TCPA Snags Another Alleged Errant Dialer
October 29, 2015
By TMCnet Staff
While any number of shady companies have been prosecuted – when they can be found – by the 20-year-old Telephone Consumer Protection Act (TCPA) for illegal telemarketing practices, the legislation is increasingly being used against prominent consumer companies in the U.S. Not only have some companies been found liable for directly violating the TCPA, but a new lawsuit in Missouri is likely to test the limits of the law in culpability for the actions of third-party violators who purchased or received lists from a primary provider.
The Missouri Attorney General’s Office has received over 350 complaints from Missouri consumers against telecom giant Charter Communications (News - Alert) since 2011, and is using these complaints as the basis for a lawsuit alleging illegal telemarketing practices. Charter is alleged to have provided consumer lists to third-party vendors to market its products and services, and the AG’s office charges that Charter is “responsible for any illegal actions conducted in the course of any joint venture with any third party,” including any TCPA or other statutory violations committed by its vendors. The third-party vendors have placed calls to both subscribers and non-subscribers of Charter services, many of which are allegedly registered on Missouri’s do-not-call registry and the federal do-not-call list.
In addition to do-not-call violations, the suit claims that both Charter and the companies it sold lists to placed “at least thousands of telemarketing calls to Missouri consumers, even after the consumers asked that Charter stop calls and had not rescinded that request.” The TCPA states that sellers and telemarketers may not place outbound telephone calls to individuals who have verbally stated that they not wish to receive further outbound calls.
“As relief, the Attorney General’s Office is seeking civil penalties, permanent injunctions, and other equitable relief,” blogged Melanie M. Barnes for the National Law Review. “Specifically, the Attorney General’s Office is seeking a civil penalty of up to $16,000 for each violation of the Telemarketing Sales Rule, a minimum of $500 for each violation of the TCPA, a civil penalty up to $5,000 for each violation of the Missouri No-Call Law, and a civil penalty in such amount as allowed by law for each violation of the Missouri Telemarketing Law.”
The office of Missouri Attorney General Chris Koster is no stranger to enforcing the TCPA on rogue telemarketers. The state’s AG recently settled a lawsuit against Farmers Insurance Exchange, Truck Insurance Exchange and Fire Insurance Exchange for violations of the state no-call and telemarketing laws for $575,000.
The suit underscores the importance of screening solutions for companies that engage in outbound calling. While the Charter fines – if imposed – may not break any records, last year, Capital One (News - Alert) and several of its affiliated collections agencies agreed to settle a class-action lawsuit for TCPA violations that cost the company a record $75 million. The banking giant was found to have placed calls an undisclosed number of outbound telemarketing calls to mobile phones without permission, which is a direct violation of the legislation.