Gym Wins TCPA Case Over Transactional Texts

In 2017, Miguel Suriano signed up for a gym membership at French Riviera Health Spa. He provided his phone number in his membership forms, thus providing implied consent which would allow the gym to send him non-marketing messages. Over the next few months, the gym sent Suriano several text messages congratulating him on his new membership, inviting him to sign up for upcoming fitness classes, and encouraging him to follow them on social media. Suriano filed a lawsuit against the gym over alleged violations of the TCPA for sending him these messages. The judge in the case held that these texts were informational in nature, not marketing, and therefore there was no violation of the law. The defendant's motion to dismiss was granted. While this ruling is a win for the industry, you should still exercise caution when sending informational messages or calls. Ensure that you have the right levels of consent before sending those messages. Learn more about cell phone telemarketing laws, telemarketing compliance, autodialer laws, robocall laws, and telemarketing licenses. Contact a telemarketing lawyer or TCPA attorney if you need help understanding how to comply with any telemarketing regulations.

Navient Settles TCPA Class Action for $2.5 Million

Student loan and collections business Navient was sued in a class action lawsuit in October 2017 over allegations that the company made calls to consumers' cell phones using an ATDS without the proper consent. Although Navient denies the allegations, they have chosen to settle the lawsuit rather than continue to face expenses related to legal defense. Read the approved settlement agreement here. Contact a TCPA attorney if you find yourself facing a TCPA lawsuit.

FTC to Issue Refunds to Victims of Alleged Robocall Scam

In 2015, the FTC won a $1.7 million judgment against two businesses that the agency alleges, "promised to lower people’s credit card interest rates and to save them thousands of dollars, in exchange for an upfront fee. After collecting the fee, they failed to provide the promised interest rate reductions or the savings. They also unlawfully called numbers listed on the national Do Not Call Registry and failed to identify who was responsible for placing the calls." This week, the FTC announced that they will be mailing over 1,200 checks averaging over $1,000 to consumers who were affected by the defendants. Read the FTC's press release here. Make sure you scrub your data against the Do Not Call Registry so that you can avoid FTC actions such as this one.

Social Media Influencers Subpoenaed in Frye Festival Fallout

In the Spring of 2017, a "Woodstock-type" event titled the "Frye Festival" was planned to attract wealthy millennials. The event turned out to be a huge disaster, as documented in the Netflix film, Fyre: The Greatest Party That Never Happened. Frye Festival organizers had promised attendees many luxurious amenities leading up to the event, such as high-class air travel and luxury hotel rooms. Turns out, the location of the festival changed at the last minute and guests who paid $12,000 to attend were fed simple cheese sandwiches instead of the fine dining they were promised. Numerous other issues arose at the festival, including flooding and looting. Needless to say, lawsuits were filed against festival organizers. As part of the litigation, popular social media influencers who promoted the festival, including Kendall Jenner, are being subpoenaed to find out information regarding the finances of the festival organizers. Read a copy of the lawsuit here and the subpoenas here. If you tell consumers you will do something or offer amenities of a certain quality or at a certain location, follow through and deliver what you promised, or face nasty litigation like this.  The top organizer also went to jail, so misrepresentations and consumer fraud are no joke.
Learn more about topics related to these news stories, such as telemarketing bonds, responding to an attorney general, and Do-Not-Call laws.