Citibank TCPA Lawsuit Filed Over Deceased Woman’s Debt Collection Calls

A Florida resident recently filed a Citibank TCPA lawsuit, alleging that the company violated the TCPA by contacting him about his late wife’s debt.

According to the Citibank TCPA lawsuit, the plaintiff, Ragan R., was repeatedly contacted in violation of the TCPA. Ragan alleges that Citibank did not have prior express permission to contact the plaintiff via facsimile or by cell phone.

The Citibank TCPA lawsuit claims that, in willful violation of the TCPA, Citibank contacted the plaintiff via cell phone without prior express consent and even after the plaintiff notified the company that he was not liable for the debt.

Citibank used an automatic telephone dialing system, or autodialer, to place the calls to the plaintiff’s phone, the Citibank TCPA lawsuit alleges. The plaintiff was not contacted by a live representative of Citibank.

Citibank’s calls to the plaintiff violate the Florida Consumer Collection Practices Act, or FCCPA, as well as the Telephone Consumer Protection Act, or TCPA.

Telephone Consumer Protection Act

The Telephone Consumer Protection Act, or TCPA, was first instigated in 1991. The TCPA was intended to protect consumers from unwanted solicitation through technology, such as fax machines, land lines, cell phones, and now SMS text messages.

While technology has changed substantially since the inception of the TCPA, TCPA rules have expanded to accommodate new technologies as well.

The TCPA has always focused on the placement of unwanted robocalls, or the use of an auto dialer or pre-recorded messaging system to contact consumers who have not given their explicit permission to receive such calls.

As new technology such as cell phones has emerged, the TCPA has expanded to include SMS text messaging.

Reporting TCPA Violations

Reporting TCPA violations or filing a lawsuit over unwanted robocalls can help force companies to comply with TCPA rules. Reports of such violations may also reward consumers with a set amount of award money per individual violation.

According to the Federal Communications Commission, or FCC, reports of TCPA violations are extremely common. Indeed, the FCC received more than 215,000 individual TCPA complaints in the year 2014 alone.

While consumers who have reported violations to the FCC clearly knew about TCPA laws, many people do not, or at least do not know the specifics of TCPA rules. Because of this, many consumers who have been contacted by companies using robocalls are left unable to make a report.

If you have received robocalls from a company such as Citibank without having given permission, you may be able to report these violations and receive compensation per violation.

Keep messages and phone records of the robocalls placed to your phone. In order for your TCPA lawsuit to be most effective, you will need proof of these violations.

The Citibank TCPA Lawsuit is Case No. 8:16-cv-02267 in the U.S. District Court for the Tampa Division of the Middle District of Florida.

Join a Free TCPA Class Action Lawsuit Investigation

If you were contacted on your cell phone by a company via an unsolicited text message (text spam) or prerecorded voice message (robocall), you may be eligible for compensation under the Telephone Consumer Protection Act.

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