Eligible current and former Verizon customers have just a short amount of time left to claim a portion of the $100 million settlement the wireless carrier reached in a case over administrative charges.
Claims must be sent online or by mail before the filing window closes late Monday. For the online option, the designated portal to request a payment will close at 11:59 p.m. PT, the settlement administration website said.
Claimants must be “current or former individual consumer account holders in the United States… who received postpaid wireless or data services from Verizon and who were charged and paid an Administrative Charge and/or an Administrative and Telco Recovery Charge between January 1, 2016 and November 8, 2023,” to qualify, according to the site.
The portion of the settlement that eligible individuals will receive is expected to vary, with the base set at $15 with an additional $1 added on for each month they were subject to the administrative fee that prompted plaintiffs to sue, the settlement administrative website said. The payments are currently capped at $100 per account holder.
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Verizon will dole out up to $100 million in total under the terms of the settlement it reached in mid-November in the legal case.
In the lawsuit, it claimed the company “falsely advertis[ed] its wireless services at lower monthly rates than it actually charges customers by not disclosing, and not including in the advertised price” the monthly administrative charge that it “imposes each month on every line purchased by its post-paid wireless service customers.”
The settlement did not include an admission of wrongdoing or liability from Verizon.
“Verizon clearly identifies and describes its wireless consumer Admin Charge multiple times during the sales transaction, as well as in its marketing, contracts and billing. This charge helps our company recover certain regulatory compliance, and network related costs. As always, our Company stands committed to transparency and the clear disclosure of all consumer charges and fees,” Verizon spokesperson Rich Young told FOX Business in January.
The number of valid claims that ultimately come in by the end of the day could change the amount of money that current and former customers could receive.
People cannot qualify for settlement payments without sending in their claim by the deadline. On top of that, not making a claim on time will also cause the forfeiture of the ability to take legal action related to the case later, the settlement website said.
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The claim submission deadline comes nearly two months after the cut-off date to opt out of the settlement passed.
| Ticker | Security | Last | Change | Change % |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| VZ | VERIZON COMMUNICATIONS INC. | 39.72 | -0.44 | -1.10% |
Payments will come in the form of a check or electronic payment, according to the settlement website.
