Has Your Bank Been Harassing You?

Bank of America (“BOA”) will be paying over $32 million to settle six pending TCPA class action lawsuits. The TCPA is the Telephone Consumer Protection Act which protects cell phone users from robo-calls, spam texts, and other harassing methods of communication with a cell phone. The TCPA class action settlement, which must still be approved by a federal judge, was filed in the United States District Court for the Northern District of California on Friday, September 27, 2013.  On Monday, BOA issued a statement denying the allegations of wrongdoing, but assured the public that “we are pleased to resolve this matter.”  The BOA litigations are a collective microcosm of a nationwide movement to hold companies liable under the TCPA for using auto-dialers to contact consumers on their cellular telephones without consent.

Banks, credit card companies, telemarketers and debt collectors are the most common culprits. Many people believe that if you owe a company money, are in credit card debt, or behind on payments to the bank, then the bank or company has the right to call you as often as they like. That’s not true. Just because you owe money doesn’t mean the rules change. You are still protected by the law and have the right to bring a lawsuit against violators.