Dynamic Accident Lawyers: Discover Hit With TCPA Class Action By Florida Man

A Florida resident recently filed a TCPA class action lawsuit against Discover Financial Services, Inc. for invading his and others’ privacy with constant robocalls, a violation of the Telephone Consumer Protection Act (TCPA).

The plaintiff, Socrates Papaceorgio, claims that Discover placed a large number of calls, sometimes multiple calls per day, for a period of many months in 2013.

The frequency of the unsolicited phone calls, the Discover TCPA lawsuit states, indicated knowing or willful harassment and abuse against the plaintiff.

The unsolicited phone calls were made, according to Papaceorgio, using an automatic telephone dialing system (ATDS), or robocalling. Robocalls are made using either a random number generator or an artificial or prerecorded voice.

Papaceorgio claims he knew these unsolicited phone were robocalls when he heard a pause before he was then connected to an agent, indicating that the agent themselves had not dialed his number. This is a common indicator of an ATDS.

According to the TCPA lawsuit, these unsolicited phone calls were made without Papaceorgio’s “prior express consent,” which is required in order to make these kinds of robocalls or prerecorded messages.

Shortly after beginning to receive these unsolicited phone calls, Papaceorgio revoked his consent for Discover to call, but the company has allegedly continued to called him hundreds of times. There was a period of fifteen days in which Papaceorgio’s claims Discover called his phone 96 times, or roughly 6.4 calls per day.

Papaceorgio is not the only harassed consumer complaining against Discover’s robocall tendencies. Numerous consumers have complained, asserting that the company’s automatic telephone dialing system calls people who have either not given prior express consent or who have actively revoked consent.

The Discover TCPA class action lawsuit is filed on one count: willful or knowing violation of the Telephone Consumer Protection Act.

Papaceorgio and the other class members are entitled to $500 in statutory damages for each negligent TCPA violation, and up to $1,500 for each knowing and/or willful TCPA violation.

TCPA Violations

The Telephone Consumer Protection Act of 1991 (TCPA) was intended to protect consumers from unwanted solicitation. This includes the placement of robocalls – the use of an automatic telephone dialing system and/or a pre-recorded message, including SMS text messages, to reach consumers. Nevertheless, many companies choose to perform these kinds of calls or send unsolicited text messages anyway.

According to the Federal Communications Commission (FCC), “Unwanted calls and texts are the number one complaint to the FCC…The FCC received more than 215,000 TCPA complaints in 2014.”

Simply knowing what TCPA violations are may allow consumers to collect a substantial amount of money per violation. Actions by a company that are prohibited under the Telephone Consumer Protection Act generally include:

Calls placed to residences before 8 am or after 9 pm, local time
Calling consumers who specifically asked the company not to call them (i.e. consumers on the company’s do-not-call list)
Calling consumers on the National Do Not Call Registry
Failing to identify the person or entity on whose behalf the call is being made
Using an artificial voice or a recorded message
Using an automated dialing machine to place the call
Sending unsolicited advertising faxes

If you have received these kinds of unsolicited phone calls or text message spam, and you believe them to be in violation of the TCPA, you may be eligible to receive compensation.

In order to be involved in a class action lawsuit against a company for TCPA violations, you will need to keep a good record of your experience with these messages and calls. Do not delete messages or phone records, and keep written record of violations.

The Discover TCPA Class Action Lawsuit is Socrates Papaceorgio v. Discover Financial Service, Inc., et al., Case No. 8:15-cv-02537-SCB-TGW, in the U.S. District Court for the Tampa Division of the Middle District of Florida.

Join a Free TCPA Class Action Lawsuit Investigation

If you were contacted on your cell phone by a company via an unsolicited text message (text spam) or prerecorded voice message (robocall), you may be eligible for compensation under the Telephone Consumer Protection Act.

Get a Free Case Evaluation Now

We tell you about cash you can claim EVERY WEEK! Sign up for our free newsletter.

Email*
State*
selectAlabamaAlaskaArizonaArkansasCaliforniaColoradoConnecticutDelawareDistrict of ColumbiaFloridaGeorgiaHawaiiIdahoIllinoisIndianaIowaKansasKentuckyLouisianaMaineMarylandMassachusettsMichiganMinnesotaMississippiMissouriMontanaNebraskaNevadaNew HampshireNew JerseyNew MexicoNew YorkNorth CarolinaNorth DakotaOhioOklahomaOregonPennsylvaniaRhode IslandSouth CarolinaSouth DakotaTennesseeTexasUtahVermontVirginiaWashingtonWest VirginiaWisconsinWyomingArmed Forces AmericasArmed Forces EuropeArmed Forces Pacific

jQuery(document).ready(function($){gformInitSpinner( 5, ‘http://topclassactionscom.c.presscdn.com/wp-content/plugins/gravityforms/images/spinner.gif’ );jQuery(‘#gform_ajax_frame_5’).load( function(){var contents = jQuery(this).contents().find(‘*’).html();var is_postback = contents.indexOf(‘GF_AJAX_POSTBACK’) >= 0;if(!is_postback){return;}var form_content = jQuery(this).contents().find(‘#gform_wrapper_5’);var is_confirmation = jQuery(this).contents().find(‘#gform_confirmation_wrapper_5’).length > 0;var is_redirect = contents.indexOf(‘gformRedirect(){‘) >= 0;var is_form = form_content.length > 0 && ! is_redirect && ! is_confirmation;if(is_form){jQuery(‘#gform_wrapper_5’).html(form_content.html());setTimeout( function() { /* delay the scroll by 50 milliseconds to fix a bug in chrome */ jQuery(document).scrollTop(jQuery(‘#gform_wrapper_5’).offset().top); }, 50 );if(window[‘gformInitDatepicker’]) {gformInitDatepicker();}if(window[‘gformInitPriceFields’]) {gformInitPriceFields();}var current_page = jQuery(‘#gform_source_page_number_5’).val();gformInitSpinner( 5, ‘http://topclassactionscom.c.presscdn.com/wp-content/plugins/gravityforms/images/spinner.gif’ );jQuery(document).trigger(‘gform_page_loaded’, [5, current_page]);window[‘gf_submitting_5’] = false;}else if(!is_redirect){var confirmation_content = jQuery(this).contents().find(‘#gforms_confirmation_message_5’).html();if(!confirmation_content){confirmation_content = contents;}setTimeout(function(){jQuery(‘#gform_wrapper_5’).replaceWith(” + confirmation_content + ”);jQuery(document).scrollTop(jQuery(‘#gforms_confirmation_message_5’).offset().top);jQuery(document).trigger(‘gform_confirmation_loaded’, [5]);window[‘gf_submitting_5’] = false;}, 50);}else{jQuery(‘#gform_5’).append(contents);if(window[‘gformRedirect’]) {gformRedirect();}}jQuery(document).trigger(‘gform_post_render’, [5, current_page]);} );} ); if(typeof gf_global == ‘undefined’) var gf_global = {“gf_currency_config”:{“name”:”U.S. Dollar”,”symbol_left”:”$”,”symbol_right”:””,”symbol_padding”:””,”thousand_separator”:”,”,”decimal_separator”:”.”,”decimals”:2},”base_url”:”http:\/\/topclassactions.com\/wp-content\/plugins\/gravityforms”,”number_formats”:[],”spinnerUrl”:”http:\/\/topclassactions.com\/wp-content\/plugins\/gravityforms\/images\/spinner.gif”};jQuery(document).bind(‘gform_post_render’, function(event, formId, currentPage){if(formId == 5) {gformInitChosenFields(‘#input_5_2′,’No results matched’);} } );jQuery(document).bind(‘gform_post_conditional_logic’, function(event, formId, fields, isInit){gformInitChosenFields(‘#input_5_2′,’No results matched’);} ); jQuery(document).ready(function(){jQuery(document).trigger(‘gform_post_render’, [5, 1]) } );

Top Class Actions is a Proud Member of the American Bar Association

american-bar-association