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Transcript below:

Hello and thank you for tuning in to Top Class Actions weekly CEO Blog. I’m Scott Hardy, President and CEO of Top Class Actions. I’ll be using this forum to inform you of the latest class action lawsuit settlements posted to Top Class Actions, along with alerting you of those closing soon so you don’t miss out.

The entire text of this broadcast is live on the site with Hyperlinks to each item mentioned. Just look for the link to the CEO Blog.

It’s been extremely active around here at the Top Class Actions headquarters in Phoenix, Arizona. My beautiful baby daughter will be seven weeks old soon and is becoming even more of a joy to behold every day.  As she smiles and coos I recognize that the work we do here isn’t just for me or my family, it’s for all of you out there with families like mine.

We comb through the legal settlement documents so you don’t have to. We post those that would have the most positive impact on the average consumer. You’re not going to get rich by watching my site, but you’ll be able to take out your spouse or significant other for a nice dinner because of the settlements you register for through Top Class Actions.

So, on to the settlements. I hope those of you who qualified, registered for the Verizon ETF refund settlement. That closed last week and was a boon to those who were charged early Termination Fees for leaving Verizon’s network. One that I’m surprised more aren’t taking part in is the Trilegiant settlement. For those of you who don’t know, this settlement involves subscription fees charged by literally dozens of different entities. All were actually owned or the deals were managed by Trilegiant or formerly Cendant and could be QUITE difficult to cancel. I remember from my time at AOL how hard these were pushed by the Customer Care agents. They received some pretty nice bonuses just for transferring customers over to the Cendant agents.  If you paid a subscription fee to AOL AutoVantage, Credit Alert, Direct Warehouse, Shoppers Advantage, Mortgage Guard or dozens of other companies you may be able to register for a refund. Make  sure to check it out. Just go to TopClassActions.com, click on Settlements then Open Settlements. You’ll see it listed there. If eligible you can claim up to three YEARS worth of charges, buttttt, you’ll have to provide proof of the charges in the form of credit card, checking out or mortgage statements. Often times these charges were added on to an existing statement or account. You likely didn’t receive a separate bill for them. If you CAN’T provide any proof of the charges then you’re stuck with their default refund of $20. Hey, 20 bucks is 20 bucks. With oil prices tanking that might even get close filling up your gas tank in a few weeks! So, hit the site and check it out. If you think you were charged definitely go through your credit card or mortgage statements to get the proof and stake your claim! Three years worth of charges at an average of $20 a month really adds up quickly!

What other settlements are hot right now? The DD’s Discounts/Ross Dress 4 Less settlement continues to get a lot of views.  It’s up over two thousand views now. The deal with that one is it’s a mystery settlement. The amount which will end up going to the consumer is about $750,000, and that’s after the attorneys get their due. That $750,000 will be split among all of the claimants. It’s an all cash settlement. Who qualifies? Anyone who purchased something from a Ross or DD’s Discounts store between January 1^st, 2005 and February 22^nd, 2007 and used a credit card to pay. Check out the settlement page for details. The only catch is that it’s a paper claim process so you’ll have to print out the claim form and mail it in using the good old United States Postal Service. No electronic registration is being accepted. Since it’s a paper claim process they likely will have a much lower response rate, meaning that the “cut” of the settlement to be split among all claimants could be sizeable. At a minimum you should at least get your postage back, so if you’re eligible, make sure to make your claim!

On to an update on the Cosmetics settlement. This is one that alleged pricing fixing at the retail level.  They’ll be giving out to claimants up to $25 in cosmetics free of charge, just for showing up. They haven’t announced the date or stores that will be participating but they did let us know it’s going to happen in January. Stay tuned, we’ll let you know as soon as it’s announced. You’ll want to be there the first day or they’ll likely be all gone.

OK, on to Requested Settlements. These are settlements which we’re currently investigating and the cases may not have been filed yet. We partner with Attorneys in our nationwide network to track down affected litigants. You could be a lead plaintiff in one of these cases. What’s in it for them? A lead plaintiff is typically reimbursed for all expenses related to the case, including any travel or lost time at work. The amounts we typically see are $1,000 on the low side, to $10,000 on the high side. If you feel like you may be able to participate, fill out the form and let us know! Top Class Actions or the Attorney representing the Plaintiffs will contact you as needed.

What are we researching right now? A couple of cases. First, unsolicited text messages. Are you receiving text messages on your phone advertising porn, jokes or games? Then we want to hear from you. Also, are you a cable subscriber in Wyoming, Montana, Kansas or Illinois? Your internet surfing privacy may have been violated. We’re researching a case that’s about to be filed and may need some additional affected parties. Please head over to the submission page and sign up in the Requested Settlements section at TopClassActions.com.  Finally, on to a case we’re researching which really chaps my hide.  An attorney in our network is filing a case for member of our armed forces against an insurance company. This Army Reservist was called to duty, and like any dutiful American did their job and fulfilled their obligation to God and Country. They went to Iraq. While in Iraq they paid their premiums just like all of us do on a regular basis. When they came home, they had the unfortunate luck of getting into a car accident. When they attempted to file their claim they were denied and informed that their policy had been CANCELED. That’s right, they were never informed their policy was canceled or that there was a clause in the small print of their contract which stated that the company had the right to cancel their policy if they were switched to active duty. HOW MESSED UP IS THAT? Here’s someone who is putting their life on the line for our country and they get the rug pulled out from under them by an insurance company. I think this is DESPICABLE and should be fought vigorously.  If this happened to you or someone you know, please let us know. Head over to the site and you’ll find it under Requested Settlements. As a side note, that’s why I’m with USAA. No, I didn’t get paid for saying that. I’ve been a USAA subscriber all my driving life and know they wouldn’t do this to any member of our armed forces. Let us know who did.

That’s all for now! Remember, if you have a complaint about a product or service and want to take action. We want to know about it! Please fill out the Contact Us Submission Form at Top Class Actions. When applicable we forward to our team of Attorneys to review so YOU don’t get stuck taking a beating. As always, it’s free. The attorneys aren’t paid until you win or settle. In addition, have you written about us in your Blog or elsewhere? We’d love to hear about it and will post a link to your article under About Us, in our TCA in the News section. Check it out! Thanks for watching, listening or reading, we appreciate you taking the time to do so. From all of us here at Top Class Actions,  Hasta Luego. Queue the music Tucker!