Phone Calls from Navient Challenged in TCPA Lawsuit

A new lawsuit has been filed which alleges a violation of the Telephone Consumer Protection Act (TCPA) by phone calls from Navient Solutions LLC. The complaint was filed on Oct. 26, 2018, by plaintiff Darlene S. in the U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Florida, Tampa Division.

Darlene also alleges that the phone calls from Navient to her cellular phone were in violation of the Florida Consumer Collection Practices Act (FCCPA).

Darlene is a citizen and resident of Pinellas County, Fla. who says she opened a student loan account with the defendant on or about May 2006. She struggled with finances and had trouble making her scheduled payments against this account causing an outstanding balance to roll over from month-to-month, according to the lawsuit.

Beginning in the midsummer of this year, Darlene says she started to receive debt-collecting phone calls from Navient to her cellular phone. Rather than ignore the calls, the plaintiff says she made every attempt to communicate her financial situation to the student loan company by placing two separate return phone calls to the defendant. In early July, Darlene revealed that the hours she worked had been reduced to part-time and she couldn’t possibly afford to make the expected payments at present.

In late July, Darlene says she made a second phone call to the defendant in which she very specifically requested that the phone calls from Navient stop. She alleges Navient had continued to harass her with multiple attempts to collect on the student loan debt in question. According to the lawsuit narrative, the phone calls from Navient have numbered at least 100 since this request was made on July 25, 2018.

The purported phone calls from Navient occurred several times per day and allegedly originated from multiple phone numbers, making them difficult to track. Darlene says her cell phone has a service and data plan to which she subscribes and pays. This fact combined with the revocation of her express permission allegedly puts the defendant in violation of the TCPA.

The TCPA indicates that the use of any automatic telephone dialing (ATDS) equipment or pre-recorded voice messaging system is prohibited when directed toward a device that a person has to pay for and when consent has been revoked. Darlene argues this revocation occurred during the July 25 phone call to Navient.

The use of ATDS equipment was allegedly identified by the plaintiff because of the constant change of originating phone numbers and because she always heard a pause after she picked up one of the phone calls from Navient. After the lengthy pause, she says a live representative would come on the line.

Darlene complains of Navient causing her undue stress and wasting her time with an excess of robocalls that she says constitute harassment. She brings two counts against the defendant. Count One: Violation of the Federal TCPA, and Count Two: Violation of the FCCPA. She asks for injunctive relief, actual damages, statutory damages, and punitive damages, as well as the return of all attorney fees and court costs.

The Phone Calls from Navient Lawsuit is Case No. 8:18-cv-02635-JSM-JSS in U.S. District Court for 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.

Get a Free Case Evaluation Now