Allstate Sued for Repeat Telemarketing Calls, Violation of TCPA, Class Action Alleges

A woman who has had her phone number on the Do Not Call Registry since 2008 is suing Allstate Insurance, saying she received multiple calls from the company trying to sell her car insurance — sometimes multiple calls on the same day.

Georgia woman Rita Brownlee filed the proposed nationwide class action lawsuit Monday in the Southern District of Illinois Eastern Division, alleging the insurance agency violated the Telephone Consumer Protection Act (TCPA) when it repeatedly called her in 2020. 

Brownlee said she received six calls from Allstate representatives between May 23 and July 25, and each time asked not to be called again. Her number is also listed on the Do Not Call Registry.

“To grow its business and attract new customers, Allstate, through telemarketers working on its behalf, conducted (and continues to conduct) a wide-scale telemarketing campaign that features the making of repetitive, unsolicited, phone calls to consumers’ whose phone numbers have been registered on the National Do Not Call List and who have requested for the calls to Stop, all in violation of the TCPA,” Brownlee said.

She said the calls caused her and the proposed Class harm through aggravation, nuisance and invasion of privacy, and the interruption in their ability to “use and enjoy” their phones. 

Each time Allstate called her in 2020, Brownlee said she answered the phone and then waited on the line to tell the operator that she wasn’t interested and to stop calling.

The lawsuit alleges that Allstate was “fully aware” that the unsolicited telemarketing calls were being made and continue to be made. 

“Allstate had notice of consumer complaints and other information that put it on notice that its vendors, who at all times were acting on behalf of Allstate, were violating the TCPA,” the lawsuit states.

Brownlee is looking to represent a national Class of citizens who have received calls from Allstate in the last four years, who also have their numbers on the Do Not Call Registry and asked the company to stop calling, but still got calls.

Brownlee is seeking certification of the Class, $500 for each violation, treble damages, attorney’s fees, costs, interest and an injunction requiring Allstate to cease all unsolicited calling activities to people on the National Do Not Call Registry who have requested stop. She is also seeking a jury trial.

It’s been three decades since the TCPA became law, and it’s poised to get a lot of attention in 2021 because of another year of Supreme Court activity. Read more about what that may mean for consumers here. 

Meanwhile, Allstate is one of ten major auto insurers slammed with a class action lawsuit last month for allegedly failing to properly adjust their rates to account for less driving and fewer wrecks during pandemic lockdowns. 

Have you got telemarketing calls from insurance companies, despite telling them to stop calling you? Let us know in the comments! 

The Allstate Insurance TCPA Class Action Lawsuit is Rita Brownlee et.al. v. Allstate Insurance Company, Case No. 1:21-cv-01428, in the U.S. District Court Southern District of Illinois Eastern Division

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