Chevrolet Car Dealership Sued for Sending Pre-Recorded Sales Messages, Class Action Lawsuit Claims

A North Carolina Chevrolet dealership left long, pre-recorded sales messages on a woman’s phone in violation of the Telephone Consumer Protection Act (TCPA), a new class action lawsuit claims. 

Plaintiff Tracie Beard filed the nationwide class action lawsuit Wednesday in North Carolina district court, alleging John Hiester Chevrolet called her three times and left pre-recorded voicemails on her phone without her consent. 

If you have received unwanted cell phone calls, text message spam, robocalls, pre-recorded messages, or pre-recorded voicemails from a car dealership that won’t stop calling, you may qualify for a car dealership TCPA class action lawsuit claim review. Click here for more information.

The TCPA is a federal law that was enacted in 1991 to protect consumers from telemarketers. It prohibits calling a cell phone number using an artificial or prerecorded voice without the recipient’s prior express consent. 

It aims to protect consumers from unwanted marketing communications from companies via phone, cell phone, text, and fax. It also limits the use of autodialers and robocalls. This includes text messages or robocalls from car dealerships.

Beard said the calls from the dealership started on Oct. 28, 2020. The long voicemail message was transcribed in the lawsuit. In it, a man identifying himself as Ryan from John Hiester Chevrolet said he was calling with an “unbelievable opportunity for you to save a ton of money.” 

The sales pitch goes on to say there are only a few days left in October and his boss has instructed him to “make every single deal,” but “only until the end of October.”

Two other voicemails Beard received used similar marketing techniques, one advertising a “huge Black Friday event” and another from Ryan saying he needs to hit a sales goal within the next three days, so he is doing deals.

Beard said she had to stop what she was doing and listen to the pre-recorded messages, while the calls occupied her telephone lines. She said she was “easily able to determine it was pre-recorded.” She believes the dealership would have sent the same messages to others in the area. 

“Defendant’s unsolicited prerecorded message caused [Beard] additional harm, including invasion of privacy, aggravation, annoyance, intrusion on seclusion, trespass, and conversion,” the class action alleges. 

Beard is suing under the TCPA and asking for a declaration that the company broke the law, an injunction preventing it from continuing the alleged practice, damages and a jury trial.

Beard is looking to represent all United States residents who were sent a prerecorded message by John Hiester Chevrolet without their written consent. She is seeking at least $500 per violation of the TCPA for every person contained in the Class.

What do you think of the dealership’s alleged voice messages? Let us know in the comments! 

The plaintiff is represented by David M. Wilkerson of The Van Winkle Law Firm and Ignacio Hiraldo, Esq. of IJH Law.

The Chevrolet Dealership TCPA Class Action Lawsuit is Tracie Beard et al., v. John Hiester Chevrolet, Case No. 5:21-CV-173, in the United States District Court for the Eastern District of North Carolina.

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