Volkswagen Robocalls Lead Car Owners to Take Legal Action

Volkswagen Group of America and marketing company Peak Performance allegedly teamed up to make illegal Volkswagen robocalls to consumers’ cell phones, according to a recent consumer lawsuit.

At least one lawsuit has been filed alleging Volkswagen and Peak Performance violated the Telephone Consumer Protection Act of 1991 (TCPA), a federal law that restricts how businesses can use automatic equipment to conduct telemarketing.

Volkswagen Robocalls Allegations

According to the plaintiffs, when a customer purchases or leases a vehicle or takes a vehicle to a dealership for servicing, the customer often provides a cell phone number as the contact phone number. Plaintiffs say the phone number usually is provided solely for the purpose of dealing with issues related to completing the vehicle purchase/lease or to convey the type of work the vehicle needs done, the cost of that work, and that the vehicle repairs are completed.

One customer alleges he bought an Audi in Austin, Texas, and took it in for servicing while still under warranty at a San Antonio dealership. He says he only gave the San Antonio location his cell phone number so they would notify him once the service was complete. He says after his warranty ran out in 2012, he quit going to the dealership for maintenance on his vehicle.

The customer alleges that several months after his car’s warranty had expired, he began receiving multiple Volkswagen robocalls to his cell phone from Peak Performance, who allegedly contacted him on behalf of Volkswagen. The calls encouraged him to either buy a new Audi or to have his current Audi serviced at the dealership. He says he never agreed to receive such marketing calls.

A California customer says he leased at least four Volkswagen vehicles from a Santa Monica dealership. The dealership allegedly allowed Peak Performance to call him many times to inform him one of his cars needs servicing and encourage him to bring the car to the dealership. The callers who made these Volkswagen robocalls allegedly were either artificial voices or pre-recorded voices or autodialed live representatives. He claims he never consented to receive such calls upon leasing any of the vehicles.

Another customer bought a Volkswagen Tiguan in 2012. Not long after she purchased the car, she says she received at least two Volkswagen robocalls to her cell phone from Peak Performance. She alleges the calls were made by live representatives using an autodialer, and that the representatives encouraged her to bring her car back to the dealership for regular servicing. She says she never consented to such marketing calls, and she asked the representative to remove her from Peak Performance’s call list.

Volkswagen allegedly has a marketing agreement with Peak Performance, which is acting as a customer retention management partner for Audi and Volkswagen vehicles.

Congress enacted the TCPA in response to consumers complaints of being bombarded with unwanted telemarketing phone calls and text messages. The TCPA restricts the use of automated phone equipment, commonly known as autodialers, and the use of an artificial voice or pre-recorded voice. The only times such calls are allowed to wireless numbers are during emergencies or after receiving express consent from the customer.

In 2012, the FCC expanded the TCPA regulations to also ban telemarketing calls made by a live representative’s voice without the express written consent of the called party.

Plaintiffs argue that phone calls such as Volkswagen robocalls are outlawed because they are considered an invasion of privacy, a great nuisance, and can be costly and inconvenient to the recipient who never expressly agreed to received such solicitations.

The Volkswagen Robocalls Lawsuit is Case No. 2:15-cv-08356 in the U.S. District Court for the Central District of California.

Join a Free Audi & VW Cell Phone Calls Class Action Lawsuit Investigation

If you received unsolicited cell phone calls after purchasing an Audi or Volkswagen vehicle or after having your vehicle serviced at a Volkswagen or Audi dealership, you may be eligible to participate in this Volkswagen unwanted cell phone calls class action lawsuit investigation.

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