Plaintiffs sought in Western Union litigation

People all over Belize have been receiving form letters from the United States concerning a legal case involving claims against Western Union, the money transfer company. It seems that over a number of years the company was overcharging for its services and a successful class action lawsuit has resulted in a proposed settlement under which millions of defrauded customers would receive restitution. Well, that’s the good news. What’s not so great is that each claimant’s share is not likely to add up to more than a few dollars, and that reward will take the form of discount coupons on future transfers, not cash. Even so, if you either sent or received money with Western Union over the last eight years you’re entitled to join the litigation. The following clip tells you how to do it.

Narrator

People who use Western Union or Orlandi Valuta or Tex Mex to send money to or from the United States during the past eight years may be eligible to receive coupons or discounts on future money transfer transactions under a proposed worldwide class action settlement. People who believe they may be members of this class are encouraged to ask for further detailed information about the proposed settlement. This is very important for class members to protect their legal rights. The proposed settlement affects people who use Western Union, Orlandi Valuta or Tex Mex for international money transfers between the United States and another country from January first, 1995 to December thirty-first, 2002, and between the United States, except California and Mexico, from September first 1999 to December thirty-first, 2002.

Under the proposed settlement class members may be eligible to receive discount coupons for future international money transfers. People who think they may be class members may get further information in three different ways. They can write:

Western Union Money Transfer Litigation

Settlement Information

P.O. Box 8882

Melville, New York 11747-8882

U.S.A.

They can call the settlement administrator in the United States at +1-941-906-4837 or they can visit the settlement website at www.cruzlitigation.com.

To get settlement benefits, people must receive the official notice of class action proposed settlement and hearing in the mail. The deadline for comments on the settlement, to object to it, or to opt out of it, is February ninth, 2004. the court hearing to determine the fairness of the settlement will be held on April ninth, 2004 at the U.S. District Court for the Easter District of New York and Brooklyn.

Viewers should note that while they may get back a small portion of what they spent on money transfers, the U.S. lawyers pushing the case will see a lot of money transferred their way.