Los Angeles, CA – A short consumer alert video, produced by Consumer Watchdog and narrated by Eaton fire survivor Ellen Snortland, warns Eaton fire survivors that the company’s new “Fast Pay” program to pay survivors may not equal “fair pay.”
“Edison’s ‘Fast Pay’ program may not be fair,” warns Snortland, a Consumer Watchdog board member and the LA Press Club’s Best Columnist and Journalist of the Year for two years in a row. “It is designed to appeal to people who need money quick, and may not realize they are giving up their right to seek many times more than they are offered.”
The video warns:
“If you are an Eaton Fire Survivor you should consider these facts when considering the ‘Fast Pay’ system and consult a lawyer:
The amounts offered by Edison are non-negotiable. Edison determines the amount unilaterally.
Expert estimates show the amount owed fire survivors based on Edison’s proposed formula can be only 53 -73% of the actual rebuilding cost for the building.
Edison automatically subtracts the value of your insurance policy payment, even though most people are not getting what they’re owed from insurance and even if you haven’t received it.
The plan says renters, children, and those who suffered smoke damage deserve less.”
The Edison plan was designed by Ken Feinberg, a controversial mediator who has been accused in multiple settlements of providing pennies on the dollar offers to victims in disaster funds. Edison has not disclosed how much it is paying Feinberg.
The legislature created a Wildfire Fund to backstop utilities when they spark fires, half of the fund is paid for by ratepayers and half is paid by utilities shareholders. Edison has announced its “Fast Pay” Program that draws from this wildfire fund.
Snortland concludes: “Don’t be burned twice. Talk to an attorney and beware of Edison’s Fast Fund. Fast pay doesn’t mean fair pay. Get the facts at ConsumerWatchdog.org/fastpay”
