I enjoy receiving the occasional class action emails. Other than being a customer during a particular period I didn’t do anything to encourage this and it’s always a surprise that usually comes with a free gift. Sometimes it’s a few dollars, other times it’s a free service, while other times it’s something I’m not qualified nor interested in.

Last week I received an email from Optimum around a class action settlement. Optimum was my ISP years ago and I never had any problems so this email was a pleasant surprise. At the same time I can’t recall the last time I needed a wifi pass when traveling since so many shops and public spaces are already offering it for free.

What I find interesting is that the email was sent on July 11 but can only be acted on August 1st. On one hand it’s nice that they gave 3 weeks notice but on the other hand it’s very likely that this email will be lost and very few people will follow up on it. This is a form of breakage and I’m sure was something they thought about when sending the notice. At the same time giving a few customers free wifi for two days puts very little stress on their network and it’s unlikely those same customers would have paid Optimum for the day passes so this feels like a very cheap settlement. At the same time it is free so who am I to complain?