Spam Calls Lead to Car Dealership Lawsuit

Spam calls may seem like a simple annoyance, but they can cost consumers money. To help protect consumers from unsolicited and improper telephone contact by companies, the government passed the Telephone Consumer Protection Act. Despite this law, many companies still carry out spam calls, robotexts, and robocalls that violate consumer rights each year. 

Recently, Earnhardt’s Gilbert Dodge Inc and Earnhardt Chrysler Dodge Jeep Ram faced litigation due to allegations that they repeatedly used an “automatic telephone dialing system” to make spam calls soliciting the business of plaintiff Richard Winters Jr. While Richard had previously done business with the defendant, they did not have the proper permissions to call him. The suit alleges that Earnhardt knowingly and willfully violated the TCPA.

The Protections of the Telephone Consumer Protection Act

According to the Federal Communications Commission (FCC), the TCPA was passed in 1991 to help combat the “growing number of telephone marketing calls”, more commonly known as spam calls. The law restricts companies’ use of automatic dialing systems, artificial or prerecorded messages, and the general use of telemarketing calls.

According to the TCPA, companies must follow a variety of regulations when making telemarketing calls. First, they must abide by the FCC’s “Do-Not-Call” registry and must establish their own internal do-not-call list. The law states that telemarketing calls can only be made between 8 a.m. and 9 p.m., only so many calls can be “abandoned”, and a prerecorded message must be played when a call is abandoned.

Telemarketing calls must transmit caller ID if available; automated messages must name the entity responsible for the call; unsolicited faxes must be preceded by express written permission from the recipient. Most importantly, the FCC states that companies must receive prior express written consent before robocalling consumers. An “established business relationship” is no longer considered sufficient permission to make spam calls.

Car Dealership TCPA Violations and Spam Calls

The TCPA and FCC state that companies must receive express written permission from consumers before they can make robocalls contacting that consumer. However, Richard Winters Jr. alleges in his lawsuit against Earnhardt that the dealership repeatedly called him without permission.

The plaintiff lists several spam calls among his allegations against the defendant. He states that the calls were made in order to solicit his business by “requesting that he bring his vehicle into Defendant’s place of business for the purpose of purchasing repair and maintenance services.” He also alleges that the defendant used an “automatic telephone dialing system” to contact him, something which is restricted under the TCPA. The suit alleges that Earnhardt used prerecorded messages, made non-emergency calls without permission, and called the plaintiff on a service for which he “incurs a charge for incoming calls”.

The suit acknowledges that Richard is considered a customer of the defendant, but alleges that Earnhardt never acquired express written consent to contact the plaintiff. The suit alleges that this practice is common for the defendant and seeks to create a class of similarly situated consumers.

The Earnhardt TCPA Lawsuit is Case No. 2:20-cv-00615-SMB filed in the U.S. District Court of Arizona, Phoenix Division.

Should You Seek a Car Dealership TCPA Lawyer?

If you have received unsolicited telemarketing calls from a car dealership, you may be eligible to join a class action suit. According to the Earnhardt suit, thousands of class members may qualify for compensation. However, given the nature of the alleged offense, class members may not be aware that any offense was committed. Because of this, if you’ve been the victim of spam calls, you may consider seeking legal assistance from a TCPA lawyer.

Join a Free Car Dealership TCPA Violations Class Action Lawsuit Investigation

You may be eligible to join this lawsuit investigation into car dealership TCPA violations under the following circumstances:

• You did NOT provide express permission in writing to the car dealership to receive the calls or messages.
  You did NOT purchase a vehicle from the dealership that is contacting you.

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