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Bought A TV In Canada Between 1995 And 2007? You Have Money Coming

A class-action lawsuit alleged TV manufacturers conspired to fix the prices of technology in conventional TVs.
Kwanchai Lerttanapunyaporn / EyeEm via Getty Images

If you bought a conventional, non-flat-screen TV in Canada, or computer monitor, between 1995 and 2007, you can claim at least $20 from the settlement of a class-action lawsuit.

And no, you don't need to have kept your receipt.

Law firms Siskinds LLP, Camp Fiorante Matthews Mogerman, and Siskinds Desmeules launched a class-action lawsuit in 2008, alleging that TV manufacturers conspired to fix the prices of cathode ray tube (CRT) technology.

Watch: StarKist admits fixing tuna prices,faces $100-million fine (story continues below)

CRTs were used in the old, bulky conventional TVs and monitors that were sold before flat screens took over the market.

Courts in British Columbia, Ontario and Quebec recently approved a settlement from seven TV manufacturers, totalling $49.8 million. The manufacturers, who did not admit wrongdoing as part of the settlement, are Chunghwa, Hitachi, LG Electronics, Panasonic, Philips, Samsung and Toshiba.

Anyone who purchased a TV or monitor is eligible to apply for payment, regardless of the TV's manufacturer. No receipt is needed if the claim is for one or two TVs or monitors. Proof of purchase is needed for larger claims.

"The court-approved protocol ... will allow eligible Canadians to recover money they should have never been charged in the first place," Linda Visser of Siskinds LLP said in a statement.

To claim a share of the settlement, TV buyers have to fill out an online claim form before March 1, 2019.

The amount of money a claimant gets will be "based on the value of your claim relative to the value of all approved claims," the law firms say.

"It is expected that all valid claims will receive a minimum payment of $20."

The law firms say payouts in class-action suits typically happen a year after the claims are made.

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