Each year money remains unclaimed

Have you ever received a letter or a postcard in the mail with instructions on how to claim money in the form of a settlement amount? And when the amount is less than $5.00, are you reluctant to fill out and send back that postcard? You’re not alone. Every year millions of dollars remains unclaimed; very often because people who are owed that money are simply unaware that a case that affects them has been settled. In some cases, attorneys have no way of gathering contact information of people who could be part of the settlement. Settlement notices may be posted in various publications, but who reads newspapers anymore? There is no guarantee and in fact, it’s entirely likely that most of those who were affected by the case in the first instance will never see any money.

What happens to the settlement money?

Class action lawsuits are designed to hold companies accountable for deceitful practices. When a case settles, the plaintiff’s attorneys will sometimes collect a percentage of the settlement or sometimes a separate fee settlement. The lawyers get paid, and so should all of those who were wronged. Often times, unclaimed money ends up being returned to the defendant, which in turn, leaves little encouragement for the offending parties, often multi-national corporations, to change their way of doing business.