The Gas Settlement “dwarf” postcard and why it fails as a legal notice

Introducing the Invisible Settlement Notice

This “Notice of Proposed Settlement” from the Superior Court of California is a failure in our opinion.  Do you agree? Let us know in the comments.

Below is a scan of the undated “dwarf” postcard that was mailed to California gasoline victims in late September and early October of 2024.   Click here for details on how to claim your money.  Then scroll down for a list of seven problems that we have with this post card.

 

Gasoline Settlement Postcard notice
If you can’t read this Gasoline Settlement Notice, you are not alone. Click here for a pdf of the “post card.”

PROBLEM ONE: Hard to read
The text in this message is set in an “6-point” font is almost unreadable.  Older drivers, or people with with vision problems will have trouble with it.

PROBLEM TWO:  Cheap, flimsy paper
The “card” is not printed on card-stock, rather it is printed on a lightweight 65-pound high-bulk offset vellum.  On a micrometer, (a device for measuring paper thickness) the paper for this “Legal Notice” is seven one-thousandths of an inch (0.007″ thick).  Compare this thickness to standard postcards which are printed on heavier and thicker card stock.  This type of paper is the thinnest paper the U.S. Postal Service will allow for a solo direct mail piece.

PROBLEM Three:  It looks like junk …
… as in “junk mail.” The sort of rubbish you throw away every day.

PROBLEM FourThere is no headline
Headlines tell the reader why they should read a document.  In this case, the message is “You may be owed money.”

PROBLEM Five It is tiny
The card is so small that it cannot compete in the mailbox.  At 3.5″ by 5″  it is literally a 1.5″ bigger than a standard square of toilet tissue.

Conclusion:  This is intentionally bad design

The bad design of this mail piece is intentional.  Camouflaging a mailing that is this innocuous-looking takes years of hard work and training by expert designers.  “They,” (whoever they are) have intentionally used the smallest card, the smallest type font, the thinnest paper, and a graphic design team that was deliberately trying to make an “invisible mailing.”

Click here for a pdf document with the postcard.

 

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