Like many other retail businesses embracing modern marketing strategies, Bloom Dispensaries uses text message marketing to reach existing and potential customers.
Some customers prefer text message marketing. Some find the messages to be an unwanted nuisance. Others allege the practice is illegal.
What Is Bloom Dispensaries?
Bloom Dispensaries is a medical marijuana provider in Arizona. It grows, processes and sells medical cannabis to certified customers at retail shops in Tucson, Phoenix, Sedona, and Peoria. The company sells a variety of vape products, concentrates and edibles at its four stores.
Why Would an Arizona Dispensary Send Unwanted Texts?
Text message marketing is becoming a popular tool in the modern advertising tool belt many retail businesses put to use to engage customers and increase sales, according to industry experts.
Business.com reports that text messages are effective at driving sales because today’s consumers spend more time on their smart phones than ever before, and find it a convenient way to make purchases. Particularly useful are text messages that include links allowing customers to click through to explore products and make purchases.
“Text messaging is incredibly popular, racing ahead of even social media platforms,” the article says.
Marketing specialists also point to a recent survey by the research and marketing firm Code Broker. The survey revealed that of 1,200 consumers polled, 60% said they would redeem a retail coupon sent to them via text message within a week of getting it and 25% said they would redeem it in three days.
What Is the TCPA?
Whether or not it’s popular, or effective, text message marketing is subject to federal regulations in the same way that e-mail and telephone marketing are, and companies that are not careful run the risk of violating federal law.
Congress enacted the Telephone Consumer Protection Act, or TCPA, in 1991. It restricts the use of automatic telephone dialing systems, artificial or prerecorded voice messages, and text messages, and requires entities making telephone solicitations to maintain do-not-call lists.
The Federal Communications Commission is in charge of regulating and enforcing the TCPA.
In 2012, new technology and marketing trends prompted the FCC to revise its TCPA regulations to “require telemarketers to obtain prior express written consent from consumers before robocalling or texting them … and to require telemarketers to provide an automated, interactive ‘opt-out’ mechanism … so consumers can immediately tell the telemarketer to stop calling,” the FCC’s guidelines on the telephone act says.
What Should You Do if You Received Spam Texts from an Arizona Dispensary?
Anyone who has been the target of unsolicited, unwanted advertising text messages might qualify to participate in a class action lawsuit against the company sending them, or have grounds to bring a legal action independently.
Have Any Lawsuits Been Filed?
An Arizona woman filed a class action lawsuit against Bloom Dispensaries in June 2020 in U.S. District Court, claiming that, in violation of the TCPA, the company sent her multiple unsolicited text messages advertising its products.
Sharyl Duboise says Bloom Dispensaries sent her as many as eight unwanted text messages in August 2019 advertising specials being offered for sale. It took the plaintiff about 30 minutes to investigate the messages and find out where they were coming from and why, according to the civil complaint. The messages compromised the performance of the plaintiff’s phone, harassed and aggravated her, and cost her data usage on her phone’s service plan.
Duboise is seeking $2,000 in damages from Bloom Dispensaries for each text message in violation of the TCPA. It is unclear how many other plaintiffs might end up being included in the class action lawsuit’s Class.
The Bloom Dispensaries suit is one of multiple such cases pending in courts across the country.
In December 2019, a Tennessee man filed a class action lawsuit against the medical cannabis company Trulieve in Florida over claims it sent him unsolicited text message advertisements. Mats Jaslow filed the action against Trulieve in U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Florida. He says the company’s promotional texts invaded his privacy, harassed and aggravated him, and compromised the performance of his mobile phone.
Jaslow is seeking $1,500 in damages per message and estimates when a full class of plaintiffs is counted, the total damages could top $5 million, a report by the Tampa Bay Business Journal says.
How Can a Lawyer Help?
Anyone who has received unwanted text messages in violate of the Telephone Consumer Protection Act and is considering participating in a class action lawsuit, or filing a suit of their own, can benefit from consulting with a qualified attorney who has experience with class action litigation.
The Bloom Dispensaries Class Action Lawsuit is Sharyl Duboise, et al. v Bloom Dispensaries, et al., Case No. 2:20-cv-01073, in the U.S. District Court for the District of Arizona.
Join a Free Marijuana Dispensary Unwanted Text Messages Lawsuit Investigation
If you received an unsolicited text message, ringless voicemail, robocall, and/or a call with a pre-recorded voice from a marijuana dispensary, you may be able to join a FREE marijuana dispensary unwanted text message class action lawsuit investigation.
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