in Newswire Published on March 16, 2023

American Express Hit with Class Action Over Alleged Robocalls

Duke v. American Express Company

Filed: March 13, 2023 ◆§ 4:23-cv-00125

A class action alleges American Express has run afoul of the Telephone Consumer Protection Act by placing pre-recorded calls to consumers’ phone numbers without first obtaining their consent.

Defendant(s)

American Express Company

Law(s)

Telephone Consumer Protection Act

State(s)

Arizona

A proposed class action alleges American Express has run afoul of the Telephone Consumer Protection Act (TPCA) by placing pre-recorded calls to consumers’ phone numbers without first obtaining their consent.

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The 15-page case was filed by an Arizona resident who says she began receiving unwanted robocalls and text messages from American Express in August 2022 that continued for several months, even after she asked the company to stop contacting her. According to the complaint, the company’s debt collection calls and text messages were intended for somebody the plaintiff does not know.

The plaintiff says that before August of last year, she received calls from American Express and went through automated prompts until she could speak to a live representative. Although she told the employee they had the wrong number and asked them to stop contacting her, American Express continued to call the woman at least seven times between August and November, the filing claims.

“In addition, Defendant American Express’s employees communicated the name of the intended recipient of the calls/texts and also disclosed personal contact details about [the intended recipient], including how much debt was owed,” the complaint states.

Per the suit, the plaintiff received an unsolicited text from American Express in October 2022 that provided her with a link to AmericanExpress.com and told her to “Act Soon: Pay your past due balance and avoid the risk of losing your account.” When the plaintiff responded by texting, “Hello,” American Express sent her another message telling her to call a number belonging to its account services team for help, the lawsuit relays.

The filing states that the unauthorized calls harmed the plaintiff in the form of “annoyance, nuisance, and invasion of privacy, and disturbed the use and enjoyment of her phone, in addition to the wear and tear on the phone’s hardware (including the phone’s battery) and the consumption of memory on the phone and her voicemail.”

The case also alleges that American Express’ wrong number robocalls are made “en masse,” as numerous consumers have posted complaints online describing experiences similar to the plaintiff’s.

The lawsuit seeks to cover the following class:

“All persons in the United States who from four years prior to the filing of this action through class certification (1) Defendants (or an agent acting on behalf of Defendants) called on their cellular phone number (2) using a pre-recorded voice message, and (3) for whom the Defendant claims (a) it obtained prior express consent in the same manner as Defendant claims it supposedly obtained prior express consent to call Plaintiff, or (b) Defendant did not obtain prior express consent.”

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