Caribou Coffee Hit With TCPA Suit Over Text Spam Messages

Waking up in the morning to the smell of coffee is one thing; waking up to a phone full of text spam messages is quite another.

A Wisconsin woman says that is what happened to her because Caribou Coffee allegedly has sent her approximately 50 text messaged advertisements every day since March 2016.

Kristie Farnham alleges in the proposed federal class action lawsuit that the coffee manufacturer violated the Telephone Consumer Protection Act by sending multiple unsolicited texts to not only her, but also to thousands of people who did not opt in to receive them.

According to the text message lawsuit, Farnham is seeking the standard penalties for TCPA violations. Fines would be either $500 per message sent by negligence or $1,500 per message sent in knowing violation.

TCPA, also know as the text spam law, focuses on mass advertising through autodialed texts or calls because they can come at a cost to the consumer on the receiving end, Farnham alleges in her complaint.

Text Message Spam Law Expanded

In June 2015, the FCC voted to expand the text spam law to include robocalls from telemarketers.

Under that rule, telemarketers are banned from using autodialing systems that dial sequenced random numbers, and must honor a customer’s request to stop receiving calls.

Telemarketers can’t make more than one call to a consumer who has been reassigned a phone number that was originally that of a customer who had opted in to receiving the calls.

That FCC update currently is being legally challenged in the D.C. Circuit court because the “autodialing” term is too broad and because telemarketers reject the idea of being liable for knowing whether a consenting customer still has the original phone number.

Loyalty Program Gone Wrong

Caribou Coffee started a loyalty program in 2014. The company asked customers to text a word to a certain number or to visit the company website to enroll. Enrollees would receive a text or an email notifying them of their earned rewards.

Approximately 37 million cell phone numbers are reassigned (recycled) every year. When you start paying the bill for YOUR number, you expect to be in control of who is able to contact you.

So far, Caribou Coffee has declined comment on the lawsuit, but the text message spam law certainly proves that companies can see having cell numbers as a double-edged sword. On the bright side, a company can reach an interested consumer.

On the other hand, a company can anger a person who has no interest in the company’s “rewards,” and the offending company will be held accountable for its barrage of unwanted text spam.

Filing a TCPA Text Spam Lawsuit

If you have a cell phone and have received unsolicited text messages, you could have a claim in a class action text message lawsuit. Companies must abide by the text message spam laws and refrain from irritating thousands of innocent cell phone owners who want to be left alone.

The Caribou Coffee Text Spam Class Action Lawsuit is Farnham v. Caribou Coffee Co. Inc., Case No. 3:16-cv-00295, in U.S. District Court for the Western District of Wisconsin.

UPDATE: On June 12, 2017, Caribou Coffee agreed to pay $8.5 million to settle a class action lawsuit over allegations it sent unsolicited text messages in violation of the Telephone Consumer Protection Act.

UPDATE 2: As of August 21, 2017, the Caribou Coffee TCPA settlement website and claim form are now available!  Click here for settlement details.

UPDATE 3: On March 1, 2018, Top Class Actions viewers started receiving checks for $68.56 from a Caribou Coffee TCPA class action settlement over allegations that they received unwanted text messages from the coffee company.

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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