Navient TCPA Lawsuit Alleges Relentless Robocalls

A woman from Florida recently filed a Navient TCPA lawsuit, alleging the company had violated the Telephone Consumer Protection Act (TCPA) and other federal privacy laws.

The Navient TCPA lawsuit not only alleges the debt collection company made illegal calls to the claimant’s phone, but that the calls were also recorded on several occasions without consent.

Plaintiff Ashley T. alleges she had to file this Navient TCPA lawsuit after exhausting all other administrative options, which included asking the company to stop calling on multiple occasions.

According to the Navient TCPA lawsuit, Ashley has a student loan account with the company and had reportedly fallen behind on payments in early September 2017. During this time, she says, her home had been damaged by hurricane Irma and her husband had lost his job. With the expenses caused by these circumstances, Ashley had incurred an outstanding balance and reportedly started receiving calls from Navient to her cellphone in December 2017.

According to her Navient TCPA lawsuit, Ashley has received at least 20 calls from December 2017 to the present.

The TCPA lawsuit alleges that included as some of these calls, the company had also placed calls to Ashley’s employer and her husband to try and collect a debt. Similar to the calls placed to her cellphone, Navient allegedly did not have permission to contact Ashley’s employer or her husband.

Her lawsuit states that Ashley had spoken to company representatives on different occasions, explaining that she was having difficulties making her student loan payments and asked for the calls to stop. However, even though Ashley had allegedly revoked consent on several occasions, she claims she continued to receive phone calls and later discovered at least one of these conversations had been recorded.

According to the Navient TCPA lawsuit, these calls were harassing in nature and were most likely made using an automated dialing system based on the frequency of the calls. In addition, the Navient TCPA lawsuit points out that an artificial voice or prerecorded message would respond if Ashley answered the calls.

Overview of TCPA Policy and Violations

The Telephone Consumer Protection Act (TCPA) was enacted by Congress in 1991 to help consumers combat aggressive telemarketers or collections, like those calls from Navient, banks and other companies. The TCPA prohibits the use of automated dialing systems, which are devices used to generate and place random phone calls, without the consent of consumers.

This Act also forbids telemarketers from placing unconsented phone calls to the consumer’s landline or mobile, or send unwanted texts, calls, or faxes. In addition, the TCPA prohibits telemarketers from contacting the consumer’s loved ones or place of employment.

One of the most important clauses of the TCPA is listening to consumers when they ask for the calls to stop, in which case the consumer must be placed on the company’s do-not-call registry; the company must respect the request for the next five years.

Companies that are found to be in violation of the TCPA could face penalties between $500 and $1,500, depending on whether or not willful intent can be proven. Ashley is seeking damages for alleged TCPA violations, along with any other relevant damages.

This Navient TCPA lawsuit is Case No. 8:18-cv-02364-CEH-SPF, in the U.S. District Court of the Middle District of Florida, Tampa 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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