Corporations budget for low claim rates. You not filing is part of their plan.

corporations don't advertise settlements. that's not an accident.

when Varsity Brands settled for $82.5 million, only 5,831 claims were filed. tens of thousands of eligible families got nothing not because they weren't owed anything, but because they never showed up.

unclaimed funds go to court-designated charities or back to the defendant. the company that wronged you benefits from your inaction.

the math on a data breach settlement makes this obvious. 50 million users affected. 200,000 claims filed. same violation, fraction of the payout because most people assumed someone else handled it.

settlement amounts in headlines are ceilings, not what actually gets paid out. companies negotiate knowing most people won't file. every confusing form and short deadline lowers their actual cost. that's not sloppiness.

being in the class doesn't mean you get paid. you still have to file. two different steps. most people miss the second one.

when you don't file, the money goes somewhere just not to you. low claim rates are a built-in variable in settlement math.

it takes ten minutes to check if you're eligible. that's probably less time than it took them to mishandle your data in the first place.