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If you're a regular shopper at Trader Joe's, there are just days left to claim your slice of an impressive $7.4 million lawsuit, with the grocery giant accused of potentially exposing loyal shoppers to identity theft.
For savvy shoppers, there are plenty of lawsuits out there where you might be owed compensation. We know that Apple frequently finds itself stumping up over Siri AI lawsuits and privacy concerns, while Android users were also offered a potential windfall, and Epic Games was forced to pay up over its sales tactics in Fortnite.
Away from the world of tech, it's not just our devices that could earn us a pretty penny.
Although Trader Joe's didn't admit any wrongdoing, it was alleged that the company violated the Fair and Accurate Credit Transactions Act (FACTA) when the first six and last four digits of customer credit cards were printed on transaction receipts back in 2019.
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Trader Joe's has defended itself and reiterated that no customers reported any form of identity theft, but as a gesture of goodwill, it agreed to pay affected shoppers a substantial $7.4 million (sorry Trader Joe's customers, that isn't each).
Plaintiff Brian Keim alleged that Trader Joe's put its customers at risk of identity theft when some stored printed the digits. Instead of going through more lengthy and expensive litigation, Trader Joe’s agreed to settle earlier this year.
It's estimated that those affected could be entitled to $102.45 each, but it only applies to some stores and is limited to transactions between March 5, 2019, and July 19, 2019. We also need to make it clear that only some transactions qualify.
If you think you're entitled to compensation, you only have until tomorrow (June 9) to get your claim in.
Heading to the settlement website, it's explained that eligible customers still need to have their receipt AND it has to include the aforementioned credit card digits. While some of you are fastidious in your receipt retention, we imagine that a lot of you have probably tossed out a Trader Joe's receipt from seven years ago. That might not be a bad thing, as what you get paid is proportional to how many people claim. In theory, if there was only one claimant, they'd get the entire $7.4 million, meaning the $102 is just an estimate based on how many people were supposedly affected.
If you are unsure whether you can make a claim, you're encouraged to check the settlement site or phone a dedicated hotline on 1-888-444-7415.
Even though both Keim's side and Trader Joe's have agreed to the settlement, it still has to be approved by a court in August, meaning you might not even get your $102.
Barring any appeals, checks should be issued within 10 business days of final approval being granted.
This isn't the first time Trader Joe's has been forced to pay, with a 2016 class-action lawsuit involving an eventual $1.3 million settlement when it was revealed that tins of tuna had up to 24.8% less fish than federal regulations required.
