If you received a robocall from Carnival, Norwegian or Royal Caribbean between July 2009 and March 2014 you may be entitled to a decent sum of money.
A class-action lawsuit was filed against these cruise lines and Resort Marketing Group Inc. by Philip Charvat, Miami Herald reported. Charvat said he received pre-recorded cruise line telemarketing calls after the cruise lines contracted the group to deliver these calls. He further said that neither of the cruise companies nor the marketing group obtained his permission to contact him. As a result, Charvat and his attornies argued that the companies violated the Telephone Consumer Protection Act (TCPA).
“The TCPA imposes substantial penalties on companies that knowingly violate its telemarketing restrictions,” Top Class Actions wrote. “It generally forbids telemarketers from making calls using automated dialing equipment and prerecorded messages, unless the person being called has given the caller prior express written consent to be contacted that way.”
Individuals who receive calls that violate the TCPA can bring a civil TCPA lawsuit against the caller, Top Class Actions mentioned. Callers, on the other hand, can be subjected to statutory damages of $500 to $1,500 per call. In this particular case, individuals in the U.S who owned, subscribed to, or used residential or cellular telephone numbers listed in Resort Marketing Group’s dialer database, and who received robocalls from any of the three cruise companies are eligible to receive up to $900 per telephone number.
The lawsuit came to a settlement in July 2017, which was approved by U.S. District Judge Andrea R. Wood. The agreement requires the companies set aside a fund valuing between $7 million and $12.5 million in order to pay off claims that are made.
Top Actions Class says members who submit valid and timely claims can receive payments for up to three calls per phone at $300 per call. However, the maximum payment is $900.
To file a claim, individuals can go to the lawsuits filing claim website where they can check if they are eligible to file a claim. The website notes that claims must be filed no later than Nov. 3, 2017.
Feature Image via Flickr/sgbirch
