If you happen to own a Sony Xperia handset that has been damaged by water, you are eligible for a reimbursement from the company. The OEM has been ordered by a federal court in New York to refund its customers as a settlement of a Class Action Lawsuit filed against the manufacturer. According to the settlement clauses, Sony Xperia handset owners are eligible to receive up to $300 as refund or an extension in the warranty.

Sony settles misinterprets handset features

The settlement agreed upon by Sony covers changes in the packaging or labeling, extension of warranty, the advertisement of the faulty devices, and also the claim process of the rejected service requests of the owners.

The class action lawsuit that was filed against Sony, accused the Japanese manufacturer of misleading its consumers by marketing its devices fit for underwater use. In reality, the devices are capable only of Water Resistance in terms of protection. The lawsuit was filed following damage of Sony Xperia handsets and post the warranty claims of those users were rejected.

The devices were originally marketed as waterproof due to which many users immersed the devices inside bodies of water. However, contrary to the marketing gimmicks, the smartphones were carrying IP58 water resistance rating, which is different from waterproofing. Water resistance certification means that the handset will be able to stop the water from flooding inner compartments of the device only if the handset has been submerged into the water at a specific depth and for a specific time period only.

In the class action lawsuit, the plaintiffs have claimed that Sony intentionally misinterpreted the devices features to forfeit claimed warranties.

Class action lawsuit against Sony settled

According to the settlement between Sony and the plaintiffs, the Japanese OEM will now have to accept the claims that the Sony device owners had submitted.

The claimants will be given a choice to get monetary refunds against the rejected service claims, or extension in the warranty of the device. The latter will add an extra 12 months to devices whose warranty is still active and another six months to older handsets. The people who would opt for reimbursement for rejection of their claims are eligible to get 50 percent off the retail price that Sony had suggested for the product.

This means that for the owners of flagship products, the refund amount could well go up to $300.

The claimants can submit all necessary documents by January 30, 2018. The settlement also states that 24 devices would be eligible to get warranty extension or reimbursement. The devices include low budget smartphones such as the Sony Xperia M2 Aqua to premium ones like Sony Xperia Z5 Compact. Apart from smartphones, seven tablets have also been included in the list.