Frequent Walmart shoppers may be entitled to financial compensation thanks to a new class action settlement.
In a lawsuit that was originally filed in 2022 and then amended in 2023, the retailer is accused of three major deceptive practices: falsely inflating the weight of products that are sold-by-weight; overcharging for sold-by-weight products that were on clearance; and mislabeling the weight of bagged produce.
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“Walmart uses unfair and deceptive business practices to deceivingly, misleadingly, and unjustly pilfer, to Walmart’s financial benefit, its customers’ hard-earned grocery dollars,” the lawsuit states. “Walmart knew and calculated that its practices would mislead consumers and continued such practices despite knowledge of the deception and the harm it caused and causes.”
The retailer reached a settlement late last year for $45 million, and now, any Walmart shoppers who purchased a weighted good product (such as produce, meat, seafood) or bagged citrus in the U.S. or Puerto Rico from October 19, 2018, through January 29, 2024, might be eligible for a refund of up to $500.
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Walmart denied the allegations and told CNN that the company plans to “continue providing our customers everyday low prices to help them save money on the products they want and need. We still deny the allegations, however we believe a settlement is in the best interest of both parties.”
How to claim your share
Walmart has listed several different forms of payout for those eligible on its website. Customers with receipts can receive 2% of the total cost of purchased (weighted and citrus) goods up to $500. Shoppers without receipts can still get between $10 and $25, depending on the number of purchases.
Walmart did not immediately respond to Entrepreneur‘s request for comment.
Customers can file a claim here through June 5, 2024, and can attempt to retrieve receipts from the retailer online.
A final settlement approval hearing is scheduled for June 12 and pending appeals, payments will be processed after and sent through ACH, Venmo, Zelle, a virtual prepaid Mastercard, or a paper check upon request.
