GDFriend Inc. is facing a class action lawsuit filed in District Court for the Southern District of California. The suit accuses the California home energy company of violating the Telephone Consumer Protection Act (TCPA). As a consequence, consumers had to deal with unwanted calls.
The plaintiffs are Edward Timmons, Mark Haigler, and Lucas Ambrezewicz. They state that the defendant was making marketing calls to consumers from California without their consent through the automatic dialer.
The defendant company offers customers the products related to efficient home improvement. According to the class action lawsuit, GDFriend is providing the following products: vinyl siding, windows, doors, bathtubs, air conditioning and etc.
Bryan K. Theis of Theis Law Group and by Blake J. Dugger of Law Offices of Stefan Coleman PLLC are representing the plaintiffs.
About the TCPA
It was in 1991 when the Telephone Consumer Protection Act (TCPA) was enacted. It doesn’t allow companies to make calls to consumers via auto dialers without having their permission. Thus, the TCPA aims to protect consumers from unwanted calls. Those companies, which fail to comply with this law, may end up paying fines from $500 to $1,500 (per communication attempt).
Details concerning unwanted calls made by GDFriend
In fact, the plaintiffs made calls without having the customers’ permission. As a result, consumers from various parts of California received unwanted calls. It’s worth noting that consumers from the federal Do Not Call Registry had to deal with unwanted calls as well. This is another violation of the TCPA.
The complaint notes that the home energy company took this step for the promotion of its business. It was a part of the company’s marketing policy to improve their position in the energy efficiency and home-improvement market. Actually, as a part of a huge telemarketing campaign, GDFriend Inc. was making unwanted calls to consumers who reside in California. Consumers who are on the National Do Not Call Registry faced this problem as well.
It’s essential to point out that besides violating the TCPA, the company caused a serious harm to the Class Members. Due to the unwanted calls made by the defendant they had to experience aggravation and nuisance. It’s not pleasant for anyone to face privacy invasions as a consequence of unsolicited calls.
Additionally, these marketing calls interfered with the consumers’ use of their mobile phones. These include the following: software, hardware parts, as well as other related data. Furthermore, the company’s unlawful practices led to a serious injury to Class Members’ and plaintiffs’ telephones. This means that they experienced wear and tear on their property.
What the plaintiffs seek
The plaintiffs who filed the lawsuit against the home energy company are seeking to represent a California Class of any person who received unsolicited phone calls from GDFriend. They also seek damages under the TCPA. Moreover, the plaintiffs are asking the court to make the company stop making unwanted calls to consumers, as a part of its unlawful telemarketing campaign.
