How to File the Bestway Pool Settlement Claim by October 30

The Bestway pool settlement is the last October claim to close, and it is one of the few where the no-receipt option can pay more than the receipt option. If you bought a Bestway-branded above-ground pool 48 inches or taller, including the Power Steel, Steel Pro, and Coleman Power Steel lines, at a store between 2008 and 2024, you are in the class. A claim without proof of purchase pays a flat $40; a claim with a receipt pays 10 percent of what you paid, which only beats $40 on a pool that cost more than $400. The deadline is Friday, October 30, 2026, online or by postmark. Here is what the court-authorized site, the claim form, and the separate safety recall say, and how the two programs fit together. The other October deadlines are in our October claim deadlines tracker.

The quick answer

• Deadline: “Claim Forms must be submitted online or mailed and postmarked by October 30, 2026”
• Who: anyone in the United States who bought, “for personal use and not for resale, a Bestway-branded pool that is 48 inches or taller in height (including Power Steel and Steel Pro models) with compression straps located outside of the support poles, sold from 2008 through 2024”
• Without a receipt: “Claimants without Valid Proof of Purchase shall receive a Cash Payment of Forty Dollars ($40.00)”
• With a receipt: “ten percent (10%)” of the price you paid, or of the average retail price if the receipt shows no price
• One claim per household: the form allows “only one claim… per Settlement Class Household”
• Second-hand buyers are excluded, and so are retailers. “You must have purchased the pool from a retailer and not second-hand”
• The recall is separate. The free rope repair kit from the July 2025 recall does not count against the claim, and the claim does not affect the recall
• Official site: poolsettlementbw.com. Help is at 1-855-789-5948 or info@poolsettlementBW.com

Key facts at a glance

Question	Answer
Case	In re Bestway Above-Ground Pools Litigation, N.D. Ill., No. 1:25-cv-09570, Judge Jenkins
Settlement fund	$15,000,000
Pools covered	Bestway-branded, 48 inches or taller, compression straps outside the legs, sold 2008 through 2024
Named lines	Power Steel, Steel Pro, Coleman Power Steel
No receipt	$40, “which may be subject to a pro rata adjustment”
With receipt	10% of the price paid, or 10% of the average retail price
Claims per household	One
Excluded	Second-hand purchasers, wholesalers, distributors, retailers, the parties
Deadline (claim, opt-out, objection)	October 30, 2026
Payment options	Venmo, Zelle, or a mailed check
Fairness hearing	November 20, 2026, 10:00 a.m. Central, Chicago
Recall hotline (Bestway)	(888) 875-5620

Which pools are in

The class definition turns on two physical facts, not on a model list. From the settlement FAQ: a “Bestway-branded pool that is 48 inches or taller in height (including Power Steel and Steel Pro models) with compression straps located outside of the support poles, sold from 2008 through 2024.” Bestway’s own recall page draws the same line for the safety fix and adds the third brand name: “specific models of Power Steel, Steel Pro and Coleman Power Steel above-ground pools 48 inches or taller in height with compression straps running on the outside of the vertical support legs of the pool.”

Two ways to rule yourself out quickly, from Bestway’s page: a pool shorter than 48 inches, or one whose compression strap runs inside the support poles, “is NOT subject to this recall.” The same two tests define the settlement class.

Two more things the site is explicit about:

• Intex and Polygroup pools are not in this settlement. The CPSC recall covered all three manufacturers, but the lawsuit and the $15 million fund are Bestway’s alone
• Where you bought it does not matter, but from whom does. The class covers pools bought “from a retailer,” and the FAQ excludes “second-hand purchasers” and “wholesalers, distributors, or retailers of the Class Products”

$40 without a receipt, or 10 percent with one

The FAQ sets two tiers:

• “Valid Proof of Purchase.” “If you provide a Valid Proof of Purchase, you can receive a payment equal to ten percent (10%) of either: (i) the actual price paid as reflected in the Valid Proof of Purchase (e.g., receipt); or (ii) the Average Retail Price of the identified Class Product if no actual purchase price is reflected in the Valid Proof of Purchase”
• “Without Valid Proof of Purchase.” “Claimants without Valid Proof of Purchase shall receive a Cash Payment of Forty Dollars ($40.00)”

The claim form defines proof broadly: “objectively verifiable documentation showing purchase of a Class Product on or before May 04, 2026… Examples may include, but are not limited to, store receipts, online purchase receipts, or any other contemporaneous record of purchase that is objectively verifiable.” An order confirmation email from Walmart or Amazon qualifies as well as a paper receipt.

Now the arithmetic, which is ours: 10 percent of the price only exceeds $40 when the price exceeds $400. The CPSC notice says the recalled pools “range in price from approximately $400 to over $1,000,” so a large share of claimants sit near the break-even. If your pool cost $350, the receipt path pays $35 and the no-receipt path pays $40. If it cost $900, the receipt pays $90. The form lets you choose: question 8 asks you to answer yes or no to “I am submitting Valid Proof of Purchase with my Claim submission,” and warns, “By checking No above, I understand that I am only eligible for a Cash Payment of $40, which may be subject to a pro rata adjustment.” That last clause is the one uncertainty: if claims are heavy, the $40 can be reduced. The site does not say whether the 10 percent tier can also be reduced, so we do not claim either way.

For scale, the fund is $15 million, class counsel “may apply for attorneys’ fees not to exceed one-third (33 1/3%) of the Settlement Amount,” and service awards are $2,500 for each of eight class representatives. By our arithmetic, a full one-third fee award is $5 million, leaving roughly $10 million before administration costs and any cost reimbursement. The court “may award less than the amount requested.”

What the claim form asks

The claim form has four parts, and the site says “the quickest way to submit a claim is online.” Part 2 is the one to prepare for:

1. Brand name (required): “e.g. Power Steel, Steel Pro and Coleman Power Steel”
2. Dimensions (required): height in inches, plus diameter in feet for round pools or width and length for oval pools
3. Model number or serial number (one is required). The form’s tip on finding the serial: “Serial numbers are typically located on the outside of the pool liner, often near the drain valve or the pump inlet/outlet”
4. Approximate purchase date and retailer name (both required, “to the best of your ability”)
5. Personal use or resale
6. Proof of purchase: yes or no, as discussed above
7. Payment method: Venmo, Zelle, or a check mailed to the address you give in Part I, with the phone number or email tied to the Venmo or Zelle account

Part 4 is a signed attestation “that the information provided in this Claim Form, and any supporting documentation provided, is true and correct,” and the administrator “may ask” for supplemental information. If the pool is long gone and you have neither a model nor a serial number, the form does not offer a third option; call the administrator at 1-855-789-5948 before the deadline rather than guessing.

Two administrative rules from the form: “Only one claim is allowed per Settlement Class Household,” defined as everyone “sharing the same residential address,” and the eligible purchase window on the form runs to “before May 04, 2026,” which is wider than the 2008 through 2024 sales window in the class definition. If you bought a covered model in early 2025 or 2026, file and let the administrator decide.

How to file

1. Go to poolsettlementbw.com by typing the address yourself, and choose “Submit a Claim.” The site warns that “other websites may contain incorrect information about this litigation and should not be relied upon”
2. Enter the pool details, purchase details, and payment choice, and attach the receipt if you are using one
3. Or print the mail-in form, sign it, and mail it to Bestway Settlement Administrator, P.O. Box 1869, Baton Rouge, LA 70821, “postmarked by October 30, 2026.” Paper forms are also available by phone
4. If you move or change your email, “it is your responsibility to inform the Settlement Administrator,” which the site handles through its Update My Contact/Payment Information page

The recall is a separate program, and you can use both

This settlement grew out of a safety recall. The FAQ describes the lawsuit’s claim that “the voluntary recall issued by Bestway in conjunction with the United States Consumer Product Safety Commission (‘CPSC’) was inadequate because it did not offer a monetary remedy.” The CPSC notice of July 21, 2025 covered “about 5 million 48-inch and taller above-ground pools that use compression straps” from Bestway, Intex, and Polygroup, and states the hazard plainly: “The compression strap that surrounds the outside of the pool legs may create a foothold, allowing a child access to the pool, posing a drowning risk.” CPSC reported that “nine children between the ages of 22 months and 3 years old have drowned” between 2007 and 2022.

The recall remedy is a free repair kit, “a rope that will maintain the structural integrity of the pool (a function previously served by the compression strap),” which you request through the Confirm Your Model tool on Bestway’s recall page or by calling (888) 875-5620.

The settlement keeps the two apart in both directions:

• “You do not need to participate in the recall in order to make a claim”
• “Non-participation in this Settlement… does not limit any rights under the Pool Recall”
• The released claims “do not include claims relating to personal injury, bodily injury, emotional distress, wrongful death, or any other physical or emotional harm”

So the practical answer for anyone who still owns the pool: register for the rope kit, and file the cash claim. For anyone who sold or scrapped the pool: the cash claim is still open, as long as you bought it new from a retailer.

Your other options, all due October 30

Option	What it does	How
File a claim	”The only way to get monetary Settlement benefits”	Online, or mailed and postmarked by October 30
Opt out	No payment; keep the right to sue Bestway yourself	Online by 11:59 p.m. Central, or mailed and postmarked by October 30
Object	Stay in, tell the court what is unfair, and “you may also file a claim for a payment”	Filed with the court or postmarked by October 30
Do nothing	No payment, bound by the release, recall rights untouched	No action

Objecting does not cost you the claim here, which is not true of every settlement. The FAQ: “If you object, you may also file a claim for a payment.”

When the money arrives

Not before the court signs off. “Settlement payments cannot be distributed until the Court grants Final Approval of the Settlement and after any appeals are resolved.” The fairness hearing is “November 20, 2026, at 10:00 a.m. CT” before Judge Jenkins in Chicago, and “the date and time of the Final Approval Hearing are subject to change.” Payment comes by the method you picked on the form; if you chose Venmo or Zelle, keep that phone number or email active, because the site says to “ensure you have provided a current and complete email address if you elected to receive an electronic payment.”

Bottom line

If a Bestway, Power Steel, Steel Pro, or Coleman Power Steel pool 48 inches or taller with the strap on the outside of the legs was bought new for your household any time from 2008 on, file by October 30, 2026. Take the flat $40 unless you paid more than $400 and can show it, remember it is one claim per address, and register separately for the free rope kit if the pool is still up. The administrator is poolsettlementbw.com, and nothing about this claim requires a fee, a lawyer, or the recall.

Facts verified on September 23, 2026 against the court-authorized settlement site (home page, FAQ, claim form PDF, and court documents index), Bestway’s recall page, and the CPSC recall notice of July 21, 2025. Every quotation is the source’s own wording; the break-even and fee arithmetic is ours and is labeled as such. We could not extract the text of the settlement agreement PDF, so the “Average Retail Price” figures it may contain are not reported here. This is general information, not legal advice.