Albertsons Hit with Class Action Over Alleged Marketing Texts

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Albertsons Companies, Inc. faces a proposed class action that claims the grocery store operator sent automated text messages to consumers without first obtaining consent to do so.

The 13-page lawsuit alleges more specifically that Albertsons has violated the Telephone Consumer Protection Act (TCPA) by using an automatic telephone dialing system to send non-emergency telemarketing text messages without first securing recipients’ consent.

“The TCPA was designed to prevent calls and messages like the ones described within this complaint, and to protect the privacy of citizens like Plaintiff,” the case, filed in California’s Central District on June 18, reads.

The plaintiff, a Los Angeles County resident, claims to have received the following unsolicited text message from Albertsons on November 3, 2020:

After the plaintiff replied “stop,” the defendant allegedly sent another message, stating, “This confirms [Plaintiff has] opted out and will not receive future messages on this shortcode. For help call 1-877-258-2799. Msg&Data rates may apply.”

The case asserts that the plaintiff was not interacting with a live Albertsons agent but rather “an agentless text blast generated by a computer” and sent automatically based on pre-programmed parameters.

“The text messages sent to Plaintiff’s cellular telephone were not sent by a live agent and thus created a one-sided conversation in which Plaintiff could not receive a response to his questions and/or concerns,” the complaint reads. “The text messages also were sent in an automated fashion as a result of computerized campaigns that were pre-programmed in advance to send messages out to large groups of consumers all at once, either sequentially or via algorithmic dialing, i.e. in an automated fashion by a computer.”

The lawsuit argues that Albertsons used what the TCPA defines as an “artificial voice” or “prerecorded voice” in its messages to the plaintiff given the texts were drafted in advance and sent automatically pursuant to “scheduled blasts.” According to the case, the plaintiff was never a customer of Albertsons and never provided his cell phone number to the defendant “for any reason whatsoever,” much less consent to receive automated text messages.

The lawsuit looks to represent anyone in the U.S. who, within the last four years and until the date of class certification, received any non-emergency unsolicited text messages placed by way of an automatic telephone dialing system and/or an artificial or prerecorded voice from Albertsons without the recipient’s prior express consent.

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