DeBeers is settling a class action lawsuit. Visit the website to see if you qualify and find out how to submit your form.
If you submit your Claim Form via mail, it must be postmarked no later than May 19, 2008 and addressed to: Diamonds Claims Administrator, P.O. Box 9432, Minneapolis, Minnesota 55440–9432.
If you submit your claim via the online Claim Form at www.diamondsclassaction.com, the Claim Form must be completed and electronically submitted no later than 11:59 pm Pacific Standard Time, May 19, 2008.
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If you file online and the value of any single piece is over $10,000, you have to mail a hard copy of verification page AND "legible copy of your documentation" (ie certificate w/ carat, color, cut clarity, receipt). This gets mailed to: Claims Administrator PO Box 1861 Faribault, MN 55021-7116
Message edited by: errickson on 2008-01-14 10:56:18 CST
Thanks too for the info. I got married in 1997, so we were definitely buying diamonds in the class period. If I read the rules right, there's a maximum of $640 per person in damages. I filed (engagement ring, wedding band, tennis bracelet) and my wife filed (wedding band for me with diamond). I'll share this info with relatives, too, who I know bought diamonds during the period.
ThinkswithFist said:Thanks too for the info. I got married in 1997, so we were definitely buying diamonds in the class period. If I read the rules right, there's a maximum of $640 per person in damages. I filed (engagement ring, wedding band, tennis bracelet) and my wife filed (wedding band for me with diamond). I'll share this info with relatives, too, who I know bought diamonds during the period.
I think you misunderstand the example. That is just an example of someone who bought a ring for $2000. His maximum claim will be 640 (32% of 2,000) - but that can be limited by the dollar amount of the total claims that are filed.
If you purchased a $7,000 engagement ring, and then later a $5,000 anniversary ring (both all diamond), you can receive UP TO $4,295 ((38.5% * 7,000) + (32% * 5,000)). Of course, that is the maximum that can be paid. If there are more claims than there is alloted money for, the share will be lowered, pro-rata.
Thanks, OP. Just filed a claim for my wife's engagement ring, which I bought in 2000. The online claim form asks for surprisingly little information. Just what you bought and how much you paid (not date or retailer or how many diamonds or anything). They say you may be asked to provide more documentation later. And of course, you file the claim under penalty of perjury, since it's under the court's jurisdiction.
This could be a few hundred bucks if all goes well.
Just wondering how many claims there will be and how many dollars spent by the claimants over the nine years .... thinking that maybe the $135m allocated for the consumer subclass won't go very far.... (FW effect to our detriment?)
Still might get a bottle of beer for free...
For someone not familiar with US law and such events can they really pay without wanting proof of purchase? Assuming this will definitely be required at some point?
Great post. I saw something about this on the late news last night but I was only semi-awake. I'm emailing this to all the suckers like me who got married over the last 12 years!
Does anyone else think the estimated amount going to the "consumer" subclass is insanely high?
I've seen some of how the debeers side of the diamond market works, and I just dont see them paying ~$640 on a $2k valued diamong ring. Hell, they didnt even make close to $640 on that ring themselves. It's not like they pull the diamonds out of the ground and stick them in a ring. There are a ton of labor and handling steps in the chain from the mining operation until it's set in a ring, and every step along the way increases costs through labor and all the typical trappings of business.
With that said, yes I definitely believe they have monopolized the market and very much helped to keep it inflated. Such a thing happens in a lot of markets though. They don't want prices to fluctuate much because that causes strife to those buying and selling. I mean you are talking about a rock that is mined for something around the cost of dollars per pound. But the many steps after that are what add the most cost, not to mention the entire wholesale-retail chain, several parts of which debeers has little to do with.
Same could be said about several other markets and other companies for that matter.
Another way to look at this is like a previous poster mentioned. Lets say an average of $640 for each consumer, that means ~211000 consumers would get in on the deal before the money runs dry. That means one person out of every 1000 in this country or something tiny.
All of this leaves me curious as to why they are collecting these names and addresses.
Reminds me of the visa/mastercard foreign transaction fees class action suit recently.
I have tried to file an online claim twice, but both computers I tried on gave me a message saying that I have cookies disabled, the 'continue' button is blanked out and I cannot proceed. I turned off my firewall and lowered my IE security settings.
Anyone else having issues, or am I missing something?
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