Do you have a Keurig coffeemaker in your kitchen? These clever appliances that hit the market in 1992 made brewing a single cup of coffee as simple as putting a tiny plastic container (or K-Cup) of your favorite blend into the machine along with some water and pressing a button.
However, those K-Cups are now at the center of a lawsuit that accuses Keurig of violating antitrust laws when the company fixed the price of its single-serve coffee pods.
In October 2020, Keurig agreed to settle the class-action lawsuit, which claimed the company “monopolized or attempted to monopolize and restricted, restrained, foreclosed and excluded competition in order to raise, fix, maintain or stabilize the prices of Keurig K-Cup Portion Packs at artificially high levels.”
These actions violated federal and state laws that protect consumers against unfair company pricing policies.
As part of the settlement, Keurig agreed to pay $31 million to resolve the claims against them to customers who purchased Keurig K-Cup Portion Packs between September 2010 and August 2020 from companies other than Keurig.
But getting the refund is a multi-step process and not everyone may receive money.
First, customers must visit the official Keurig Indirect Purchases Antitrust Settlement website to determine their eligibility to file a claim. To be eligible to receive a possible refund, customers must fall into one of the following categories:
- U.S. customers (except for those in Mississippi and Rhode Island): Anyone who purchased Keurig K-Cup Portion Packs from persons other than Keurig and not for the purpose of resale between Sept. 7, 2010, and Aug. 14, 2020, can submit a claim.
- Mississippi customers: Anyone who purchased Keurig K-Cup Portion Packs from persons other than Keurig and not for the purpose of resale in Mississippi between March 24, 2011, and Aug. 14, 2020, can submit a claim.
- Rhode Island customers: Anyone who purchased Keurig K-Cup Portion Packs from persons other than Keurig and not for the purpose of resale in Rhode Island between July 15, 2013, and Aug. 14, 2020, can submit a claim.
All claim forms must be submitted by July 15, 2021, to receive a refund.
How much money can customers expect to get in their refund? It depends. The settlement website outlines the details in a chart that shows potential refunds varying from 7.5% of the original purchase price all the way up to 100% of the claim, depending on where the items were purchased, when they were purchased and if there is proof of purchase included with the claim statement.
To make a claim or to see if you are eligible for reimbursement, head to the Keurig class-action settlement website for more information.
This story originally appeared on Don't Waste Your Money. Checkout Don't Waste Your Money for product reviews and other great ideas to save and make money.
