Walmart was accused of deceiving its customers with falsely labeled products, and Walmart shoppers could get up to $500 from a class action lawsuit against the company.
Although Walmart denies any wrongdoing, the company agreed to pay $45 million as part of a settlement in a class action lawsuit filed in Florida that claims the company deliberately subjected customers to deceptive business practices to “unjustly pilfer … its customers’ hard-earned grocery dollars,” according to court documents.
The settlement pertains to customers who purchased affected products between Oct. 19, 2018, and Jan. 19, 2024. If you shopped there during those times, make sure to apply to receive a payment from the settlement by June 5, 2024.
Here’s what you should know about the allegations, which products were involved and how to file a claim to receive payment.
What are the allegations against Walmart?
The lawsuit argues Walmart used deceptive and misleading pricing tactics on its products.
One of the allegations is that the company used stickers displaying the wrong price on products sold by weight. According to the lawsuit, some of those by-weight items showed a lower cost than what they were ringed off at the register.
Customers complained about paying more than the advertised prices, as they rightfully expected to pay for the lowest tagged cost at the register, according to the lawsuit.
Walmart denied the allegations in the lawsuit but said a settlement was in the best interest of both parties, according to the settlement website.
Which Walmart products were affected?
A number of weighted meat and citrus products are included in the lawsuit, including the following:
- Beef, chicken, pork and turkey products.
- Miscellaneous meat products, like duck, goat and lamb.
- Seafood products.
- Bagged citrus products, like oranges, tangerines and grapefruits.
For a full list of included meat and citrus fruits, go toWalmartweightedgroceriessettlement.com.
Am I eligible to file a claim on the Walmart settlement?
If you bought any of the above products at U.S. or Puerto Rico Walmart stores between Oct. 19, 2018, to Jan. 19, 2024, you may be eligible to file a claim.
The maximum compensation per person is $500.
How do I receive money for the Walmart settlement?
You must submit a claim to receive a payment. You don’t have to have receipts detailing which products you bought to file a claim.
To file a claim, submit your information to the settlement website at Walmartweightedgroceriessettlement.com.
You must file a claim online or postmarked by mail by June 5, 2024. You can file online, or download a form and mail it to the Claims Administrator at 1650 Arch Street, Suite 2210, Philadelphia, PA 19103.
If you do nothing, you will still be included in the settlement, but you will not get a payment.
If you’d like to exclude yourself from the settlement, you must do so by May 22, 2024, by sending a written notice with the attn “exclusions” to Walmart at P.O. Box 58220, Philadelphia, PA 19102.
Your request must be signed; state your full name, current address, email address and telephone number; and contain a statement that you request to be excluded from the settlement.
You could also object to the settlement without being excluded. For more information on that, go to Walmartweightedgroceriessettlement.com.
What happens after the deadline to submit a claim?
After customers submit claims, Walmart will determine payout amounts for all eligible applications by June 12 for the judge’s consideration at a final hearing on that date.
The judge will then finalize the terms of the settlement after the hearing. However, the website notes there is no exact timeline on how long the decision on final settlement terms will take. Even after the final hearings, both parties could still appeal if they disagree with the settlement terms.
If there are no appeals, it still could take several months for the payouts to be processed, according to the website. Payments would be sent electronically to accounts provided by claimants, or through a paper check, if requested, according to the settlement website.
Democrat and Chronicle reporter Sarah Taddeo contributed to this article.