Any punters who bought a Seagate hard drive in the US between 22 March 2001 and 26 September 2007 could be entitled to a five per cent discount on future Seagate products or free backup software.

The settlement is the result of a US class action suit. The case alleges that Seagate sold drives with seven per cent less storage than customers expected.

Although Seagate continues to deny all charges, it has agreed to settle the case. So anyone who bought a retail Seagate hard drive in the US can claim a five per cent discount on the price they paid. Seagate has also agreed to change the wording on its packaging to make its definition of a gigabyte clearer to consumers.

If you bought a hard drive before January 2006 you can either get the five per cent cash discount or free backup software. If your purchase was made after that, you can get a free copy of the backup software.

There are full details on the settlement website here.

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