Consumer Alleges Discover Bank Robocalls Violate the TCPA

A plaintiff, Sha-rie R., has alleged that Discover Bank robocalls violate the Telephone Consumer Protection Act. The Discover Bank robocalls lawsuit alleges that the financial company is responsible for illegally attempting to collect a debt that was allegedly owed by the plaintiff.

The Discover Bank robocalls lawsuit says that the company is using a pre-recorded or artificial voice in addition to an automated telephone dialing system, both of which are restricted by the Telephone Consumer Protection Act (TCPA).

The Discover Bank robocalls lawsuit says that the TCPA was primarily designed to prevent harassing phone calls like those alleged within the lawsuit. The lawsuit notes that Congress specifically determined that pre-recorded or automated phone calls are an invasion of privacy and a nuisance regardless of the type of call involved.

Plaintiff’s TCPA Complaint

The plaintiff in the Discover Bank robocalls lawsuit says she initially took out a personal loan with Discover in June 2017. The plaintiff alleges in the Discover Bank robocalls lawsuit that regular payments were made to Discover for one year.

Sha-rie says she continued making regular payments to Discover Bank until June 2018 at which point she fell into financial hardship and was no longer able to continue making payments. At the time that the personal consumer loan went into default, she argues that Discover began calling multiple times per day using a recorded voice or an automated telephone dialing system.

The Discover Bank robocalls lawsuit says that the defendants were responsible for doing this up to five time per day, nearly every single day.

The Discover Bank robocalls lawsuit alleges that some of the evidence of this illegal activity came in the form of recorded voice messages, asking the plaintiff to call Discover back. Other banks, like Bank of America, have been accused of the same.

The counsel for the plaintiff in the Discover Bank robocalls lawsuit drafted a cease and desist letter that was transmitted to Discover on Sept. 19, 2018.

That cease and desist letter expressly revoked the plaintiff’s consent to be contacted in any fashion, Sha-rie claims. The Discover Bank robocalls lawsuit says that despite receipt of her cease and desist request, Discover continued to call the plaintiff using a recorded voice or a TDS system.

Twice after cease and desist letters were sent, the plaintiff says she picked up the collection calls made by Discover and informed the representative on the other of the line that an attorney had been retained; at that time Sha-rie says she asked again for the discontinuation of further contact. Despite this fact, the Discover Bank robocalls reportedly continued.

Debt collectors are allowed to reach out to a consumer who owes money, but must follow specific laws in order to comply with acts that are in place for consumer protection purposes. Increasingly, debt collectors are accused of harassing behavior that directly violates the terms of the TCPA.

The Discover Bank Robocalls Lawsuit is Case No. 3:18-CV-02592-AJB-MSB, filed in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of California.

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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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