Well the day has FINALLY come folks! After all of the doubters, the waiting, the questions – the day has finally come!
Several SaveaLoonians – myself included, have received our settlement payments for the Chocolate Companies Class-Action Lawsuit, direct deposited into the bank this morning!
Check your bank account and see if you got yours too! Your deposit amount will vary from one person to another depending on how much you claimed. A couple of SaveaLoonians reported receiving $25.29, I received $31.92 for my deposit 🙂
Nothing like a little extra spending money! If you claimed via direct deposit you should have / be getting your payment in the coming days. If you requested a payment by check, it shouldn’t be too far behind.
Did you get your payment? Let us know on the SaveaLoonie Facebook Page!
— UPDATE POST Sept 25th 2014 —
I can’t even begin to count how many times over the last few months I’ve been asked if anyone has received their payment from this Class Action Lawsuit yet. And I don’t blame any of you at all! We original posted about this settlement OVER a year ago and the deadline for claiming was in Dec, so it seems logical that you would have heard something by now, right.
I decided to take it upon myself to contact NDT RicePoint (the company handling the claims) about the status of our payments. I was very happy to receive a reply very quickly and pass it on to you as soon as possible!
Here is what they had to tell me:
Once your claim is reviewed for eligibility, you will receive confirmation of its status. Payments for class actions usually occur 6-12 months after the claim deadline. However, we are currently awaiting approval from the court to complete an interim distribution for consumer claimants, meaning they will be paid ahead of time. This should occur in the mid fall of this year.
Unfortunately, at the current time we are unable to provide an exact date for payment of valid claims. Accurate claims processing does take time, especially given the large volume of claims received in this case. Updates will be posted to the web site [http://chocolateclassaction.com/] as soon as they are available. Your patience is appreciated.
So what this means is, we should all start seeing payment soon, hopefully. It actually might work out great, a little extra spending money just in time for the holidays!
— ORIGINAL POST Sept 17th 2013 —
Hi. My name is Terra and I’m a Chocolate Addict.
I LOVE Chocolate. It’s not just a passion – it’s an obsession. We’ve almost ALWAYS got chocolate in the house and I can honestly say, it’s not Ryan demanding it’s ever-comforting presence!
Don’t get me wrong, I know how to enjoy in moderation but since we are all friends here, I think I can admit that its not often I go 2 consecutive days without out some form of melt-in-your-mouth, ooey-gooey, chocolate-y treat. It just makes me happy 😀
All that being said, I was quite disappointed in the Chocolate Industry when earlier this year a class-action lawsuit alleging price-fixing and price maintenance in the Canadian market was filed.
Cadbury, Hershey, Nestle & Mars as well as distributer ITWAL Ltd initially denied the accusations however in an attempt to avoid further expense, inconvenience etc., they came to a settlement. In June, Hershey plead guilty to its role in the scandal and was fined $4 million. Charges have also been laid against several CEOs and Executives from Nestle, Mars & ITWAL.
Together, the chocolate companies must pay out $23.2 Million to persons who purchased chocolate products in Canada between Feb 1, 2001 and Dec 31, 2008. That’s a pretty wide span right. Almost all of us can say we bought SOME form of chocolate in that time. However, there are more rules.
If you purchased at least $1000 in chocolate product between October 1, 2005 and September 30, 2007, you are eligible for a direct monetary claim. You DO NOT NEED PROOF of your purchases, however, if no proof is given, your claim benefit is capped at $50. If you have proof, your claim will be calculated on a pre-determined percentage.
Families residing in the same household are allowed to combine all of their purchases and file one claim as one unit. This means, one family members is able to file a single claim on behalf of all of the residents of that home who purchased chocolate products during the “Critical Time”. Before you think there is NO WAY you spent $1000 on chocolate in that time, think again. Did you buy Halloween candy in those 2 years? How about snacks for you, your spouse, your kids. Fun size bars for lunches. It could quickly add up.
Commercial chocolate purchasers are also entitled to a claim.
Since not everyone will meet the claim threshold, 10% of the settlement amount has been designated to go to several non-profit organizations to promote competition and consumer education & advocacy in Canada.
You have until December 15, 2013 to file your claim. To learn more & access the claim form, click the Go To Offer Button below.
You may contact the Claims Administrator toll free at 1-866-432-5534 to request that a paper claim form be mailed to you. Settlement members who file a paper claim form will be paid by cheque. (Taken in parts from the FAQs – thanks Angela!)
I just (11:49am ET) got off the phone with an agent from NPT Ricepoint, the company handling the claim. They are sending me out a paper copy of the claim form and sending me a cheque as payment. No entering of banking information necessary! If you are leary, I suggest following this path as opposed to filing online.
UPDATE: I received my paper claim form on September 30, 2013
Here is the link to the CityNews Article covering the story.
Thanks Chris for sharing on our Canadian Coupons FB Page.
