With Time Running Out, Business Owners Claim Part of $5.5B Settlement

In 2005, a class-action lawsuit was filed against Visa, Mastercard, and other financial institutions stating that the defendants violated antitrust laws. Court documents assert that by charging merchants excessive fees to process credit card transactions, they were behaving unethically. The case, Payment Card Interchange Fee and Merchant Discount Antitrust Litigation (MDL No. 1720), was ultimately settled in 2019 for $5.54 billion. At that time, it was open for merchants to begin submitting claims.

Although this is believed to be the largest antitrust class action settlement ever, it has managed to fly somewhat under the radar, and many merchants have not yet claimed their portion of the settlement or have not been notified about their ability to do so. To be eligible, a business owner simply has had to accept credit and debit card payments between 2004-2019. 

“A friend in the industry [Paul Schween, a prolific speaker and author well-known in self-storage circles] called me and said his business processed $100,000 in that time frame and he's getting close to $2,000 back,” Anne Mari DeCoster, President of Investa Capital, StorCo Storage, and BBi Constructors, told MSM. She said she wants to get the word out to those in the self-storage industry before the timeframe to submit a claim is over. “He received $2K from $100K; think about how much you could get back depending on your transactions."

The easiest way to file now is to complete an online form with FirstGen, a firm with more than 100 years of collective specialized CPA and tax attorney experience. “We diligently review and submit your claim in a timely manner," writes FirstGen. "Once we obtain your data from the Claims Administrator we will review those records with you to ensure you get all the money to which you are entitled.”

There is no upfront cost to filing a claim with First Gen; the firm works on a contingency basis and only gets paid when you do (their fee is a flat 25% of any awarded proceeds from the settlement).

There is just 10 days left to make a claim. Find out if you are owed money (there is also no fee if it is determined that you do not qualify) by visiting FirstGen today.