A Verizon customer gets his share of the settlement proceeds via Venmo. | Image credit-X
Some claimants received a virtual prepaid Mastercard. Note the amount! | Image credit-X
There are various factors that determined the final payout amounts including the number of claims received and the final legal fees. Those who were Verizon customers for longer periods of time were set to receive higher payouts but the number of claims must have exceeded estimates. This resulted in a reduction in the amount each successful claimant received from the Settlement Administrator.
“In the event the aggregate Settlement Payments across all Valid Claimant accounts exceed the Net Distributable Funds, the Settlement Payment issued to each Valid Claimant account will be reduced on a pro rata basis, as determined by the Settlement Administrator.”-Verizon settlement website
As noted, the fees charged by the attorneys handling the case can also consumed a large chunk of the settlement money. In this case, lawyers received a healthy $33 million of the $100 million settlement. The 33% cut awarded to the attorneys is pretty typical for a class-action suit.
Besides forcing Verizon to pay its current and former customers, the settlement also required the carrier to amend its customer agreement to include revised Administrative Charge disclosures. As a result, Verizon subscribers will know in advance that these fees, previously undisclosed in Verizon‘s advertisements, are being charged to them.
