A hearing on a proposed settlement took place in August. A Settlement Fund was established to pay the submitted claims, administrative expenses, and lawyer fees. Individual settlements were to be doled out on a pro rata basis (with each member of the class getting an equal portion), and was expected to be approximately $41.01. After filling out the online form I stuck a reminder about it in my November tickler file. November came and went, as did December and January. I had just about forgotten about the whole thing when I found an email in my Spam folder with a subject line of RG/2 Claims - Settlement Payment - Stoudemire, et al. v. Lee Enterprises, Inc., Case No. 3:22-cv-00086-SHL-SBJ. The message informed me I had been approved to receive a settlement. And it was more than four times the original estimate! (I wonder if many people thought taking five minutes to fill out a form wasn't worth their while, which led to more money for those who did.)
To get my settlement there were two choices. I could click a link in the message, which would lead me to a third-party company called Tremendous, or wait for a check. The stated time frame for a check was several months from now, but based on how long the rest of the process was taking I wondered just when a paper check would actually show up in my mailbox and decided to look into an electronic payment.
I knew enough about scams to not click the link-at least without first doing some research. I Googled the name Tremendous. The company website was the first hit. I poked around there and verified that it was a legitimate company. There was even a page that addressed the issue of whether the company was legit or not.
My last step was to email the information to Hubby Tony and ask if he was okay with me clicking the link button. He was.
I would never have given them my banking information, but PayPal was an option. I am familiar with that system, because I routinely receive funds there and transfer them to my bank. After I completed the process I was promised a payment within two business days. That's exactly what happened.
Now I have a little bit of extra money to pay for my daily (virtual) newspaper fix.
Five years ago: Life Is Like A Movie
You were very wise to check out that third party company before clicking on the link. For whatever reason they chose it, the company name "Tremendous" is just inherently suspicious as a legit name. And congrats on your portion of the class action settlement -- enjoy spending it!
ReplyDeleteI agree that the company name could have been construed as sketchy.
DeleteGood idea to use Paypal -Christine cmlk79.blogspot.com
ReplyDeleteThat's very cool. What was the Lee Enterprise class action? I got the facebook payment. I think it was $30 some dollars.
ReplyDeleteThe company was accused of sharing subscribers' personal video-viewing information with Facebook without consent
DeleteCareful is good. Glad it worked out.
ReplyDeleteYou did the right thing Kathy,
ReplyDeletewith so many scams around us we need to be careful!!
A good cautionary tale with a great outcome!
ReplyDeleteSuccess!
ReplyDeleteThis was such an interesting story to read. It’s surprising how something so simple can come full circle months later in such a rewarding way. I especially appreciated your careful approach to verifying everything, a great reminder to stay cautious and patient online :)
ReplyDeleteA nice little bonus!
ReplyDeleteit is always wise to check out unfamiliar sites before doing anything. woo hoo.. your time paid off!! congratulations!
ReplyDeleteYou went through everything wisely I must say and it was rewarding thankfully 🥰
ReplyDeleteI never fill those things out. Maybe next time...
ReplyDeleteIt's a nice way to get a little extra money.
DeleteGod bless always.
ReplyDeleteThat's great news. I was also a part of a class action lawsuit several years ago and got $400.00 because a big store overcharged people the shipping fees and I used them a lot.
ReplyDeleteWow!
DeleteGood for you doing all the research glad this turned out Not to be spam hugs
ReplyDeleteNice. Good that you were cautious about the link.
ReplyDeleteLike you, I would have asked my husband if I should follow up on anything. That way, if it went wrong, it would be his fault!! Kidding, I would have called my son. Good for you to be paid for your efforts!
ReplyDelete:-)
DeleteThat's great!
ReplyDeleteWe have received similar class action paperwork for some of our investments, but have never followed up as you did, Kathy. The described payouts never seemed worth our effort, but glad yours had a successful outcome.
ReplyDeleteI always look at projects to see what an 'hourly wage' would be to do it. In this case, researching and filling out the form took about 15 minutes. The originally-quoted settlement was $40, so my hourly rate would have been $160 per hour. Not a bad return for a little bit of time
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