Woman Files Lawsuit Over Synchrony Harassing Phone Calls

A Tennessee resident recently filed a lawsuit against Synchrony Bank, alleging that she kept receiving Synchrony harassing phone calls in violation of the TCPA.

The plaintiff, Annie O., claims that she began receiving these phone calls form Synchrony Bank sometime in early 2017. She knew that these were robocalls, she says, because of the distinctive silence when she picked up the phone and a noticeable wait on the line before she was connected to a live representative.

In March 2017, Annie says she connected with a live representative and asked that these Synchrony harassing phone calls cease. Despite her request for the calls to stop — which revoked any prior express consent, she may have given — the automated Synchrony harassing phone calls kept coming to her cell phone.

Having tried to stop the Synchrony harassing phone calls by revoking consent, Annie then turned to litigation. She filed her lawsuit in December 2017. According to the lawsuit, Annie was “annoyed, harassed, and inconvenienced” by the calls. The lawsuit calls for treble damages of $1,500 for each one of these Synchrony harassing phone calls that knowingly violated the TCPA.

Annie is far from the first person to come forward with claims of harassing robocalls from banks and other businesses.

Background of the Telephone Consumer Protection Act

The Telephone Consumer Protection Act, or TCPA, was intended to protect consumers from unwanted solicitation through technology. The TCPA was introduced back in 1991, though it has shifted to include new technologies over time.

The 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 these calls. However, in more recent years, the TCPA has expanded to include SMS text messaging as well as traditional unwanted solicitation calls.

Reporting TCPA Violations

Reporting violations of the TCPA or filing a lawsuit can help force companies like Synchrony Bank and countless others to comply with TCPA regulations. Filing a claim may also grant consumers award money per individual violation.

These kinds of TCPA violations are extremely common — so common that many consumers are used to it, and may not even know that these practices are illegal. According to the Federal Communications Commission, or FCC, the agency received more than 215,000 individual TCPA complaints in the year 2014 alone.

If you have received unwanted robocalls or prerecorded messages 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 able to report these violations and receive compensation. Unwanted robocalls or texts in willful or knowing violation of the TCPA may be subject to a mage award of $500 per violation, but a violation made in willful or knowing violation of the TCPA can increase that fine to up to $1,500.

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

The Synchrony Harassing Phone Calls Lawsuit is ase No. 2:17-cv-01256-DBP, in the U.S. District Court for the District of Utah.

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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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