There are just days left for Trader Joe’s shoppers to claim a payment in a multi-million dollar class action lawsuit against the grocery chain.
Trader Joe’s is paying out a $7.4 million settlement after a lawsuit accused the retailer of including the first six and last four digits of customers’ credit cards in a 2019 snafu.
The store did not admit any wrongdoing — and pointed out that no customers reported experiencing identity theft due to the incident — but agreed to pay out the affected shoppers with a proposed $7.4 million settlement.
Affected customers could receive an estimated $102.45 payment, but it depends on how many people join the lawsuit. Only some transactions at some stores qualify for the payouts, and shoppers must have proof of a transaction between March 5, 2019, and July 19, 2019.
Trader Joe’s customers who were potentially impacted have until Tuesday, June 9 to file a claim in order to get their portion of the settlement.
Shoppers who were affected by the mistake received an email or mailed notice informing them of next steps they can take: submit a claim for a portion of the settlement, opt out of the settlement, object to the settlement or do nothing.
To receive a portion of the settlement, claims can be filed online or by mail.
If an affected customer does not apply to claim their piece of the pot, they will not receive any portion of the settlement.
The $7.4 million settlement still has to be approved by the court. A hearing for the settlement is scheduled for early August.
The lawsuit began July 17, 2019, when customer Brian Keim filed a class-action lawsuit in Florida and claimed that 10 digits of his card number were printed on his receipt at the store, which goes against the Fair and Accurate Credit Transactions Act. However, the printed receipts did not include the middle digits, expiration dates, customer name, address, or other personal information that would have violated the FACTA.
This is not the company’s first time settling a class-action lawsuit. In 2016, a customer sued the grocer for underfilling tuna tins that claimed to contain five ounces of fish. Federal testing found that they had up to 24.8 percent less than what federal regulations required. In 2021, Trader Joe’s agreed to pay out a $1.3 million settlement.
Plus, Trader Joe’s faced another lawsuit in April when a customer claimed that she swallowed a fingertip that was inside of a beverage sold at the store.
