HANDING OUT: Final chance to get $100 payment from $5m U-Haul settlement and no proof is needed to score the cash
Customers affected by a significant U-Haul data breach may be eligible to claim a share of a $5 million settlement without needing to provide proof of loss. Residents in California who used the national moving and storage service in 2022 and 2023, whose data may have been compromised, could receive up to $100.
The class action lawsuit against U-Haul alleges that the company failed to adequately protect consumer information from two separate data breaches in 2022 and 2023, which potentially exposed consumer names and driver’s license numbers. Although U-Haul has not admitted any wrongdoing, it has agreed to pay $5.085 million to resolve the lawsuit.
Under the settlement terms, class members can expect a pro-rata payment, which may vary based on the total amount remaining in the settlement fund after covering class representative service awards, attorney fees, and administrative expenses.
To qualify for the direct payment, individuals must have lived in California between November 5, 2021, and April 5, 2022, or around December 5, 2023, during the data breaches. Eligible participants must also have received a “Notice of Recent Security Incident” letter notifying them of the breaches.
Claimants have a limited window to claim their compensation, as a final approval hearing for the settlement is scheduled for October 23. The timeline for when payments will be deposited into claimants’ bank accounts remains uncertain, and officials have advised those involved in the settlement to “be patient.”
According to the Harvard Business Review, data breaches surged last year as more companies began utilizing cloud configurations. It is estimated that over 60% of corporate data globally is stored in the cloud, with more than 80% of data breaches in 2023 involving this storage method. Common issues include excessively permissive cloud access, unrestricted ports, and the use of unsecured backups.
In addition to the U-Haul settlement, a nutrition and energy bar company is also distributing payments from a $12 million settlement, and Americans are running out of time to claim hundreds of dollars from another class action settlement involving a moving company.
