Square Class Action Says Unsolicited Texts Violate Law

A class action lawsuit has been waged against Square Inc. by consumers who claim that the point of sale (POS) service company sends out unsolicited texts in violation of the Telephone Consumer Protection Act.

Plaintiffs Mishari Aleisa and Nicole Belluomini say they have received texts from Square without providing their consent.

Aleisa says he visited the Samovar Teahouse Cafe in San Francisco in July 2018 and paid with his payment card using the Square POS system on an iPad. When the last prompt was sent to him, Aleisa entered his telephone number so that he could earn loyalty rewards at the cafe.

Directly after this transaction, Square reportedly sent Aleisa an automated text message to the plaintiff’s number from phone number 904-495-7904, which stated, “You just got your first 1 Star from Samovar on Fillmore!”

Aleisa alleges he visited the Asha Tea House in Berkeley, Calif. and the company processed his POS order using the Square system. When prompted, Aleisa said he did not enter his phone into the system.

He claims he then received a text from the phone number 904-495-7904, this time stating, “You just got your first 1 Star from Asha Tea House (Berkeley)!” This happened again after he visited Avenues in San Francisco, California. He claims that he did not enter in his phone number but nonetheless received a text from phone number 904-495-7904 stating, “You just got your first 1 Star from Avenues!”

“While Plaintiff Aleisa provided his telephone number to Samovar to receive a receipt for his purchase and rewards points only, Plaintiff Aleisa never provided express written consent to receive ongoing loyalty program notifications before entering his phone number into the Square POS system,” the Square class action lawsuit states.

The plaintiff claims that he suffered actual harm as a result of Square’s text messages as it was an invasion of his privacy, intruded on his life, and a “private nuisance.” He also claims that he suffered lost utility of his phone and lost time in opening up and reading the text messages.

The plaintiff states that Square sent numerous text messages to the plaintiffs’ phone using an automated telephone dialing system (ATDS) and that these text messages are an invasion of his privacy as well as an expense to the plaintiffs.

Prospective Class Members include: “All persons throughout the United States (1) to whom Defendant delivered or caused to be delivered, a loyalty text message, (2) directed to a number assigned to a cellular telephone service, (3) by using an automatic telephone dialing system, (4)  within four years preceding the date of this complaint through the date of class certification.”

Square has recently come under attack for sending millions of text messages to the wrong people, according to an article in the Wall Street Journal. Also, in May 2017, a Square executive stated that the company had sent more than 350 million digital receipts and has used the data to create a directory of 90 million phone numbers and emails within the prior 12 months.

How do you feel about Square texting people without their consent? Leave a message in the comments section below.

The plaintiffs are represented by Abbas Kazerouni and Yana A. Hart of Kazerouni Law Group APC.

The Square TCPA Class Action Lawsuit is Mishari Aleisa, et al. v. Square Inc., Case No. 3:20-cv-00806, in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California.

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If you were contacted on your cell phone by a company via an unsolicited text message (text spam) or prerecorded voice message (robocall), you may be eligible for compensation under the Telephone Consumer Protection Act.

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