Bought a Diamond in the Last 14 Years? Get Tons of Money From Class Action Settlement
Author: Nick
Category: Money
Topics: law
Universal Law of Finance #37: Any company that makes a ton of money will eventually have to give some of that money back in a class action lawsuit settlement, usually because it did something painfully illegal.
Normally I don’t get too hyped up over class action settlements because an individual included in the settlement class typically only receives a few bucks or a worthless gesture of apology. This one is different. De Beers, the company which essentially has a monopoly on the world’s supply of diamonds, is settling a massive lawsuit brought against it under allegations of monumental price fixing. Whether De Beers is guilty or not will never be decided in court because it’s taking the usual big business way out of gigantic class action lawsuits and throwing out a small morsel of the $6 billion it brings in each year in order to make the whole thing go away. Fortunately, what may be a pittance to De Beers could translate into a sizable sum for you and me.
Under the terms of the settlement, consumers who have purchased a diamond in any form (engagement rings, other jewelry, or even mixed with other gemstones) between January 1994 and March 2006 could be eligible for a tidy refund—anywhere from six to 60% of the original purchase price. Depending on how much you spent on diamonds during the period in question, you’ll be eligible for a refund that you can estimate from the following table.
A lot of people married in the last decade could cash in nicely on their engagement ring purchases. For example, an engagement ring that set you back $5,000 would mean you’d be entitled to a settlement of about $1,600. Those shelling out twice that or more—$10,000 and up—will find themselves in a higher percentage bracket and entitled to $4,500 for every $10,000 they spend on their rings. Other types of diamond jewelry are also available, so good luck trying to remember all of the diamond jewelry you’ve bought since 1994.
Consumers have a few things going against them in this settlement:
- Lots of people could mean less money for you. The total amount De Beers will pay is capped at some obscene but finite nine-digit figure, so if enough claims are made, you might get less than that percentage listed in the table above. Hmm, maybe I should keep this to myself…
- You need receipts. While you probably won’t be asked to produce them, the settlement administrators reserve the right to request that you provide receipts for your diamond purchases, and certain large purchases will require a receipt before you get your settlement. Credit card statements should work too, so start digging for your documents before you file a claim. Don’t be an idiot and add an extra zero to your diamond purchases because you could find yourself getting nothing later.
- Don’t bother if you spent only a bit. If your total diamond purchases during that period were under $165 for mixed-gem jewelry or $95 for diamond-only jewelry, you can stop right now because your settlement chunk would be $10 or less. Such small settlement claims will not be paid due to “administrative costs.”
- Anything could happen between now and later. It’s likely that the settlement will go through as it’s currently written, but there’s always the chance that something could happen—anything from minor rewrites of clauses to total scrapping of the settlement due to objections or other legal maneuvers.
If you have your receipts and are ready to file a settlement, you can do it online in just five minutes right here:
https://diamondsclassaction.com/secure/Instructions.aspx?AC=yes
I filed mine today for two pieces of diamond jewelry: my wife’s engagement ring (bought in 2004) and a diamond pendant (Christmas 2006). When I told her about it, her reaction was priceless: “That’s a diamond in that pendant?” (I wish I were making that up, but I’m not.) Yeah, she’s getting toy jewelry from those 25-cent dispensers in the supermarket from now on.
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51 Responses »
1.
Mrs. Micah
January 14th, 2008 at 2:35 pm
Lol, well at least you don’t have one of those stone-grubbing women.
Our diamond was recycled from an old ring, so I guess it doesn’t count.
2.
RS
January 14th, 2008 at 3:19 pm
Nice find…I am going to fill it out for the engagement ring that I got my wife.
My one comment is that site looks a little shady…I hope that it is a real site and not some site that a Nigeran high-school student threw up to scam us into giving out our info.
-RS
3.
Clever Dude
January 14th, 2008 at 10:11 pm
Luckily I have the receipts from the engagement ring purchase back in 2002 and they haven’t faded either. That’s $2,900 right there (yep, all on credit! I was naive 7 years ago). Let’s hope they pay out what they state above!
4.
rocketc
January 14th, 2008 at 11:30 pm
Yes! I can’t wait to get my 300 clams. . . but. . . I need a receipt. . .wha? RATS!
5.
Obbop
January 15th, 2008 at 3:34 am
But…. but….. I well remember those DeBeer TV ads of yore proclaiming that a diamond is an “investment.”
Maybe they meant an investment in suckering in some dame who is bedazzled by bright shiny things.
Whatever.
I, the Mighty Obbop, star of neither stage nor screen is proud to declare I have never been suckered in by a monopolistic purveyor of bright shiny things spewed from volcanoes nor by any female seeking a servent to meet he incessant desires, wants, needs and general self-centered me me me me me me attitude.
Is my crotchety old coot attitude showning?
6.
rocketc
January 15th, 2008 at 9:36 am
yes
7.
Fredrik Gyllensten
January 17th, 2008 at 12:51 pm
WTF? This is abviusly not correct! I havent seen this written on any news sites…
8.
Nick
January 17th, 2008 at 3:14 pm
http://www.azcentral.com/arizonarepublic/business/articles/0116biz-diamonds0116.html
http://www.wcpo.com/content/news/localshows/dontwasteyourmoney/story.aspx?content_id=664f6c99-2c7e-4bfd-aa3b-b4e794f05ecb
http://consumerblog.abc13.com/2008/01/diamond-class-a.html
http://www.wnbc.com/money/15025241/detail.html
http://www.news4jax.com/slideshows/15025346/detail.html
http://www.wcpo.com/news/local/story.aspx?content_id=664f6c99-2c7e-4bfd-aa3b-b4e794f05ecb
http://www.nbc5.com/money/15063037/detail.html
And you looked for how many milliseconds, Fredrik?
9.
Angie P.
January 17th, 2008 at 5:30 pm
Way cool and thanks for the handy table you didn’t retype. However, doesn’t your pendant purchase for Christmas 2006 not count as it’s after the end date of March 31, 2006? Unless you buy your gifts way early…
10.
SavingDiva
January 21st, 2008 at 11:45 am
Since I didn’t purchase any serious jewelry, well…ever…this doesn’t apply to me. However I’m a little nervous about the ramifications for other diamond sales in the future.
11.
Qtpies7~
January 21st, 2008 at 4:51 pm
Oh, my goodness, I love your wife’s reaction! LOL That is too funny.
I should try that on my husband just for fun!
12.
Rachael
January 24th, 2008 at 10:15 am
Any response on the Diamond purchased for Christmas 2006. Did you shop WAY early or did you file anyway and hope to get paid? We bought my engagement ring in Dec. of 2006 for $5,000+. Darn!
13.
diamond-in-the-rough
January 25th, 2008 at 11:47 am
Where did you get that pricing table from?
14.
Nick
January 25th, 2008 at 10:09 pm
Rachael, yes, I bought well in advance but that’s all I’m saying.
diamond-in-the-rough, that table is straight out of one of the forms on the settlement website.
15.
Jason
January 28th, 2008 at 12:06 am
Yes! This story has all the flavor of an internet phishing scheme. Some of you skeptics may not believe this, but I saw a full-page ad in US. News today that led me to the web site to fill out a claim. I did so for an engagmenet ring I purchased in 1997 and a Christmas gift in 2000. The total was under $2k, but $600 will be well worth the 5 minutes it took me to fill out the claim form. I honestly doubt that “Nigerian high school students” have the capacity to place full page ads in national magazines.
Careful. In reading the fine print, I found that you are basically waiving your right to any future entitlement you may have against DeBeers. If you happen to own a jewelry store, you may be entitled to MUCH more than this settlement offers and you may want to opt out of this class action settlement, just so you can build your own law suit for DeBeers monopolizing the market, preventing you from reaching your full profit potential.
16.
Mark
February 5th, 2008 at 5:30 pm
First off, I am filing a claim in hopes of receiving something seemingly for nothing. However, if you start to do the math, it doesn’t work to well. The amount of the settlement earmarked for consumers is about $135 million. After the lawyers get their cut (1/3 off the top) that leaves about $90 million. If you take just one style of jewelry, say a $3,000 engagement ring and apply the percentage rebate from the website of 32%, that equals a payment of $960. Divide $90 million by $960 and you get 93,750 rings. My guess is that in 14 years, there were significantly more than 93,750 $3,000 rings sold. Then consider all the other pieces of diamond jewelry both more and less expensive and all of the sudden, there isn’t all that much money to go around. If I get enough to buy a large pizza and rent a movie, I’ll be pleasantly surprised. I’m filing a claim more out of curiosity than hopes for an actual payment.
17.
Bob McGuire
February 10th, 2008 at 6:54 pm
WOW
I didn’t know that and I sell gemstones myself.
bob
18.
Ginny Holcombe
February 11th, 2008 at 12:58 pm
First heard about this from the consumer reporter on KOMO TV, Channel 4, Seattle WA. Had I not heard it from him I would have thought that “This is a scam”. Hopefully this is for real and I might receive a little bit back. Curious, it took five attempts for the form to recognize the secret number!
19.
Mitzi L CA
February 12th, 2008 at 1:16 pm
WOW, this is cool, if it really pays like it says this could help boost our economy alittle anyway, I know I’m a little excited about it, we’ll wait and see. PS If the attorneys go to court don’t they get 40% yiks that’s a heavty chunck! Well so much for our economy
20.
Ryan
February 13th, 2008 at 6:56 pm
Any word on when the settlement payouts, if any, may be happening?
21.
Normelita
February 28th, 2008 at 3:01 am
Oh well I guess every penny count’s, my friend told me about this and hopefully for good…. i bought a lot of stuff for my parents, grandmothers, sisters and aunts and ofcourse myself using store credit cards thats why i owe a lot of money in it before but anyways hope for the best on this settlement. May this happen for good… thanks for the people of this settlement and God bless you all for doing a human kind….!
22.
Jonny Diamond
July 23rd, 2008 at 5:39 am
Any update on this?
23.
Nick
July 23rd, 2008 at 9:52 am
Nothing yet, Jonny, but large class actions like this one take lots of time to fully resolve. Once I hear something more about it, I’ll post something new right away.
24.
DeBeers Sucks
August 11th, 2008 at 7:07 am
Now they’re appealing the settlement – we’ll probably all be dead by the time this thing gets out of court.
25.
Michelle Goebel
August 25th, 2008 at 2:58 pm
Here is the actual email from the administrative contact I received. You’ll notice that they mention waiting to see how the “appeals” turn out. It just dawned on me, if a settlement was agreed upon, why are there appeals needing to be considered? Was this a bogus effort for publicity for the cause? You be the judge…
> Subject: RE: Consumer payment schedule?> Date: Mon, 4 Aug 2008 09:51:39 -0500> From: administrator@diamondsclassaction.com> To: redrobin5@hotmail.com> > I have found your claim. Your claimant id# 50577132.> > Judge Chesler issued an order approving the Settlement on May 27, 2008. These documents are posted on the “Other Settlement Documents.” page at the website http://www.diamondsclassaction.com. Appeals have since been filed contesting final approval of the Settlement, and these appeals will postpone resolving claim calculations. No payments will be made on eligible claims until all appeals are resolved. It is uncertain how long these appeals will take to resolve, and the timing of resolving the appeals is not within our control. > > Diamonds Claims Administrator> > ________________________________> > From: red robin [mailto:redrobin5@hotmail.com]> Sent: Sat 8/2/2008 11:44 PM> To: diamondsclassaction> Subject: Consumer payment schedule?> > > Hello, I filled out my claim form in January 2008. I printed out a coded receipt and my Claim Reference Number is 50577132. It was for a few pieces of diamond jewelry purchased at approximately $5,100. Could you please tell me the payment schedule for a Consumer payment? Thank you for your time.> Sincerely,> Michelle Goebel>
26.
Steve "The Debt Settlement Man" B
October 10th, 2008 at 11:12 pm
having to lay out 3 or 4 g’s on one of those things scares me
27.
Chris
March 13th, 2009 at 5:35 pm
$295 Million Cash Settlement in Diamonds Antitrust Case
On May 22, 2008, Judge Stanley Chesler of the U.S. District Court in Newark, New Jersey entered an order granting final approval of a $295 million settlement of an antitrust class action brought against De Beers by purchasers of diamonds and diamond jewelry in the United States.
Payments to class members are being delayed because Judge Chesler’s order has been appealed by a small handful of class members to the United States Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit. A decision by the Third Circuit is expected by the end of 2009. Distribution of settlement proceeds will occur once the appeal is resolved.
28.
helzberg diamond
April 24th, 2009 at 4:46 am
any body help me, how to know quality of diamond ring which is good ?
29.
Engagement Rings
April 24th, 2009 at 12:00 pm
Settlements like this are done betcause of the negative press that a company will receive. It seems as though the press is not good, but could have been worse. It is a matter of weighing costs, and if they were able to settle on this level, you wonder what the outcome could have been!
30.
Diamonds
April 27th, 2009 at 1:43 pm
My wife loves her new necklace.
31.
ideal diamond cut
April 29th, 2009 at 5:06 am
how about diamond earring, any information ?
best regards
Diamonds
32.
Engagement Rings
April 30th, 2009 at 8:12 am
My fiance loves her ring.
33.
Mel
May 25th, 2009 at 12:22 pm
Go figure…Debeers say that they want to make all this go away and would like to settle the matter right away BUT GUESS WHAT…they decided instead to pay their attorneys more money and prolong the matter with several appeals. THIS WILL BE THE LAST TIME MY HUSBAND AND I REQUEST ONLY DEBEERS DIAMONDS….I will make damn sure that the next diamond was not purchased from them or their affiliates. They want to screw their customers more so that they can keep more of their money to themselves….isn’t that the way it always works? Those that really work for their money are the ones that get screwed in the end.
34.
Aundrea
June 11th, 2009 at 3:01 pm
The DeBeers class action settlement website says that it was updated on 6/2/09. So what’s the update? I didnt see any new info. I read on a news article that the appeals process was complete.
35.
sterling silver jewelry
June 17th, 2009 at 12:46 am
yes i am waiting for the update to. What happened to the lawsuit.
36.
Talia P
June 21st, 2009 at 2:00 pm
Question: Do you get the money and get to keep the diamond or do you have to send it back to the company? I would rather keep my engagement ring (if I had one) than lose it for any amount of money. Sentimental value and all
37.
Fashion Jewelry
June 23rd, 2009 at 11:23 am
Well the suit is over I think.. I wonder how much compensation people received, if any?… I also wonder how it applies to businesses who resell DeBeers diamonds? What a lucky break!
38.
Diamond Cut
July 15th, 2009 at 7:11 am
Sunofabitch! If only I had kept receipts from 10 years ago!! That’s really annoying, but I do hope that everyone else is able to grab their slice of the pie.
39.
Diamond Cut
July 15th, 2009 at 7:11 am
Actually, on second though, I think I might have saved the receipt along with the GIA certificate. Who do I need to contact to get involved in the lawsuit?
40.
Diamond engagement rings
July 18th, 2009 at 1:00 am
Getting this thing done online has expired so I don’t know whether I will try on this too much. Anyway I was not going to get anything big even if I did this.
41.
Aundrea
August 21st, 2009 at 3:26 pm
I have not received any money yet? Anyone else receive theirs?
42.
Nick
August 22nd, 2009 at 7:22 pm
I haven’t yet either. These things usually take a few years to sort out. When something new develops, I’ll shout it from the rooftops!
43.
Aundrea
August 31st, 2009 at 1:17 pm
Thanks, Nick! Appreciate your help.
44.
Aundrea
August 31st, 2009 at 1:18 pm
By the way, Nick, where would you post an update? On this site? Thanks again.
45.
Nick
September 2nd, 2009 at 6:15 pm
I’d post a new article on the site, so subscribe to Punny Money’s RSS feed and you’ll hear about it right away when it happens.
46.
Sean Dean
March 8th, 2010 at 7:12 am
yes, I bought well.
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