Did You Receive an Unwanted Call from Coldwell, NRT or Intero?

According to a class action lawsuit filed against Coldwell Banker Real Estate and its subsidiary NRT, both companies jointly direct realtors to engage in the practice of “cold calling” consumers.

Plaintiff Jorge Valdez claims that realtors are pushed into memorizing scripts for telemarketing and not given guidance in working with or around any laws concerning the National Do Not Call Registry. Any consumer may find himself on a generated list by the company of “leads” given to these realtors and thus be on the receiving end of an unwanted call from Coldwell, NRT or Intero.

In the case of Valdez, he says he received his first unwanted call from Coldwell, NRT or Intero on May 26, 2018, less than 24 hours after having the listing for his property removed from the Multiple Listing Service (MLS). He says he received another call a few months later when his realtor agreement expired. At no point was his registered mobile phone number published in connection with the property, the complaint says.

A similar Telephone Consumer Protection Act (TCPA) lawsuit was previously filed on Oct. 4, 2018, by plaintiff Ronald Chinitz. He alleged that he was also on the receiving end of numerous unwanted phone calls once his home was pulled off of an MLS site despite repeated requests to Coldwell to not contact him in this manner. Chinitz alleged in his class action legal claim that Coldwell and related defendants don’t have means to track who not to call or written policy to do so as required by the law.

According to Twilio, Congress delegated enforcement authority under the TCPA to the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) when the law was first passed in 1991. Initially, the FCC made it a requirement that every company develop and maintain their own internal record-keeping system or do-not-call list to record the names and numbers of people that had requested not to be contacted.

In 2003, the National Do Not Call Registry—allowing consumers to register landline and cell numbers for life—was born. In 2015, the law was further defined and clarified for businesses.

As indicated by Robokiller.com, despite these upgrades and clarifications, companies often fail to honor the law. Among recent TCPA clarifications, the law stipulates that telemarketers must get written consumer permission and have a way to “opt-out” of a robocall embedded within the contact itself.

While not all robocalls are illegal, a good percentage of them are—and the originator could be forced to pay between $500-$1,500 per violation. Still, many consumers are unwilling to take the step necessary to make willful violators pay. Because of this, businesses continue to get away with the behavior and our day-to-day privacy is invaded.

If you’ve received an unwanted call from Coldwell, NRT or Intero, consider working with an experienced TCPA attorney to seek compensation and deter future unwanted calls.

Join a Free Coldwell, NRT & Intero TCPA Lawsuit Investigation

If you received an unwanted call from a real estate broker from Coldwell Banker, NRT, or Intero, you may qualify to join this TCPA class action lawsuit investigation.

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This article is not legal advice. It is presented
for informational purposes only.