If Your Old PC Has a DVD Drive, You May Be Owed $10

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If you purchased a computer with an optical drive or bought a standalone optical drive between April 1, 2003 and December 31, 2008, you may be eligible to receive up to $10 from a class action lawsuit.

Specifically, the suit is an antitrust case that’s been in the making for over seven years. Sony, NEC, Hitachi-LG and Panasonic settled a case alleging that the companies were involved in a conspiracy to fix the prices of optical drives.

Not everyone is able to collect, though. You have to have bought your PC while a resident of Arizona, California, District of Columbia, Florida, Hawaii, Kansas, Maine, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, Nevada, New Hampshire, New Mexico, New York, North Carolina, Oregon, Tennessee, Utah, Vermont, West Virginia or Wisconsin, and Panasonic-branded laptops aren’t included in the settlement.

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No proof or purchase is necessary to fill out the form, which you can find here, but claims must be filed by July 1. The terms and conditions do state, however, that the administrators of the settlement have the right to “request verification or more information regarding the claimed purchase(s) of disc drives.”

At the moment, the administrators are just collecting information for potential claimants, and we’re not sure how long it will take until payments are made. But if you’re owed $10, it’s simple to file.

Laptop Guide

Andrew E. Freedman