Call Recording Lawsuit Alleges Fare Depot Recorded Without Consent

A call recording lawsuit has been filed against Fare Depot LLC, an online travel agency that offers consumers access to cheap domestic and international airfare choices through its website and phone app.

Plaintiff Mynor F. Portillo’s call recording lawsuit alleges he was not informed that a call he placed to the company in June would be recorded. He later learned that FareDepot records all incoming calls. But at the time of Portillo’s call, he claims, the company did not always inform the caller of the company’s recording policy, allegedly in violation of California law.

“California Penal Code Section 632.7 prohibits the intentional, nonconsensual recording of any telephone communication without the consent of all parties where at least one party to the conversation is either using a cordless or cellular telephone,” says Portillo’s complaint. “No expectation of confidentiality or privacy is required, nor is any other wrongful or surreptitious intent required — only that the defendant intended to record the communication.”

Portillo, a resident of Los Angeles County, says he thought the call he made was private and not recorded because the customer service representative didn’t indicate the call was being recorded and no electronic voice warned him the call was being recorded before the live representative began speaking with him.

Call Recording Lawsuit Seeks Class Action Status

Portillo, who made his FareDepot phone call from his cell phone in June 2017, seeks to represent a proposed Class of similarly situated Californians who were recorded without consent by FareDepot during the applicable statute of limitations period.

By violating the California Penal Code, FareDepot should pay Portillo and the proposed class statutory damages an amount in excess of $5 million, according to the call recording lawsuit.

Portillo also seeks injunctive relief barring FareDepot from surreptitiously recording phone calls, and reimbursement for his attorneys’ fees and costs.

The call recording lawsuit says Portillo’s attorneys sent FareDepot a letter regarding the company’s policy of secretly recording phone conversations. Now when a customer calls the FareDepot phone number, a recording alerts the consumer with the greeting, “This call is being recorded. If you do not wish to be recorded, please disconnect at this time.”

The California Invasion of Privacy Act makes it unlawful for a business or person to record a conversation without the consent of all parties involved.  In other words, California is a “two-party” state, and a violation can result in a call recording lawsuit.

If a business states that a call may be monitored, that disclosure is considered the equivalent of saying a call may be recorded.

As a consumer, you do not have to say any words such as “I authorize you to record this call.” But if a mechanical voice or actual person alerts you that a call might be recorded and you choose to continue the conversation, then you are giving implied consent to the recording.

A business making a call from any state to a person residing in California is expected to abide by the California Invasion of Privacy Act.

According to FareDepot’s website, the company was founded in 2012. Fare Depot’s website lists Arlington, Va. as its main office location, but lists Washington, DC as its office elsewhere on its website. The website does not refer to any owners, executives or representatives by name.

The Call Recording Lawsuit is Portillo v. Fare Depot LLC, Case No. 2:17-cv-6318 in the U.S. District Court for the Central District of California.

Join a FREE California Call Recording Class Action Lawsuit Investigation

If you live in California and you did not receive a warning when calling a toll-free number, your call may have been recorded in violation of California law, and you may be entitled to compensation. See if you qualify to file a California call recording class action lawsuit.

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