Class inaction

There's nothing like unexpected free money. Class action lawsuits are a prime example. A few weeks ago I received a check of almost a hundred dollars for flights I took years ago. British Airways apparently overcharged me and many others in a scheme courts later determined to be illegal. I didn't notice the inflated prices back then; I sure noticed the $100 in my hands now. Thank you, "world's favourite airline."

Last week I received another letter. Our insurance owes its customers $455 million dollars. Sign me up, or not.

I'm eligible to receive "approximately $1.37″ from the Settlement—with a capital "S" to make it seem weightier. $1.37 minus the cost of a stamp, an envelope, a dash to the nearest mailbox, and I'm better off letting my portion of the $455 million go.

The letter assures me that unclaimed portions won't go to the lawyers in the case. (They are set to get another $90 million not taken out of the $455 million.) Instead, it will go back to the insurance, with no guarantee that it benefits anyone other than the insurance itself.

So in other words, if I don't claim my $1.37, the bad guys who lost the class action suit will get it back. If I claim it, I'm losing money and time in the process.

If everyone thinks like me, claimants collectively forgo $455 million. In practice, everyone should think like me. Well played, lawyers.

How about setting up a system where one lucky claimant, who does mail in the letter, gets the remaining portion of the $455 million that remains unclaimed? I bet his winnings won't amount to much, but at least now everyone will claim their fair share of the settlement in hopes of the big payoff.

Don't trust us mortals to do "the right thing" if it's so blatantly not in our interest.