Telemarketing Lawsuit Claims Hello Fresh Violated the TCPA

A recent telemarketing class action lawsuit alleges violations of the Telephone Consumers Protection Act (TCPA) by a grocery delivery service. Lead plaintiff Amanda E. accuses Grocery Delivery E-Services USA, Inc. (“Hello Fresh”) of making unwanted “robocalls” to customers without their prior written consent as required by the TCPA.

Case Background

In December 2018, Amanda says she registered for a trial subscription with a service operated by the defendant, known as Hello Fresh. She ended her trial subscription approximately one month later. However, even after canceling, Amanda continued to receive calls from the company. Amanda requested that they cease and desist on at least two occasions. However, when she made these requests, company representatives simply ended the call.

Amanda says these telemarketing calls were made with the use of an automatic telephone dialing system, or ATDS, a practice known colloquially as “robocalling.” Her belief is based on the pattern of the calls. Before being connected to a live representative, Amanda says she heard a “click and pause,” which is indicative of an ATDS. The plaintiff has reason to believe the defendant either does not have access to a Do Not Call list, or chooses to disregard it. Amanda also says she has reason to believe that Hello Fresh has not provided any training to its employees on the subject of “Do Not Call” lists or the TCPA.

Autodialers and Mass Telemarketing

HowStuffWorks.com explains that such “predictive dialers” contact thousands of numbers at once, connecting to a live agent only after the call has been answered. Such systems can store hundreds of thousands of phone numbers, or generate them randomly using a sequential number generator program. These machines then dial them in rapid succession with virtually no human interaction other than entering a command prompt.

It is this ease of use that led to the passage of the TCPA in 1991. With the advent of autodialer technology, telemarketing became relentless and increasingly intrusive. It required an act of Congress to start holding telemarketers accountable for their abuses.

Provisions of the TCPA

A telemarketer who violates the TCPA, whether willfully or out of negligence, can be liable for up to $1,500 per incident. Although a number of court cases have challenged the law over the past 25 years, the TCPA has been upheld and revised several times to reflect changes in communication technology. Today, the TCPA prohibits telemarketers from contacting consumers via SMS text messages and voice mails (including so-called “ringless” voice mails that bypass a subscriber’s phone and go directly to an inbox) unless that consumer has given the telemarketer explicit consent in writing.

Eligibility for This Class Action

If you have been a resident of the U.S. and have received unwanted communications from the defendant or one of its agents since Sepember 5, 2015, you may be eligible to join this class action lawsuit. The telemarketer class action lawsuit is Case Number 19-2433, United States District Court for the District of Minnesota.

Join a Free TCPA Class Action Lawsuit Investigation

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