Midland Reaches Robocall Class Action Settlement for $20.5M

Middle Credit Management Inc. recently reached an agreement with consumers in a robocall class action settlement.

Midland, along with several related companies, agreed to a $20.5 million robocall class action settlement deal in the multidistrict litigation.

The robocall class action accused Midland Credit Management, a debt collector, of using a robocall system to reach debtors, in violation of the TCPA.

Consumers began perusing individual TCPA litigation against Midland in 2011, and the lawsuits were eventually consolidated that October.

According to the robocall class action lawsuit, Midland contacted debtors by using recorded voice messages, a kind of robocall, even if the recipients had not previously agreed to be contacted.

Since the company failed to acquire the consumers’ permission to autodial beforehand, consumers said, Midland acted in violation of the TCPA.

The robocall class action settlement includes around 41 million potential class members. Six million class members were contacted directly about the deal, 400 of whom opted out of the deal.

“The reaction of the class and the result obtained establishes that this settlement clearly deserves final approval,” attorneys for the consumers wrote in their motion for final approval of the robocall class action settlement. “These numbers confirm that the settlement is fair and reasonable and should be given final approval.”

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau has taken some action against Midland over its debt collection practices, requiring that the company adjust its robocalling practices. However, the CFPB order only applied to 11,000 accounts.

While this is a large number of accounts, there were 6,156,500 class members affected by the company’s robocalling policies.

Class members who no longer have a debt account with Midland will receive about $23.49 in the robocall class action settlement, while those who currently have accounts will receive around $58.54 each.

Telephone Consumer Protection Act

The Telephone Consumer Protection Act, or TCPA, was first instigated in 1991. The TCPA was intended to protect consumers from unwanted solicitation through technology.

While technology has changed substantially since the inception of the TCPA, TCPA rules have expanded to accommodate new technologies as well.

The TCPA has always focused on the placement of unwanted robocalls, or the use of an autodialer or pre-recorded messaging system to contact consumers who have not given their explicit permission to receive such calls.

As new technology such as cell phones has emerged, the TCPA has expanded to include SMS text messaging.

Reporting TCPA Violations

Reporting TCPA violations or filing a lawsuit over unwanted robocalls can help force companies to comply with TCPA rules. According to the Federal Communications Commission, or FCC, reports of TCPA violations are extremely common.

The FCC received more than 215,000 individual TCPA complaints in 2014 alone.

While consumers who reported violations to the FCC clearly knew about TCPA laws, many do not, or at least do not know the specifics of TCPA rules. Because of this, many consumers who have been contacted by companies using robocalls are left unable to make a report.

If you have received text message spam or robocalls from a company or group such as Midland, you may be able to report TCPA violations and receive compensation. Keeping messages and phone records will help you provide proof of these violations in a text message class action lawsuit.

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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