Get a Crisp, New Settlement Check From These 8 Companies in 2018

hands sorting through money
Carmen Mandato/ The Penny Hoarder

Celebrate the New Year with some extra jingle in your pocket. You could qualify to receive money from one or more of these class-action settlements.

Even if your New Year’s resolution is to cinch your waistline, you won’t feel guilty about fattening your wallet. In several of these settlements, you only need to complete and submit an online form. To make sure you don’t miss out, grab your readers and check out the fine print.

The following eight class-action settlements involve pillow purchases, game consoles, olive oil and more.

MyPillow Deception

If you purchased one or more MyPillow products directly from My Pillow Inc. from April 26, 2012 to Sept. 25, 2017, rest easy because you could be eligible for payment from a class-action settlement.

MyPillow reached a settlement over questionable marketing, packaging and sale of its products, including certain health benefits; buy one, get one free promotions; and the use of third-party endorsements.

If you bought directly from My Pillow Inc., you could receive $6 cash per pillow. You can claim up to four products and get up to $24. If you think you qualify for this settlement, don’t sleep on it – the deadline to submit a claim form is Jan. 23, 2018, which is quickly approaching.

Verified Credentials Employee Background Checks

If Verified Credentials Inc. sold a consumer report about you to a third party for employment reasons, you may be eligible for part of a $1.4 million class-action settlement. While admitting no wrongdoing, plaintiffs accused Verified of violating the Fair Credit Reporting Act by not notifying consumers that it had issued a report, and of not making sure the report was complete and updated.

If your report included at least one public record — a criminal conviction, civil lien, civil judgment or bankruptcy — that adversely affected your ability to obtain employment and no notice was given to you, you could be eligible for a portion of the settlement.  Estimated payouts are between $19.07 and $256, depending on the number of class members.

The deadline for both to file a claim is March 9, 2018.

Neptune Society Telemarketing Calls

If you received pre-recorded telemarketing calls from Neptune Society without your consent, you could be eligible for an earthly award. SCI Direct Inc., which does business as Neptune Society, agreed to a $15 million settlement of a class-action lawsuit that accused the company of violating the Telephone Consumer Protection Act.

The TCPA requires companies to maintain records of consumers who have opted out of receiving calls and honor those do-not-call requests. Two settlement classes are covered: a prerecord class includes those who have received a phone call from CallFire, Inc.’s calling platform since Oct. 16, 2013, and a DNC class includes those who received two or more calls from SCI in a 12-month period since May 27, 2012.

The amount each class member receives will depend on the valid claims received by the Feb. 13, 2018 deadline.

For more information and to file a claim, click here.

Safeway Select Extra Virgin Olive Oil

Don’t let the Safeway Select olive oil settlement slip by you. The grocery chain admits no wrongdoing but has agreed to settle a class-action lawsuit alleging its Safeway Select olive oils don’t meet the handling and bottling requirements to maintain “extra virgin” status through the date bottles hit the retail outlets or the “best by” date printed on the labels.

The settlement is divided into two classes. The extra virgin olive oil settlement class covers those who bought a Safeway Select extra virgin olive oil product between May 23, 2010 and Dec. 16, 2016.

The pure or extra light olive oil settlement class covers those who purchased a Safeway Select pure olive oil or Safeway Select extra light in flavor olive oil product between Jan. 1, 2012 and July 31, 2015. Settlement amounts will vary from 25 cents cash to a $1.50 voucher.

For more information and to file a claim, click here.

Monitronics Do-Not-Call Registry Violations

If Monitronics or someone on behalf of Monitronics has called you since May 18, 2007, you could be eligible for a portion of a $28 million class-action settlement.

The home security company is accused of using an automatic dialing system or an artificial or prerecorded voice to make telemarketing calls to cell phones and calling numbers listed on the national do-not-call registry.

Monitronics denied any wrongdoing but agreed to the settlement to avoid ongoing litigation. Each class member could receive an estimated $15 to $25 depending on the number of valid claims filed by the deadline of Feb. 20, 2018. PlayStation 3 Other Operating System

The courts weren’t playing games when it came to settling a PlayStation 3 other OS lawsuit. A preliminary settlement was cast aside for a new agreement that offers class members more money and easier terms to receive a portion of the settlement.

The lawsuit alleges Sony pushed out a firmware update that disabled the fat — the original system that preceded the slim model — PlayStation 3’s ability to run alternative operating systems. The system’s ability to run alternative operating systems was what attracted buyers to this older system.

The class action lawsuit alleges a firmware update issued on April 1, 2010 was intentionally designed to disable other OS” functionality, and if gamers decided to just not install the firmware, they lost the ability to play new PlayStation 3 games, watch Blu-Ray discs and use the PlayStation Network.

The settlement covers consumers who purchased a fat PlayStation 3 between Nov. 1, 2006 and April 1, 2010 in the United States from an authorized retailer, and either used the other OS functionality, knew about that functionality, or “contends or believes that he or she lost value or desired functionality or was otherwise injured as a consequence of Firmware Update 3.21 and/or the disablement of Other OS functionality in the Fat PS3.”

Each class member is eligible to receive up to $65, but the exact payouts will depend on the number of  valid claims received by April 15, 2018.

Dish Network Unwanted Calls

If you received telemarketing calls from a Dish Network retailer selling Dish subscriptions between May 11, 2010 and Aug. 1, 2011, and your phone number was on the national do-no-call list, you could receive up to $1,200 per call. The lawsuit alleged more than 51,000 calls were made to 18,066 phone numbers on the DNC list during the class period.

The Dish Network Telephone Consumer Protection Act lawsuit went to trial in January 2017, and a jury found DISH liable for the calls placed by the retailer. Submit your claim by March 7, 2018.

To find out if your phone number was covered by this lawsuit and complete a claim form, click here.

You have until March 7, 2017 to submit your claim.

CenturyLink Pure Broadband Internet Package (Missouri only)

Did you purchase Pure Broadband internet service from Missouri CenturyLink between Dec. 3, 2007 and July 31, 2017? If so, your bundle included a limited-use phone line that opened you up to surcharges, such as the nationwide Universal Fund Surcharge, a Missouri Universal Service Fund Surcharge, a 911 Surcharge and a Missouri Relay Surcharge.

The class-action lawsuit alleged the mixed-use package violated the Missouri Merchandising Practices Act. Class members have until March 8, 2018 to file a claim. Individual payments will vary because the $7.5 million settlement must first cover the lead plaintiff’s $15,000 incentive award, court costs and attorney’s fees. Once those are all paid out, the final awards will depend on the number of valid claims received.