Fifteen years ago, when many of you were sucking at the teat of your mothers, the rest of us were sucking at the teat of technology and we, being brave technological pioneers, bought our RAM and installed it ourselves.
And the RAM manufacturers collaborated to artificially inflate the price of RAM. Big names implicated in the scheme include Samsung, Crucial and NEC.
The RAM manufacturers were sued in the US for their anti-competitive behaviour, and ultimately settled for $US310 million ($409.5 million) in 2014. $US200 million ($264 million) was set aside for payments like the $US60 ($79) check Deadspin’s Tim Burke received in the mail yesterday. Others are reporting checks as large as $US72.95 ($96). One guy on Twitter reported getting $US128 ($169).
I just received a check for $128, a class action settlement for computer RAM I purchased 15 years ago! Unreal https://t.co/kndbtHBhX5
— Justin Fox Dishwalla (@justindavidfox) July 8, 2016
So if you bought anything with RAM in it, including pretty much any computer, between 1998 and 2002, you too could be getting a check in the mail — assuming you made your purchase in the US and signed on to the settlement in time. Unfortunately, all of the deadlines have passed at this point. According to the timeline set out, disbursements are supposed to arrive this month.
When asked what he would do with his new monies Tim replied, “[M]y wife put it in the bank.” When pressed for a response that was less practical he said, “I’ll buy beer probably.”
So check your mailbox. I came home to a check for $US97.13 ($128), and I moved two month ago. So apparently the money WILL find you.