In life, you may find that some services or even products won’t work as they should.

From a defective car part to an appliance, if you find your problem to be the same as hundreds of others, you could be fortunate enough to take advantage of a class action lawsuit if the company isn’t willing to take action.

Take the Volkswagen emissions scandal, for instance.  This was one of the largest class-action lawsuits ever, forcing VW to pay more than $14.7 billion to more than 475,000 diesel car owners.

In short, these massive lawsuits are on the behalf of everyone who suffered from the particular product/service, and as long as you’re entitled to the share, you will get cut a check if the courts find the company guilty.

To know if you’re eligible for any unclaimed money from class action lawsuits, I wanted to touch upon the many websites you can use to see if you qualify as well as tips you can keep in mind to stay in the loop.  As there are hundreds of class-action lawsuits started daily, it can get rather overwhelming to keep track of them.

In today’s post, let’s take a look at where you can look to find unclaimed class-action money as well what you can do to ensure you get a check if you’re owed one.  Since more than half of people who are entitled never even file a claim, you do not want to become this statistic.

All of the resources I’m about to list in a minute here are 100% free to use.

Unclaimed Money From Class Action Settlements

The Types of Class-Action Lawsuits

A company can face class-action lawsuits for a variety of reasons, but for the most part, the most common types of class-action suits include:

• antitrust
• civil rights
• data breaches
• defective products
• environment
• finances
• fraudulent marketing
• employment
• product liability

Whatever the reason may be, any money paid out in a lawsuit will be split among the number of people in the class-action suit.  And the way it’s distributed will vary from case to case, but generally, each person will get a fixed amount after lawyer fees.  This is usually specified when you read the notice.

By law, lawyers do need to notify you in some way or another, usually via mail if you’re eligible, and you will need to consent to the lawsuit, generally via a form online to ensure you get paid.

A lot of times, however, not everyone is successfully notified for one reason or another, so to make things easier, there are websites you can use to browse the current cases to see if you’re eligible for any.

How Can I Get My Money?

Before I list the free websites you can use, another common question often asked is in regards to how you can get your money.

To receive money from a class action settlement, it’s a lot easier than you may think.   You just need to find the class action settlements you qualify for.

While you can wait for the mail, this doesn’t always work as your mail can get lost or you may mistakenly think of it as junk mail and throw it out.

So, using the resources below, it’s going to be your job to skim the titles to see if you have ever been a consumer of that particular product/service.  You can do it at any time and is 100% free to use.

If you find a title that you feel you qualify for, click on the link and make certain you meet the requirements set forth.  Don’t plan on lying, either, as many settlements do require that you provide some sort of proof.

So, as long as you provide the proof, all you need to do is fill out the claim form, which usually just asks for your contact information and just wait.  You don’t need to show up to the court, unless you want to, nor do you need to meet with attorneys.  You just need to wait for the case to settle and figure out how much the courts determined the party receives.  In many cases, it can take more than a year from signing up, so do be prepared to at least wait for your check when you sign up.

There are always a ton of settlements, and I always recommend you at least check out these websites weekly to see if there are any you can take advantage of.  They are always changing.  You may be surprised as to what you could sign up for.

For now, let’s take a look at the many free unclaimed money sites you can use if you want to earn money from class action settlements.

How to Find Unclaimed Money From Class Action Settlements

ClassAction.org

According to the official ClassAction.org website, its goal is to provide customers with a comprehensive resource on class action lawsuits.

The nice thing about the website is that you can browse by categories, essentially allowing you to break down your search in detail if you had a specific product/service category in mind.

Much like a lot of the websites I’m about to list, they all work in the same way.

Browse through the most active class-action lawsuits, and if you see a title that you feel affects you, then click on it for more information as to who qualifies.  If you meet the criteria, then follow through to the class-action website to add your name to the list.

• Website:  ClassAction.org

ClassActionRebates.com

ClassActionRebates.com is nice that they list the most popular class-action lawsuits directly on the front page, making it quite easy to find the claims most people are signing up for.

Other than that, you can either search for products you have purchased in the past or as I always do, I just glance through the list to see if there’s anything of interest.

Remember, though; just because you purchased something and it’s on the list, it doesn’t mean you qualify, so be sure to closely read the fine print to ensure you’re eligible for the lawsuit.

For example, if you ate at Arby’s and you saw the logo, it doesn’t mean it’s for everyone who ate at an Arby’s last year.  Instead, closely looking at the description, you would see that the lawsuit was designed for those who were affected by a data breach if they used their card at the Arby’s affected by the breach.

• Website: ClassActionRebates.com

ConsumerAction.com

ConsumerAction.com maintains a simple database noting some of the most notable class action lawsuits active as of right now.

To use it, just click on the “open to claims” status and browse through the listing titles.

If you see any that you were ever a customer of, be sure to click the link for more information as to when you needed to be a customer and who was affected.

If you feel you have the evidence and should be part of the claim, then you can follow through to the official link to start the claims process.

• Website:  ConsumerAction.com

Top Class Actions

Top Class Actions is more like a blog that keeps you up to date as to what’s going on in the settlement space.  I would recommend you at least sign up for their newsletter if to keep up to date, especially if you don’t have time to visit the website on occasions.  It’s pretty good.

To use the website, click on the “settlements” tab, followed by the open settlements to ensure that you’re only looking at settlements you can sign up for right now.  It’s all laid out nicely, I promise and is very easy to use.

Again, as with all of these websites, browse through the list to see if any are of interest.  If so, click on the link to find out how you can submit a claim.

• Website:  Top Class Actions

Final Thoughts

There are always TONS of class-action lawsuits settlements pending.  In fact, it is said that $20 billion is available, which is quite the sum, seeing most people don’t even bother to fill out their settlement forms.  This leaves more money for you.

To see if qualify for any unclaimed money for a class action settlement, I would highly advise you that you just search the websites I mentioned above to see if you qualify for any.  Worst case, you could sign up for the free Class Action tool and let them do the work for you.

It’s also wise to pay close attention to your junk mail as these settlement notices can often look like something you would throw away.  If you get the mail, it more than likely means you qualify since you were in the database.

If you don’t get the mail and want to search online, just remember to read the qualifications closely to ensure you to qualify as many settlements do ask for some sort of proof and always sign up as soon as you can before the deadline expires.

As long as you make it a habit to check these databases frequently, you may be surprised as to how many you could potentially sign up for.   The same can be said if you pay close attention to your mail.

While the payouts are often very little, usually no more than $100, it’s still enough to at least go out to dinner or buy a new pair of shoes if you’re diligent enough.  Get more than two to three a month and you could be talking a whole new wardrobe.

As always, if you have any tips you’d like to share or even want to comment on the websites I mentioned above, then, by all means, you’re welcome to do so in the comments below.

In the meantime, take a few minutes of your day to check out those websites to see if you do qualify for any of the active lawsuits going on today.