Couple Claims Verizon Unwanted Calls Broke Federal Telemarketing Laws

A Florida couple says they received an exorbitant number of Verizon unwanted calls in violation of the Telephone Consumer Protection Act.

Plaintiffs Joseph and Connie N. file the Verizon unwanted calls lawsuit in Florida federal court demanding a trial by jury. The lawsuit was filed on Aug. 20, 2018.

According to the Verizon unwanted calls lawsuit, Joseph says that he began receiving calls from Verizon to his cellular phone although he says that he didn’t have any type of business relationship with Verizon during the relevant period.

Verizon allegedly attempted to collect a debt he owed, and in doing so the company placed approximately 100 calls to his cellular phone. He claims the calls were placed using an “automatic telephone dialing system” or ATDS. An ATDS has the capability to store or produce telephone numbers and then dial them using a sequential and random generator.

Joseph also says that he knew that he was being dialed by an ATDS system because of the exorbitant amount of calls he received and because when he would receive a call he would hear either one of Verizon’s prerecorded messages or a pause before a representative came on the line.

On several occasions, he claims, he asked and instructed Verizon’s agents to discontinue their calls and to prevent all calls from being made.

According to the Verizon unwanted calls lawsuit, each call was done without Joseph and Connie’s express consent. Each subsequent call that was made was done so knowingly and willfully, the couple claims.

Overview: Verizon Unwanted Calls and the TCPA

Through the enactment of the TCPA, companies are generally prohibited from making robocalls to a cellphone number without the called person’s prior express consent. The TCPA also allows consumers who don’t wish to receive unsolicited calls to add their phone numbers to the national Do Not Call List.

The Do Not Call List is a national registry established by the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) in coordination with the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) that applies to both interstate and intrastate calls.

The TCPA places limits on unsolicited prerecorded telemarketing and debt collection calls that are made to landlines, and it prohibits unconsented prerecorded or autodialed calls and text messages made to a cellular phone. The FCC began implementing the TCPA after its passage in 1991.

Some of the protections in the TCPA require callers to:

• Receive a consumer’s prior written consent before making any robocalls.
• Provide an automated and interactive “opt-out” mechanism during robocalls for consumers to let telemarketers know that they would no longer like to be called.

An “established business relationship” is no longer sufficient to allow for contact; instead, prior express written consent is required.

Callers are also generally prohibited from doing any of the following as stated by the TCPA:

• Call prior to 8 a.m. or after 9 p.m.
• Send unsolicited fax messages to your office/home
• Call if you have added your name to the Do Not Call List or have chosen to prohibit calls from a specific caller
• Refuse to provide a name of the person/entity from which they are calling and provide the contact information for that person/entity.

The Verizon Unwanted Calls Lawsuit is Case No. 3:18-cv-01017-TJC-PDB, in the U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Florida, Jacksonville 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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