Why Red Bull may not owe you money.
A few days ago I saw links on Facebook to the class action lawsuit against Red Bull that has gone into settlement negotiations. A lot of people were talking about how Red Bull owed them $10. But they don't. At least not yet. They may not ever. Let me explain.
1. Saying that they owe you $10 implies a guarantee of payment. But if you go to http://evergydrinksettlement.com/faq#Q7 it says in plain english that the court has not yet approved this settlement. That hearing won't even happen til May, so even if they do approve it you likely won't get anything out of it for another year.
2. Saying that they owe you $10 implies guilt on Red Bull's part, when no litigation against them has brought forth a ruling or judgement against them. This is a settlement, not a court ruling. Red bull didn't lose a court case against them, they decided to settle out of court. That is not an implication of guilt. It outlines that pretty clearly here - http://evergydrinksettlement.com/faq#Q3
The articles circulating around Facebook with headlines like "Red Bull Owes You Money! Here's How To Claim it!" are written as click bait. They are written in a misleading fashion that is designed to get people to click their links and drive traffic to their own web pages where they discuss the settlement. Those links go largely unread by many, who merely share the link and it's misleading headline. Then mass misinformation spreads about the nature of this case.
At that point, if the court decides not to approve the settlement and nothing happens, people will think Red Bull are being dicks. But it is not their fault that misleading information was perpetrated by click bait headlines trying to get a share on Facebook.
If you want to know the facts, go to http://energydrinksettlement.com/faq
One final note, I titled this blog post with a definitive on purpose. I said that "Red Bull Does NOT owe you money." That was designed to grab your attention with a definitive counter point so you'd pay attention. The same tactic is being used by these click bait articles to say "Red Bull OWES you money!" This is why you shouldn't believe everything you read online. Someone is distorting the initial message for some benefit to them, be it web traffic or otherwise. I did this on purpose so that I could drive the point home. But every article out there is sharing the same misinformed headline and people are falling for it left and right. This clickbait "journalism" is dangerous at best, as it completely distorts perceptions of the facts.
Thanks for reading. I'm going to file, and if in 2 years I get a check for $10 I'll put it in my savings account.
