That text message you received that ended up being a telemarketing ploy might end up in a class action lawsuit. Advertisers are using text messages as a way of getting their messages out to consumers. The problem with that is that this “text spamming” violates the Telephone Consumer Protection Act (TCPA), and a class action lawsuit filed this month in Oakland wants to put a stop to it.
A report at paidcontent.org says that text spamming has a short but infamous history. The Timberland shoe company agreed to pay $150.00 to each person who received an unsolicited text message from the company. The Simon & Schuster publishing house paid $175.00 to each person who received a text advertisement about a Stephen King book.
A majority of cell phone users do not have unlimited texting plans for their cell phones. The unsolicited texts force consumers to pay for a nuisance text message. The marketing firm at the center of the lawsuit filed in Oakland is PHD. The class action complaint says the court should fine the firm $5 million for violating the TCPA.
Is text spamming another form of advertising that is here to stay? Or do you think class action lawsuits can put an end to it?
Colson Hicks Eidson – Florida class action lawyers