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DISCLAIMER: This article is based on a complaint. The defendant has not responded to the complaint to present its side of the case. The claims mentioned are accusations and should be considered as such until and unless proven otherwise.
A collection operation is facing a class-action lawsuit in Alabama federal court for allegedly violating the Telephone Consumer Protection Act by placing three wrong-number calls to an individual which used an artificial or pre-recorded voice.
The background: Back on October 20, the plaintiff received a call from the defendant on his cell phone. The plaintiff heard an artificial recording and announcement identifying someone else as the intended recipient for the call. The plaintiff hung up.
- Eight days later, the plaintiff rejected a call from the defendant.
- Six days after that, the plaintiff answered a call from the defendant and heard a message that stated: “This is [defendant] with an important message for Jacob Blair. If this is Jacob Blair, please press 1 to speak with a representative. If this is not Jacob Blair, please have him call our office at [phone number] at their first opportunity.”
- The plaintiff does not know Jacob Blair, according to the complaint. The pattern and tone of the speech allegedly “made it clear” to the plaintiff that the messages being played were prerecorded, according to the complaint.
- The plaintiff claims to have suffered harms in the form of invasion of his privacy, an intrusion into his life, and a private nuisance.
The claims: The plaintiff is accusing the defendant of violating Section 227(b)(1)(A)(iii) of the TCPA by using an artificial or prerecorded voice in connection with calls placed to a cell phone in which it did not have consent.
- The complaint seeks to include a class of individuals who received calls from the defendant on their cell phones but who did not have an account in collections with the defendant in which an artificial or prerecorded voice was used.
