Takata airbags class actions – Notice of Proposed Settlement, is it a scam?

I received a message from a contact recently asking if the email they'd received was a scam or not. Their first thought is it may be a scam.

The subject of the email was "Takata airbags class actions – Notice of Proposed Settlement".

Looking at the links in the email and checking any of the links (Toyota Australia Class Action (nsw.gov.au), Takata Airbag Class Actions - Home) using a malware scanner site everything appeared to be in order. It does look like this is a court ordered email.

I decided to check out the class action information, but do keep in mind I have no legal background. This was just out of interest.

First checking the cars listed it, whilst this person's partner owns a Mazda (they personally do not own a Mazda) and secondly the Mazda in question does not fall into the date range listed. So it does appear the email list "Notice of Proposed Settlement" was possibly quite broad and may not be relevant to many people.

In the past I've felt the individuals who register for such a settlement are likely to end up getting very little, so I wondered if it was possible to estimate what each person might get.

Reading the documents provided the settlement appears to cover 2 million vehicles. The total settlement is for $52 million and the two groups mentioned in points 4a and 4b would potentially receive $13 million and $15.3 million respectively. This would leave $23.7 million  less possible other amounts.

Assuming the full $23.7 million was then equally allocated to the 2 million individuals owning the vehicles, that would amount to $11.85.

Is this a scam, probably not. Is it worth it for potentially $11.85? Probably not.

Kelvin

NOTE: This email should not be considered advice in any shape or form. Any action you choose take is entirely your own choice and entirely at your own risk.