Customer Files TCPA Lawsuit over Citibank Cell Phone Robocalls

A bank customer has filed a TCPA lawsuit over Citibank cell phone robocalls, claiming the bank called him without his consent.

Plaintiff Robert O. is an Orange County, Fla. resident. He states that he is an “alleged debtor,” and that Citibank called his cellphone over 150 times in an attempt to collect a debt.

Robert argues that some of these cell phone robocalls were placed without his consent using an automatic telephone dialing system, and that this practice is in violation of the Telephone Consumer Protection Act.

Robert claims that he could identify that he was being called using an automatic dialing system “because of the vast number of calls he received and because he heard a pause when he answered his telephone before a voice came on the line” during calls from Citibank.

Robert goes on to state that he could also tell that he was being called with an autodialer because in some of the calls he received from the bank, there was no agent to speak with before the autodialer hung up, indicating an “abandoned call.”

Robert also claims that he did not give his consent to receive these calls, making the calls a violation of the TCPA in this way, as well. He states that during a number of the calls, he requested that the business stop calling him simply by saying “stop calling me,” or a variation on a similar request.

He argues that even if the business did have his consent to call him before he made this statement, the business knew or should have known to stop calling him. Allegedly, Citibank continued to place the cell phone robocalls even after he explicitly withdrew his consent.

According to the Citibank cell phone robocalls lawsuit, these calls were placed in violation of the TCPA. The Electronic Security Association notes that the TCPA was enacted in 1991 “at the dawn of the internet and technology age” and was designed to protect individuals’ privacy from violation by developing the technology. 

The TCPA prohibits callers from placing autodialed telemarketing calls without the called person’s consent. Calls placed using these devices have a great capacity for causing annoyance, as they can call many numbers at once and can call numbers repeatedly without being operated by a person.

Despite the TCPA’s guidelines, businesses still violate the act and place cell phone robocalls. One of the ways in which people can stand up for their rights is by filing a lawsuit against a business that they believe violated the act, as Robert did against Citibank.

Citibank isn’t the only businesses that is facing TCPA claims. Business Insurance reports that American International Group and Yahoo are facing similar claims from consumers saying that the businesses called them without their consent to advertise goods and services. 

The Citibank TCPA Cell Phone Robocalls Lawsuit is Case No. 6:19-cv-00017, in the U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Florida, Orlando Division.

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