Good to be here!
Hey everyone,
I've been working on Class Action Buddy, an app that helps people file class action settlement claims. Wanted to share what I've built and how it's going.
The problem I noticed:
Every year, billions of dollars in class action settlements go unclaimed. These are cases where companies were already found liable and the money is literally sitting there waiting for people to claim it. But the filing process is awful: find the PDF form, print it, fill it out by hand, mail it before the deadline. For most people, that's not worth the effort for a $25-200 check.
What the app does:
You set up your profile once (name, address, payment info), and then for each settlement, the app auto-fills the official PDF claim form with your info, shows you a live preview, captures your electronic signature, and submits it. The whole thing takes about 60 seconds per claim.
Right now I'm tracking 12+ active settlements with payouts ranging from $7 (Tom's of Maine toothpaste) to $420 (PetSafe e-collars). Most don't require proof of purchase.
The interesting technical challenge:
Every settlement has a unique PDF form with fields at completely different positions. I built a coordinate-mapping tool where I click on each PDF to record exactly where each field goes. The app then uses pdf-lib to place text at those pixel-perfect coordinates. It's manual work per settlement, but it means every form comes out looking like it was filled in by hand.
Business model:
Free: 1 claim per month
Pro subscription: unlimited claims
I also built a print hub for settlements that require mailed forms. The app generates the PDFs and I batch-print and mail them
Where I'm at:
Live on iOS and Android
Growing organically, mostly word of mouth and SEO
Just crossed 280 users
Built the whole thing solo with React Native (Expo), Supabase, and pdf-lib
What I've learned so far:
People love the idea but the hardest part is getting them to trust that this is real. "Free money" sounds like a scam even when it's legitimate. It doesn't help that there are a handful of other apps in this space that are essentially paywalls with fake reviews. They charge you before you can even see what settlements are available, and some don't actually file anything. That's poisoned the well for consumers and made them skeptical of any app in this category. I built Class Action Buddy to be the opposite: you can browse everything for free, file your first claim for free, and see exactly what your form looks like before it's submitted.
SEO is a long game. I've built out 300+ pages on classactionbuddy.com but domain authority takes time to build.
The printing/mailing pipeline was something I didn't expect to build, but a lot of settlements still require physical mail. It's become a differentiator.
Would love any feedback or questions. And if you've ever received a class action settlement check, you know the money is real. Most people just never file.
Most people find out about a settlement years after they’ve thrown away the receipt, so they just assume they aren't eligible to claim their share. It is a massive hurdle to convince someone to spend even ten minutes on a form when they feel like they’re shouting into a void and might not see a check for another eighteen months. Since you are manually mapping coordinates for every new settlement PDF, how do you handle cases where a claims administrator updates their form or switches to a completely digital portal that doesn't use a standard PDF layout?