One of the criticisms of class actions is that often they lead to little real benefit for consumers. Often, that criticism isn’t very accurate because consumers who suffer small economic injuries aren’t going to see much benefit individually. But taking money from the wrongdoer penalizes them for misconduct and restores the money lost–even small amounts–to consumers.

But one of the problem areas is coupon settlements. In a coupon settlement, consumers who are part of a class receive a discount on future goods or services as part of a settlement. Sometimes that’s an okay outcome when, for example, the rip off is done on low-cost commonly used goods, like–say–gasoline. Or if the coupon can be redeemed for cash, then that’s fine, too.

But when the coupon gives a discount on a high cost item, that’s generally bad. And that takes us to the recently announced Ford Explorer settlement in California. In that class action, consumers who bought Ford Explorers can receive a coupon for $500 for future purchases of Ford Explorers.

While I don’t have all the details on the settlement and have no first-hand knowlege of the case, that seems like a lousy outcome. If the coupons are redeemable for cash or if they can be sold, that’s not so bad. But if they can only be used by buying a new Ford Explorer, that’s one of those class settlements that doesn’t do consumers a lot of good.

There are times when coupon settlements make sense. And maybe more information would lead me to think differently about this. Still, it’s got a kind of smell to it.

David Sugerman

ps-I’ll be out of town next week, so things may slow on Davids’ blog for the week. Though I guess they have an internet in that town, too.

Tags: consumer class action, coupon, Ford explorer, settlement