not tied to an email on file with Walmart.
Shoppers who kept their receipts or have other proof of purchase can upload those with their claim and potentially receive a larger sum (up to the $500 max). If you don’t have receipts or purchase records, you can submit a detailed claim form and potentially receive between $10 and $25 based on the number of qualifying products you attest to having purchased.
For all claims, the submission deadline is June 5.
The timing of when people will be paid out is unknown: A final approval hearing is scheduled for June 12, but there may be appeals after that.
More from Money:
17 Best Credit Cards of April 2024
Attention, Travelers: The Cost of Global Entry Is About to Increase
Housing Market Predictions: What Buyers and Sellers Can Expect This Spring