Verizon Lawsuit Alleges Violations of Telemarketing Law

A man from Florida is filing a Verizon lawsuit alleging the communications company violated federal policy when robocalling him without permission. The Verizon lawsuit alleges the company violated the Telephone Consumer Protection Act (TCPA) by calling his phone, and continuing to call him after being asked to stop.

Plaintiff Joseph N. is filing this Verizon lawsuit claiming the company called his cellphone a number of times without consent and continued to call despite the claimant’s pleas. According to the Verizon lawsuit, the company began contacting him in October 2017 and asked for a “Randy White.”

Joseph reportedly stated he did not know this person, and that he did not have an account with the company. The Verizon lawsuit stated that the company called him over 50 times, trying to collect on this alleged consumer debt that did not belong to Joseph.

Joseph spoken with a Verizon representative on several occasions, explaining he was not the account holder and that the company needed to stop calling him. Even with these efforts, Joseph still continued to receive these unwanted calls to his cellphone and has been forced to file this Verizon lawsuit.

Overview of TCPA Policy

Verizon Wireless Personal Communication LP made these phone calls with the specific intent to harass and intimidate the plaintiff, he claims. These calls were allegedly made regarding a consumer debt, which he says took away Joseph’s right to privacy given under federal law.

Based on the number of calls made, the Verizon lawsuit alleges the company used an automated dialing system to generate the number and place the call. These devices are restricted under the TCPA, as well as using an artificial voice recording to respond when the call is answered.

In addition, Verizon allegedly failed to get prior consent from Joseph before placing these calls and failed to cease calling when asked to. Both are violations of the TCPA, with the federal policy requiring companies to add consumers to their do-not-call registry if asked. The TCPA requires companies to honor this for up to five years, in which no contact can be made with the consumer in question.

According to the Verizon lawsuit, unwanted “robocalls” or automated calls are the top complaint for consumers in the United States, with the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) and Federal Communications Commission (FCC) reportedly receiving 1,949,603 complaints in 2014.

Even though these calls are illegal under federal law, many companies still conduct them because they are inexpensive to make.

The TCPA was established in 1991 by Congress who implemented the policy to help combat aggressive telemarketers. Under the TCPA, companies were not allowed to make sales calls beyond reasonable daytime hours and were prohibited from sending unwanted faxes to businesses and residences.

The TCPA was amended to include unwanted text messages, with the law requiring businesses get prior consent before sending any marketing text messages.

Businesses that are found to be in violation of the TCPA could face penalties ranging between $500 to $1,500 depending on whether or not willfulness can be proven.

Joseph’s Verizon lawsuit is seeking damages for TCPA violations, along with any other relevant charges.

This Verizon Lawsuit is Case No. 8:18-cv-00844-SDM-TGW, in the U.S. District Court of Middle Florida, Tampa Division.

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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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