Receive just one phone call meant for someone else and you might chalk it up to a simple misunderstanding. But getting thousands of prerecorded calls for your ex-boyfriend over a more than two-year period and the situation becomes annoying, aggravating, and — according to one Pennsylvania woman — grounds for a lawsuit.
In a complaint [PDF], filed this week in federal court, the woman accuses Kohl’s of violating the Telephone Consumer Protection Act by persistently placing robocalls to her cellphone, despite repeated explanations that she was not the intended recipient and requests to place her on the company’s do not call list.
According to the lawsuit, beginning in Nov. 2013 and continuing until Dec. 2015, Kohl’s placed phone calls to the woman’s number on a repetitive and continuous basis.
The calls, intended for the woman’s ex-boyfriend, originated from an automatic telephone dialing system and contained prerecorded messages.
When the woman answered the calls — which were sometimes received at a rate of two to three times a day — she was given two options: press one if she was the intended caller, or press two if she was not.
Despite repeatedly choosing the second option, the woman says she continued to receive calls from the Wisconsin-based retailer.
In November 2014 and January 2015, the woman says she spoke with actual Kohl’s representatives explaining that they had the wrong number, and asking them to please stop calling and place her information on the do not call list.
While the rep contacted in January 2015, acknowledged the mistake and said the woman would be placed on the do not call list, she continued to receive calls intended for her ex-boyfriend.
By filing the lawsuit, the woman seeks statutory damages of $500 per telephone call in violation of TCPA. However, the suit notes that it is possible the woman could receive up to $1,500 per call if a jury determines Kohl’s willfully or knowingly violated TCPA.
Consumerist’s request for comment from Kohl’s was not immediately returned, we’ll update this post when we hear back.
If you’re receiving unwanted robocalls on your phone, you should file a complaint with the Federal Trade Commission so that they can track and potentially put a stop to these calls.
There are also a number of ways to reduce the annoyance of robocalls. Last year, Consumer Reports readers tested various devices and services intended to prevent robocalls from getting through.
And more than 500,000 people have signed the End Robocalls petition from our colleagues at Consumers Union, calling on the country’s phone companies to finally provide customers with free and easy-to-use call-blocking options.
by Ashlee Kieler via Consumerist