LoanDepot.com Robocalls to Cell Phones TCPA Class Action

LoanDepot.com, LLC offers loans and other consumer financial services throughout the US. The complaint for this class action alleges, however, that the company attempts to gain customers through the use calls featuring an artificial or prerecorded voice, in violation of the Telephone Consumer Protection Act (TCPA). The complaint alleges that this telemarketing “has resulted in the invasion of privacy, harassment, aggravation, and disruption of the daily life of thousands of individuals.”

The class for this action is all persons in the US who, between June 27, 2018 and the date the class is certified in this case, were sent a prerecorded call about LoanDepot.com’s property, goods, or services.

Under the federal TCPA, businesses are prohibited from (1) placing calls to a cellular telephone (2) using an automatic telephone dialing system (ATDS) or an artificial or prerecorded voice (3) without having gotten the call recipient’s prior express written consent.

Regulations for the TCPA are the responsibility of the Federal Communications Commission (FCC). “According to the FCC’s findings,” the complaint alleges, “calls in violation of the TCPA are prohibited because, as Congress found, automated or prerecorded telephone calls are a greater nuisance and invasion of privacy than live solicitation calls, and such calls can be costly and inconvenient.” Cell phone users generally pay for incoming as well as outgoing calls, making telemarketing an expense for the recipient.

The complaint alleges that LoanDepot.com called the cell phone of the plaintiff in this case, Jeffrey Kearns. The prerecorded voice message directed at Kearns gave the company’s name and noted that the call was about refinancing his mortgage loan.

According to the complaint, it was easy to tell that the message was prerecorded and not a live person speaking. The complaint quotes an earlier court case as saying, “When one receives a call, it is a clear-cut fact, easily discernable to any lay person, whether or not the recipient is speaking to a live human being, or is instead being subjected to a prerecorded message.”

The complaint alleges that the call was telemarketing because it was promoting LoanDepot.com’s business, goods, or services. But Kearns claims that he never gave the company his prior express written consent for the company to contact him with a prerecorded voice call.

The sole count is willful or knowing violation of the TCPA, because, the complaint asserts, LoanDepot.com knew that it did not have consent from the parties it called and knew or should have known that it was using prerecorded messages. Under the law, the complaint alleges, the recipients are entitled to a minimum of $500 in damages for each such violation.

Article Type: Lawsuit
Topic: Privacy
Tags: TCPA, Unsolicited Cell Phone Calls, Use of artificial or pre-recorded voice