Walmart shoppers could claim up to $500 as part of a class-action settlement

By Parija Kavilanz, CNN

(CNN) — Walmart shoppers could be entitled to as much as $500 as part of a class-action lawsuit settlement by the retailer over allegations that it overcharged customers for certain products.

A lawsuit initially filed in late 2022, and subsequently amended in 2023, alleged that Walmart “falsely inflated” the prices of certain sold-by-weight products, including those that feature the retailer’s “rollbacks,” or discounts.

It alleged that shoppers at checkout were deceptively led to think they were paying the lowered prices on those goods such as meats, poultry and seafood.

The suit alleged Walmart also mislabeled the weight of bagged produce such as oranges, grapefruit and tangerines by falsely advertising the weight as more than the actual weight of those grocery items.

Walmart reached a settlement late last year to pay $45 million to customers, while denying any allegations of wrongdoing.

Walmart, in a statement to CNN on Friday, said it “will 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.”

According to the terms of the settlement, any Walmart customer who bought weighted goods and/or bagged citrus at a Walmart store, supercenter or neighborhood market store in the United States or Puerto Rico from Oct, 19, 2018, through January 19, 2024, could be eligible for a cash payment.

The cash payments will vary, depending on what was bought during the period.

They include:

–$10 without a receipt, but a shopper can attest to buying up to 50 weighted goods and/or bagged citrus in-person in a Walmart store during the settlement class period.

–$15 without a receipt or other proof of purchase, but they can attest to buying from 51 up to 75 weighted goods and/or bagged citrus.

–$20 without receipts or proof of purchase, but they can attest to buying from 76 up to 100 weighted goods and/or bagged citrus.

–$25 without receipts or proof of purchase but attest to buying 101 or more weighted goods and/or bagged citrus.

–Up to $500 with receipts or other proof of purchase of each weighted goods and/or bagged citrus purchased in a Walmart store during the settlement class period, customers will receive 2% of “the total cost of the substantiated Weighted Goods and Bagged Citrus Purchased,” up to $500.

Customers can also try to retrieve receipts from Walmart’s website.

Walmart shoppers can file a claim online or via mail, postmarked, on or before June 5, 2024.

The-CNN-Wire
™ & © 2024 Cable News Network, Inc., a Warner Bros. Discovery Company. All rights reserved.