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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 Telephone Consumer Protection Act class-action lawsuit in Michigan federal court over calls that it allegedly made to an individual’s cell phone using an artificial or prerecorded message attempting to reach someone other than the plaintiff, using a number the plaintiff obtained last June.
The background: The plaintiff obtained the number that was called last June. Starting in September and continuing through early December she received 12 calls from the defendant.
- She answered the calls twice, and both times heard the same artificial or prerecorded message ask for someone named “Anette,” according to the complaint.
- The “robot” asked the plaintiff if she was “Annett” and she responded that she was not and ended the call.
- The calls were artificial or prerecorded “based on the tone and pattern of speech, and the fact that the voice and content on both calls was identical,” according to the complaint. On top of that, the plaintiff never provided her consent to receive the calls.
- The calls allegedly deprived the plaintiff and other call recipients of the legitimate use of their phones. The plaintiffs were also harmed because there were no “legally compliant opt out mechanisms,” according to the complaint.
The claims: The defendant is accused of violating Section 227(b)(1)(B) and/or Section 227(b)(1)(A)(iii) of the TCPA by making calls to the plaintiff and other members of the class using prerecorded messages without their prior express written consent.
- The suit seeks to include anyone who received one or more calls on their cell phone from the defendant that used the same or a substantially similar prerecorded message to individuals who did not provide their telephone numbers to the defendant.
