City of Oakland urges owners of multi-family rental properties to claim refunds for overcharges on residential recycling bills; more than two-thirds of refunds have not yet been claimed
Contact: mediainquiries@oaklandcityattorney.org
Oakland, Calif. – The deadline is fast approaching for owners of many multi-family rental properties in Oakland to claim refunds for overcharges of recycling services. The refunds are the result of the lawsuit the Oakland City Attorney filed on behalf of the City of Oakland against California Waste Solutions (CWS) over recycling service charges during the 2010s that were more than five times higher than the correct amount per the 2015 Residential Recycling Collection Service Contract.
“These property owners were unfairly and significantly overcharged for services for years,” noted Oakland City Attorney Barbara J. Parker. “Unfortunately, only 28% of eligible property owners have filed their claims to date. We urge everyone who was overcharged to claim the funds that are due to them.”
The purpose of the City of Oakland’s lawsuit against CWS was to reimburse multi-family residential property owners for excessive charges CWS collected and to require that CWS reduce their ongoing charges for recycling services to the contract rate. The City of Oakland wants to make sure that these property owners file their claims before the deadline.
Deadline Approaching
Property owners must submit their claim no later than January 12, 2025, to the claims administrator to receive their refund.
How to File a Claim
Claiming a refund is very easy. The City and CWS already calculated the amount due to each affected property owner. Refunds will be disbursed in early 2025. All a claimant needs to do is respond to the notice confirming the pre-calculated amount and the address to which the check should be mailed.
Affected Property Owners Should Have Received a Notice in Early 2024
Affected property owners should have received a notice in the mail showing the amount of their expected refund and a unique code in early 2024. They can use that code to fill out a claims form on a dedicated refund website, www.CWSSettlement.com, or they can mail in their claims form. Property owners can call 1-833-493-1547 for more information or to request a claims form if they did not receive one in the mail or can no longer locate their form.
Many of the claimants who have not responded are due refunds of up to $125,000. A significant number of property owners are entitled to refunds between $10,000-$99,000, although some are entitled to lower amounts. Property owners may also make their case for a higher refund by submitting their bills to dispute the amount as part of the claims process. Affected property owners may opt out of the settlement and file their own lawsuit against CWS no later than December 31, 2024. If a property owner does not either claim their refund by January 12, 2025 or file a lawsuit by the end of this year, they will no longer have an opportunity to recover the funds CWS owes them.
Background
The City of Oakland and CWS agreed to a settlement in 2021 and worked together to develop a process for distributing the refunds. In addition to providing refunds to property owners who were overcharged for services, the lawsuit’s settlement agreement also reduced these property owners’ recycling rates from $187.57 to $34.22.
One-thousand three-hundred and forty (1,340) properties are known to be affected. If you did not receive a notice but believe you are entitled to a refund, please call 1-833-493-1547 or email CWSSettlement@cptgroup.com.
For more information, see the January 22, 2024 press release announcing the settlement and refund claims process.
