Robocalls & Prerecorded Messages Allegedly Placed by American Express in Violation of TCPA
On January 25, 2018, Plaintiff Jacob Wilson filed a class action complaint in United States District Court, Southern District of New York, against the American Express Company (“American Express” or “Amex”) which, allegedly, “as part of its collection operations . . . operates an aggressive contact schedule which bombards unsuspecting consumers, with whom it has no relationship, with robocalls and prerecorded messages.”
The Plaintiff alleges that “[h]e is not an [American Express] customer yet has been bombarded with autodialed and pre-recorded calls made without his consent and over his explicit objection.” Further, “Plaintiff has never had a business relationship with [Amex] and never consented to be contacted by [American Express] on his cellular telephone.”
The actions of American Express, according to the complaint, are violations of the Telephone Consumer Protection Act (“TCPA”), and $500 in damages is being sought for each TCPA violation.
Factual Allegations Against Amex Concerning Automated Calls
Plaintiff, allegedly, was “bombarded” with calls to his cell phone throughout January 2018 from telephone numbers (866) 884-0976, (801) 945-9064, and (800) 528-4800. The calls to Plaintiff’s cellular telephone were part of an “automated calling campaign to further its efforts to contact ‘Jessica,’ a person who Plaintiff does not have any relationship with and does not know.” The calls to Plaintiff continued, despite Plaintiff telling Amex not to call Plaintiff and that he was not “Jessica.”
All the calls to Plaintiff’s cell phone were made by Amex with an “automatic telephone dialing system,” otherwise known as an “autodialer,” and when the Plaintiff answered the telephone calls from Amex, a prerecorded message greeting from American Express was heard prior to the call being routed to a live American Express agent.
The American Express TCPA Class & Monetary Damages Sought
The TCPA class action against American Express is on behalf of a class of all individuals within the United States to whom Amex or its agent(s) and/or employee(s) called one’s cellular telephone through the use of any automatic telephone dialing system or artificial or prerecorded voice within the four years prior to the filing of the class action complaint where such person was not a customer of American Express.
The Plaintiff and other Class members seek an award of $500 in statutory damages for each call placed in violation of the TCPA by American Express for negligently placing multiple automated and prerecorded voice calls to the cellular phones of the Plaintiff and other Class members without their prior express consent.
The Plaintiff and other Class members seek an award of treble damages of up to $1,500 for knowingly and/or willfully placing multiple automated and prerecorded voice calls to the cellular telephones of the Plaintiff and other Class members without their prior express consent.
Have You Received Autodialed Robocalls from American Express?
If you are not a customer of American Express, reside in the United States, and have received a telephone call to your cell phone from American Express, or one of American Express’ agents or employees, through the use of any automatic telephone dialing system or artificial or prerecorded voice within the past four years, please contact Michael Yarnoff, Esq., (215) 792-6676, Ext. 804, [email protected], complete the form above on the right or e-mail [email protected] to discuss your potential legal rights, including whether to consider filing a lawsuit to try to recover monetary damages as a result of TCPA violations.
Kehoe Law Firm, P.C.