Got a nice surprise in the mail today from Discover. It was a check for a little over $100, apparently my share (that means some lawyer got my other $100 ) from a class action settlement. Frankly, I don't even remember sending in the form. But, I guess the takeaway here is that if you get a class action suit letter in the mail, send it in. You might be pleasantly surprised like I was

What was Discover's offense?

Hope it’s not some sort of scam.

I am curious as well, what did the letter say regarding the settlement. What did they do ? How were you harmed and how did they decide 100 dollars would make you whole ?

....just like all credit card companies.

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"He was kinda funny lookin'"

On behalf of the American Bar Association, let me thank you and your and your fellow litigants for your donations to the Lawyer Retirement and Dissolution Fund

"(that means some lawyer got my other $100)"

Chuck, Chuck, Chuck. That's not how these class action suits generally work. The lawyers get hundreds of thousands or more dollars.

From the class action website:

"The settlement fully resolves a lawsuit involving allegations that Discover violated the Telephone Consumer Protection Act (the "TCPA") by placing telemarketing calls between June 1, 2012 and July 31, 2015. The Plaintiff claims that Discover did not have the recipients' permission to make these calls. Discover denies all allegations and denies any claim of wrongdoing.

Discover has agreed to pay $5,000,000 into a fund from which eligible persons who file claims will receive cash awards, estimated to be approximately $25-$50 per claim."

Thanks ChuckS1. About enough for a day at the range on Discover.

I signed on to one of those class action things some years back, also a credit card company involved. I ended up getting a check for $2 and change. Looked into the settlement, and the CC company paid out about $80,000,000, the lawyers took half plus recovering expenses (such as advertising to bring in a whole bunch of claimants), and a whole bunch of us got chump change.

Houston Rick's comments (above) pretty much sum up how these class action suits work (for the lawyers).

No more complaining about junk telephone calls for you!

I once got $10 from Sketchers because their shoes did not make my buns smaller.

I've been waiting on my canned tuna settlement for over three years now. That was going to be $25 cash or $50 in tuna coupons. I opted for the coupons.

You say that like it's a bad thing..... I was involved in a small class action years ago. My share of the lawyers fee after my expenses was around $20k . I'll NEVER do that again Hardest 20k I've ever earned in my life.The work and amount of time spent was astounding and quite frankly unless you are a large firm with plenty of support staff and computer space to keep track of the claimants, disbursals, etc it just ain't worth it. Easy part is getting a judgment-then you have to manage the notifications, compilations, disbursements, etc all the while being under a microscope from a judge who will pounce for the slightest reason. From my perspective, NEVER again. Good for those who can do it, and believe me they do serve a purpose, but if anyone thinks the lawyer is putting in his pocket ALL the "fees" your're crazy. You pretty much have to staff a full time organization for several years to deal with one of these..and if you loose or the class never gets certified, well, you're pretty well screwed. Plus, if you read most of the credit card agreements now a day you will see in the fine print that you agree not to participate in any class action against them for anything and in fact agree to binding arbitration for just about any dispute.
As far as my case the facts were basically a medical provider was systematically over charging each patient around 50 dollars per service. The medicaid , insurance and everyone else was just paying it as the amount was small and the owner was politically connected, which resulted in hundreds of thousands of extra dollars each year profit and well, it just pissed me off.

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Forum consigliere

Guessing Croc's is your next target?

In addition to those where everybody gets something, there are those in which nobody gets anything, and the lawyer or law firm has to eat all the expenses. BTDT. Even a good case can go sour with a bad judge.

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de minimus non curat lex

I've never understood the disdain and often outright hatred for attorneys.

Because the inevitable bad apples, bottom feeding scum suckers give the other 2% a bad name.

There is a certain schizophrenia in the public attitude toward this profession.

Everybody loves pouring disdain on lawyers. Right up until they themselves think they’ve been wronged. Then they want to call a lawyer and sue.

All lawyers I’ve known were helpful, knowledgeable, and very professional. I think the basic problem is that most people only come in contact with lawyers when something bad or unpleasant has occurred. That colors the general attitude, even subconsciously. And since identifying groups you can hate has become a favorite hobby, generalizing every anecdote about lawyers comes easy.

Well, good point. I am a bit jaded on the subject because I was married to one, but can you imagine a world without them?
I have known good ones, better ones, poor ones, bad ones, and those that were in it for the wrong reasons..... All varieties are out there, and your challenge is to get a better one than the one that is on the other side attempting to ruin your day.
Been divorced for about 40 years and now somewhat appreciate most attorneys that I encounter. I most appreciate those that hang their own shingle and hack it out for a career. Public defenders are okay, too, but it's a poor long term career choice unless you are independently wealthy. Those that become attorneys for the County, Parrish, or State are a real mixed bag of sometimes interesting people, who if they hang around long enough become judges......

Loan sharking, for starters.

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Not in jail.

, it just pissed me off.[/QUOTE]

But Caje, isn't it still better to be pissed off, instead of pissed on.

The atty I know quite well, and owns a cigar store has been known to give me a freebe stogie from time to time..(And not always the cheapest ones he can't sell.)...so I can't say too much bad against those of that chosen profession.


WuzzFuzz

...or cops for that matter.
Both are rarely needed by the average person until unfortunate circumstance arises.
My encounters with both have been mostly professionally resolved yet I have dealt with a few with whom I wasn't sure which was bigger, their attitude, ego or their mouth. A shame how just a few could give both professions a black eye.