Woman Files Citibank TCPA Lawsuit Over Robocall Violations

A California woman recently filed a Citibank TCPA lawsuit against the banking giant, alleging that it placed continuous illegal robocalls.

The plaintiff, Maria G., alleges that Citibank “continuously and repeatedly” called her cell phone number in an attempt to collect an alleged debt, according to the Citibank TCPA lawsuit. The phone calls were so repetitive and continuous that she believes they were placed “in order to annoy the plaintiff,” the complaint states. The number of calls and the short amount of time in which they were placed should be considered “unreasonable under the circumstances,” and are enough to “constitute harassment.”

So how many calls are considered “annoying”? According to Maria’s Citibank TCPA lawsuit, the bank called her more than 384 times in just five months. Between March 30, 2017 and Aug. 27, 2017, Citibank had placed nearly 400 calls, sometimes as many as six times in only one day.

In July, Maria requested that these calls stop, but they kept coming.

According to the Citibank TCPA lawsuit, these calls were made using an automatic telephone dialing system. Autodialers may dial numbers at random or in sequence, or may use a prerecorded voice, placing robocalls to consumers at random. A substantial pause after answering but before a voice comes on the line is often indicative of the use of an autodialing system.

Therefore, the Citibank TCPA lawsuit claims, Citibank “willfully and/or knowingly” violated the TCPA. Maria’s Citibank TCPA lawsuit was filed on Oct. 2, 2017, in the U.S. District Court for the Central District of California.

TCPA Basics

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

The Telephone Consumer Protection Act has always focused on the placement of unwanted solicitation calls or the use of an auto dialer 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 further expanded to include SMS text messaging as well as traditional unwanted solicitation calls.

Reporting TCPA Violations

Filing a TCPA lawsuit over unwanted solicitation calls can help force companies to comply with TCPA rules. Reports of such violations may also reward consumers with a set amount of award money per individual violation. According to the Federal Communications Commission, reports of TCPA violations are extremely common—indeed, the FCC received more than 215,000 individual TCPA complaints in 2014 alone.

If you have received unwanted solicitation calls from a company without having given prior express permission, or after placing your name on a federal Do Not Call telemarketer list, you may be entitled to receive compensation per violation.

A company that makes unwanted solicitation calls or texts in willful or knowing violation of the TCPA may be subject to higher fees than those who did so unknowingly. Each call made in knowing or willful violation of the TCPA can lead to statutory damage awards of $500 to $1,500 per call.

In order for your TCPA claims to be most effective, you will need proof of these violations. Keep messages and phone records of the unwanted solicitation calls placed to your phone.

The Citibank TCPA Lawsuit is Case No. 2:17-cv-07249-MRW, in the U.S. District Court for the Central District of California, Western 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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