Do you remember when telemarketers called during all hours of the day? Well, the Telephone Consumer Protection Act (TCPA) was enacted by the United States Congress to prevent annoying telemarketers from unexpectedly disrupting our lives. The TCPA also prohibits businesses from contacting mobile telephone numbers by using automated dialing equipment that projects recorded real or artificial voices. Consumers who receive unauthorized phone calls have the legal recourse to file lawsuits that fine TCPA violators between $500 and $1,500 for each call violation.
Wells Fargo discovered the cost of violating TCPA provisions, when plaintiffs John and Jesse Prather filed a class action lawsuit alleging Wells Fargo made automated phone calls to mobile telephone through the use of recorded real and artificial voices. Wells Fargo made the unlawful phone calls to collect student loans from bank customers.
The plaintiffs and Wells Fargo recently agreed to a TCPA class action settlement that provides cash compensation to class members who received automated dialed phone calls in an attempt to collect outstanding student loans. According to class counsel, Wells Fargo has agreed to create a settlement fund that exceeds $2 million. The claims administrator will distribute the money to eligible class member who submit valid and timely claims. As part of the agreement, some of the settlement fund covers attorney fees and administrative costs.
Wells Fargo vehemently denies the allegations presented in the class action lawsuit. The class action settlement does not require Wells Fargo to admit liability.
What You Need To Know
Class members in the Wells Fargo lawsuit include United States located mobile phone subscribers who received automated dialed phone calls using recorded voice technology between April 21, 2011 and December 19, 2015. The unauthorized phone calls must have referred to student loans. The potential award currently sits between $20 and $50. Eligible class members that want to learn about changes in the award should refer to the class action settlement website at www.PratherWellsFargoTCPA.com.
All eligible class members have to do is file a valid claim form by the deadline of July 31, 2017. The judge overseeing the legal proceedings for Jesse Prather and John W. Prather v. Wells Fargo Bank NA and Wells Fargo Education Financial Services, Case No. 1:15-cv-04231-SCJ, in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Georgia has scheduled the final hearing for August 30, 2017. Because of the complexity of reaching a class action settlement, class counsel comprises several law firms that include Lieff Cabraser Heinmann & Bernstein LLP, Meyer Wilson Co. LPA, Law Offices of Douglas J. Campion APC, and Skaar & Feagle LLP. John C. Lynch and David M. Gettings from Troutman Sanders LLP represent the defense counsel in the class action settlement.
