Capital One Accused of Violating California Call Recording Laws

Capital One Bank USA is facing a class action lawsuit claiming the financial institution violated California call recording laws when it allegedly unlawfully recorded conversations of consumers without their consent.

This class action lawsuit is being led by a woman alleging Capital One had violated California call recording laws by recording her and other consumers without their knowledge or permission.

Plaintiff Ophelia Augustine is filing the lawsuit on behalf of herself and other consumers who experienced similar invasions of privacy, which allegedly violates California call recording laws. Augustine says that Capital One had unlawfully recorded her during a conversation regarding one of her accounts, in which she later discovered.

According to the California call recording class action lawsuit, Augustine had received a call to her cellphone on June 8, 2017 and spoke to a Capital One representative named “Jerry.” The lawsuit says that the conversation was about her Capital One Platinum MasterCard account and lasted approximately three minutes.

Augustine and the representative discussed private account and other financial institution during this conversation, along with private legal matters. By the end of the call, Augustine says she explicitly asked the representative if the call had been recorded and he had answered affirmatively.

Upon learning this, Augustine says she became upset and distraught at the fact her call had been recorded. At no point before the call or before speaking to Jerry was Augustine informed that her call could potentially be recorded nor was she asked to give consent, she claims.

Augustine says this phone call recording violates California call recording laws, and can cost a business $5,000 per penalty along with any other relevant damages. Augustine opted to file legal action when she learned Capital One may have recorded other conversations of other consumers, which were also likely done without consent or knowledge.

Overview of California Call Recording Laws

California call recording laws fall primarily under the California Invasions of Privacy Act, which was passed in 1967 to protect the privacy rights of state residents.

Under current California call recording laws, it is illegal for a conversation to be recorded unless all parties involved in the interaction give consent. This means that, with few exceptions, recording phone calls without permission is illegal in the state of California, making it very important for businesses to know and understand these policies.

Capital One, according to the lawsuit, must be sure that each of their representatives treats customers with care and respect to be in accordance with federal and state law. Like many other businesses, Capital One has a designated customer service line that is designed to receive and make calls to customers regarding various financial matters.

In some of these cases, the call may be recorded for quality control and customer service training purposes. Regardless of the reason, says the lawsuit, Capital One still should have informed customers they may be recorded and give them the option to opt out. According to the lawsuit, this can be done by informing the customer the call may be recorded at some point during the call, typically at the beginning, and then to ask the customer to either push a button on their dialer or stay on the line. By staying on the line, the customer gives implied consent to be recorded.

Augustine alleges none of these disclosures was given, alleging her privacy is violated and is seeking proper compensation.

This California Call Recording Class Action Lawsuit is Augustine v. Capital One Bank, USA, Case No. 3:18-cv-00180-CAB-JLB, in the U.S. District Court of Southern 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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