3 On Your Side: Could You Be Owed Class Action Settlement Money?
PHILADELPHIA (CBS) -- So have you ever purchased a product that you ended up regretting buying?
Companies accused of inconveniencing, misleading or injuring their customers can face a class action lawsuit. But as 3 On Your Side's Jim Donovan reports, many consumers don't even know they are owed money.
It's easy to see why Carol Mason doesn't like her backyard deck. She says,"We have these brown boards that we bought and they're turning black." Mason soon could be seeing some "green." Under the terms of a class action settlement she may be entitled to $400.
"I think consumers would be very surprised at just how many class action lawsuits they were a part of," says Joe Ridout, consumer services manager at Consumer Action. According to Ridout, hundreds of suits are filed each year and if you've purchased a product, odds are you've been entitled to class action cash.
But it's estimated less than ten percent of eligible consumers claim their share of these settlements. So Consumer Action has created database to help consumers collect.
You can check out the database at: www.consumer-action.org/lawsuits
Ever buy Johnson and Johnson baby products or Seventh Generation cleaning products? You may be eligible for $10 to $30 due to alleged misleading claims.
Plus proof of purchase often isn't necessary. Ridout says, "Even for some of these very large amounts, it's not necessarily a high burden of proof."
Current pay-outs range from 50 cents for anyone who bought a Starbucks breakfast sandwich last summer, to thousands of dollars for some of those compromised by the 2014 Home Depot data breach.
"Consumers are never going to get rich off a class action," says legal analyst Melissa Caen. She points out that it's the lawyers who take home the biggest cut. She says, "The biggest benefit to consumers is the threat of a massive lawsuit that keeps the companies honest."
Leftover funds are distributed to consumer organizations like Ridout's, though he'd prefer you get your cut. He says, "We want to get the word out before it's too late." That's because every settlement does have a deadline.
To check to see if you may be entitled to some class action settlement money, here is the website where Consumer Action lists class action suits: www.consumer-action.org/lawsuits