Discover Cellphone Lawsuit Alleges Debt Collection Harassment

A Discover cellphone lawsuit brought by a Florida woman claims that the financial services company continued placing automatic calls to her cellphone despite numerous requests to cease.

Leading up to the filing of the Discover cellphone lawsuit, Plaintiff Virginia B. states that Discover placed telephone calls to her cellphone in an attempt to collect on an alleged credit card debt.

However, Virginia states that she revoked any prior express consent for Discover to contact her via cell phone or any other form of communication on July 22, 2016 through a fax to Discover’s fax number.

In addition to revoking her consent to be contacted, Virginia’s fax to Discover directed the company to contact her attorney and included the name and contact information of the law firm representing Virginia.

However, according to the Discover cellphone lawsuit, despite this detailed notice, Virginia continued to be “harassed and abused” by Discover, receiving up to eight cellphone calls per day from July 22, 2016 through the filing of her Discover cellphone lawsuit.

The lawsuit also notes that these unwanted cellphone calls were placed using an automatic telephone dialing systems with an artificial, pre-recorded voice – a violation of the Telephone Consumer Protection Act, or TCPA.

Specifically, Virginia contends that the Discover calls placed to her cellphone included delays in time before the call was transferred to a representative to speak.

She is filing the Discover cellphone lawsuit on multiple counts including violations of the Florida Consumer Collection Practices Act and the Telephone Consumer Protection Act.

The Discover cellphone lawsuit is seeking judgment for statutory damages in the amount of $500 for each of the independent TCPA violations occurring after July 22, 2016.  A jury trial has been requested in the case.

Do Debt Collection Calls Violate the TCPA?

Unfortunately, Virginia’s Discover cellphone lawsuit presents an all too common scenario when it comes to TCPA violations.

However, the Telephone Consumer Protection Act affords protection in the form of legal recourse for individuals like Virginia who are allegedly harassed by these unwanted phone calls.

Under the TCPA, businesses, including debt collectors are specifically prohibited from using an automatic telephone dialing system or autodialer to call people.

An autodialer is any type of equipment or computer software that dials phone numbers without human intervention. Even if a live person is on the other end of an unwanted call you receive, it is possible that the call was made using an autodialer.

If you pick up the phone and are greeted by a pre-recorded message, the call was almost certainly made using an autodialer. In addition, calls made using autodialers frequently result in hang-ups or lengthy periods of “dead air” before a live person comes on the line.

If you receive a robocall from a debt collector or telemarketer on your cellphone, and you never gave them express written consent (in the form of a written or electronic signature) to contact you, this too is a violation of the TCPA.

If you told a telemarketer or debt collector that they had the wrong number, and they continue to contact you, this is a violation as well.

Furthermore, regardless of whether a debt collector or telemarketer talks to the recipient or leaves a voicemail, he or she must provide an option for the recipient to opt out of the calls.

When answering a call, this option must be given at the beginning of the message, and when leaving voicemails, telemarketers must provide toll-free call-back numbers so that recipients can add their phone numbers to a do-not-call list.

Robocallers must also provide their identities, phone numbers, and addresses. If they fail to do any of the above, they are in violation of the TCPA and may be subject to litigation.

The Discover Cellphone Lawsuit is Case No. 8:17-cv-00015, in the U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Florida, Tampa Division.

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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