Coca-Cola Sued for spam text messages

In August of 2012 a class action lawsuit was filed against Coca-Cola for allegedly sending thousands of spam text messages to consumers, “long after they had opted out” from Coca-Cola’s “rewards” program in violation of the Telephone Consumer Protection Act, (TCPA).

According to the TCPA it is a violation for advertisers to send unwanted text messages to cell phones.

If you are receiving unwanted text messages or robo-calls from an advertiser on your cell phone, you may be entitled to compensation. Please call my office, The Law Offices of Paul Mankin at 877-449-8898 for a free consultation.

Mortgage Company Reaches Settlement in Spam TCPA Case

A settlement has been reached in the Telephone Consumer Protection Act (TCPA) class action lawsuit pending against Matrix LS, Inc., a mortgage company located in Michigan.

According to the lawsuit Matrix violated the TCPA by faxing advertisements to people without their prior express permission.

Eligible class members include all persons who, on or after June 22, 2004, were sent an unsolicited fax advertising the commercial availability of any property, goods or services on behalf of Matrix.

The TCPA prohibits advertisers from sending consumers unsolicited faxes, spam text messages or contacting them on their cell phones with out prior permission.   If you have been the victim of an advertiser in violation of the TCPA, you may be entitled to compensation.  Please give my office, The Law Offices of Paul Mankin a call today at 877-449-8898.

Target faces a class action lawsuit for spam text messages

A class action lawsuit against the retail mega-store has been filed for allegedly sending thousands of unsolicited text messages to consumers in violation of the Telephone Consumer Protection Act, (TCPA). The suit alleges that Target used a third-party marketing company to conduct a massive advertising campaign, sending text messages to thousands of cell phone users.

If you have received unsolicited text messages or pre-recorded messages to your cell phone by an advertiser located in the United States, you may be entitled to compensation. Please give my office, The Law Offices of Paul Mankin a call at (877) 449-8898 for a free consultation.

 

 

*This attorney advertising material has been prepared by The Law Offices of Paul Mankin for informational purposes only and is not legal advice. This information is not intended to create, and receipt of it does not constitute an attorney-client relationship.

Auto Loan Company Facing Class Action For Alleged TCPA and FDCPA Violations

Auto finance company, Santander Consumer USA is accused of using overly aggressive tactics to get customers to pay their auto loans, in violation of the Telephone Consumer Protection Act, (TCPA) and the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act. (FDCPA). Their alleged illegal collection tactics include making accessive and harassing calls to plaintiffs’ phones.

If you have been harassed by debt collectors in violation of the TCPA and FDCPA please give my office, The Law Offices of Paul Mankin a call today at (877) 449-8898 for a free consultation.

Lawsuit Filed Against A Debt Collector For Recording Calls Without Giving Notice

NCO Financial Systems is facing a class action lawsuit alleging that they illegally recorded cellphone conversations in which personal finance and other sensitive information was discussed without obtaining permission from the person they were speaking with. Erel v. NCO Financial Systems Inc., Case No. 13-cv-00317

Plaintiff, Mert Erel was contacted by NCO in July, 2012 concerning an alleged debt the company was attempting to collect from him. After speaking with the NCO representative for a period of time about “private financial information,” including his home address and social security number, he asked if the conversation was being recorded. The NCO representative allegedly replied that NCO records all calls it makes to consumers. “Plaintiff was shocked to discover that such a confidential communication was being monitored, recorded and/or eavesdropped by defendant without plaintiff’s knowledge or consent,” the lawsuit states.

California makes it a crime to record or eavesdrop on any confidential communication, including a private conversation or telephone call, without the consent of all parties to the conversation. Penal Code § 632. The statute applies to “confidential communications” — i.e., conversations in which one of the parties has an objectively reasonable expectation that no one is listening in or overhearing the conversation.

The Telephone Consumer Protection Act, (TCPA) class action lawsuit seeks to represent all California consumers who, within the past year, have received calls to their cellphones from NCO which were recorded without their consent.

If you have been contacted by a debt collector that has violated the law, please give my office, The Law Offices of Paul Mankin a call today at 877-449-8898 for a free consultation.

 

Class Action Lawsuit Filed Over Mitt Romney Political Ads Robo-Dialed To Cell Phones

A class action lawsuit has been filed against Arizona-based, Americans for Responsible Leadership following allegations that they violated the Telephone Consumer Protection Act (TCPA) during the 2012 Mitt Romney presidential campaign by making mass illegal robocalls to cell phones.

According the FCC’s website, “The National Do-Not-Call Registry and company-specific do-not-call lists do not apply to political calls.”   However,  “Prerecorded voice and autodialed calls (including live calls, prerecorded voice messages, and text messages) may NOT be delivered to cell phones, pagers, or other mobile devices without the prior express consent of the called party. This restriction governs all prerecorded voice and autodialed calls, including political ones”.  http://www.fcc.gov/document/political-campaigns-restrictions-autodialed-prerecorded-calls

The plaintiff Marlo Edholm,  claims she received approximatly 5 illegal robocalls from Americans for Responsible Leadership to her cellphone. The TCPA prohibits pre-recorded voice messages and auto-dialed calls to cellphones.  The only exceptions are if the calls are for an emergency or made with prior consent.

If you have received unsolicited robo-calls to your cell phone, whether they were political calls or another advertisement, you may be entitled to compensation.  Please give my office, The Law Offices of Paul Mankin a call today at (877) 449-8898 for a free consultation.

Target Faces A TCPA Class Action Lawsuit

The class action lawsuit claims that Target sent unsolicited text messages to consumers’ cell phones, which is a violation of federal law.  entitled, Kenneth Hill v. Target Corp., Case No. 13-cv-00041

The named plaintiff in the lawsuit, Kenneth Hill, alleges Target used a third-party company to conduct a marketing campaign that included sending unsolicited text advertisements to cell phones users across the country, in addition to his.

The lawsuit states: “By effectuating these unauthorized text message calls … defendant has caused consumers actual harm, not only because consumers were subjected to the aggravation that necessarily accompanies wireless spam, but also because consumers frequently have to pay their cell phone service providers for the receipt of such wireless spam.”

The Telephone Consumer Protection Act, (TCPA) class action lawsuit against Target seeks to represent all consumers who received one or more text message advertisements sent on behalf of Target.

If you have received spam text messages, you may be entitled to compensation.  Please give my office, The Law Offices of Paul Mankin a call at (877) 449-8898 for a free consultation.

FTC Reaches Settlement With Telemarketing Companies

In 2012, The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) reached a settlement with SBN Peripherals, Repo B.V. and Asia Pacific Telecom Inc., telemarketing companies that reportedly called millions of consumers illegally.

According to the FTC, the 2 companies made approximately 2.6 billion calls to consumers from January 2008 through August 2009 with prerecorded  messages about lower interest rates or auto warranties that were about to expire. The calls lured thousands of consumers into buying expensive warranties that didn’t offer much protection or signing up for “worthless debt reduction services.”

The judgement, which was approved on March 22, 2012 bans Johan Hendrik Smit Duyzentkunst and Janneke Bakker-Smit Duyzentkunst, who operated the companies, from operating in the telemarketing industry. The settlement also includes a $5.3 million fine.

SBN used phone numbers registered to Asia Pacific Telecom Inc., with addresses in the Northern Mariana Islands, Hong Kong and the Netherlands, according to the FTC.

At least seven companies used Los Angeles-based SBN Peripherals’ dialing service to sell their products. One company, Miami-based Dolce Group Worldwide LLC, allegedly made nearly $4 million selling service contracts for automobiles, the FTC alleged in a separate suit filed in federal court in Miami. The FTC also alleged that more than $6 million over a two-year period was transferred from SBN to a Repo bank account in the Netherlands.

According to the FTC, Consumers would get a call with a message falsely claiming to represent their car manufacturer and have urgent information about their auto warranty. The recorded messages asked consumers to press “1” to receive more information. Consumers were then transferred to live telemarketers who, according to the FTC, sold “inferior” extended auto service contracts, priced between $1,300 to $2,485.

In regards to the credit calls, consumers were told in prerecorded calls that there was urgent information concerning their credit cards and then transferred to telemarketers who “induced” them to pay advance fees ranging from $500 to $2,000 “for worthless interest rate reduction services,” the FTC said.

Harassing telemarketing calls are also prohibited by the Telephone Consumer Protection Act, (TCPA).  if a telemarketer or debt collector is found to be in violation of either, you may be entitled to compensation.  Please give my office, The Law Offices of Paul Mankin a call at (877) 449-8898 for a free case evaluation.

 

Spam Texts Ugh!

Spam text messages to consumers account for over 45 million texts per day.  Most  phone spam texts are set up to defraud people, according to Cloudmark, an anti-spam software company.

Spam text messaging often use scare tactics or gift card offers (claiming to be for major retailers) to get people to text the number back or follow a link to a website.

If you make the mistake of texting back, the scammers get confirmation that they have a legitimate phone number, and will sell your number to other scammers.

NBC News just covered one of our consumer protection investigations about a text message scam.  The text messages appear to be from Target or Best Buy and are claiming that if you follow a link to their website you will be able to claim your prize or gift card.  The websites are fake and are not affiliated with Target or Best Buy.

The NBC News coverage can be viewed at:

http://www.nbclosangeles.com/investigations/series/get-garcia/Attorneys-Target-Gift-Card-Scam-Texts-187824871.html

The Telephone Consumer Protection Act, (TCPA) protects consumer from receiving unsolicited text messages.  If you have been receiving unsolicited spam text messages you may be entitled to compensation.  Please call my office, The Law Offices of Paul Mankin at (877) 449-8898 for a free consultation.

 

 

 

 

A Sexting Consumer Protection Lawsuit Has Been Filed

A lawsuit has been filed against a phone sex service following allegations that they sent several unsolicited text messages to consumers promoting their phone sex service.  The company operates under several names, including:  Network Telephone Services, Decade Communications, Frontier Credit, and American Operator Services.

The TCPA prohibits the use of unsolicited robo-calls to cell phones, text messages, and junk faxes.

The plaintiff in this case recounted one of the unwanted texts he received: “Hot honeys r ready to pleasure u and make u cumm. $25 credit on your first call! Call 800-999-2428. Want to SEXTEXT, Rply A! Rply END to be remvd. (18+.$).”

In addition, text messages for advertising should have an easy “opt-out” option, but this apparently did not.

If you are receiving unsolicited spam text messages, in violation of the TCPA, you may be entitled to compensation.  Please give my office, The Law Offices of Paul Mankin a call today at (877) 449-8898 for a free consultation.