LOS ANGELES, April 05, 2017 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- On Monday and Tuesday this week, more than 5,000 Los Angeles Department of Water and Power (LADWP) account holders called a toll-free hotline after receiving formal notice of the landmark class action billing settlement.
“The enthusiastic response is amazing,” said consumer rights attorney Jack Landskroner of Landskroner Grieco Merriman, LLC. “Class members are really motivated to take full advantage of what this settlement offers.”
Kurtzman Carlson Consultants, the court-appointed claims administrator, has 60 customer service representatives devoted to answering questions about the settlement between the hours of 6:00 am and 6:00 pm (PDT) Monday through Friday. KCC’s team includes trained staff fluent in multiple languages.
Customers can also go to the settlement website at http://www.ladwpbillingsettlement.com/ for additional information about the settlement, or call the toll-free number at 1-844-899-6219.
“The best time to call is first thing in the morning,” said Ryanne Cozzi of KCC. “But the website is a good resource and probably the best way to get quick answers to your questions. You can even file your claim electronically on the website.”
LADWP customers are entitled to recover 100% of what they were overcharged or damaged by the utility’s flawed billing system. A Court-appointed independent monitor has already verified $67,500,000 in overcharges. Landskroner negotiated the complex settlement which received preliminary approval from Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Elihu Berle at the end of last year. In the past week, 2.4 million information packets have been mailed to LADWP account holders explaining their rights.
“Given the response, KCC could add even more customer service reps,” added Landskroner. “We expect call volume to increase over the next several days as consumers receive their packets. It will then likely slow down next week.”
Many customers do not have to do anything to receive a refund. Those who believe they have additional damages beyond the pre-identified refund, however, can make a claim for those damages. They simply have to submit a claim form with supporting materials by June 5, 2017.
Landskroner Grieco Merriman, LLC. is a law firm whose practice areas includes consumer class action litigation and securities fraud. Jack Landskroner is a board-certified trial advocate by the National Board of Trial Advocacy and has been counsel in class action cases litigated across the country. In 2012, Jack Landskroner was elected national President of the Public Justice Foundation; a 3,000-member organization's that undertakes nationwide efforts to secure court access for ordinary people and justice in civil rights and civil liberties, environmental protection, consumers' rights, food health and safety, and workers' rights cases with widespread impact. Landskroner has repeatedly been honored as a "Super Lawyer" and a "Top-Rated Lawyer" by his peers and has been recognized as a “litigation Star” by Benchmark Plaintiff publication. For more information, visit www.lgmlegal.com.