A judge in Nevada has granted class action certification in the lawsuit against Payday King Carey V. Brown, of Credit Payment Services, for violating the Telephone Consumer Protection Act with spam-texts.
Brown reportedly got his title as the “payday king” by operating a network of payday lending companies including Credit Payment Solutions, MyCashNow.com, PayDayMax.com and DiscountAdvances.com, according to the TimesFreePress.com. Brown and his companies are now facing a class action lawsuit for allegedly sending thousands of spam text messages offering high-interest payday loans. The Telephone Consumer Protection Act (TCPA) prohibits companies from sending unsolicited marketing texts. Violation of the TCPA carries statutory penalties between $500 and $1500 per text.
The class action lawsuit claims that Credit Payment Solutions, and its affiliated co-defendant companies, did not identify themselves in the content of the spam-texts. The texts contain links to different payday loan websites operated by the defendants where unsuspecting consumers can apply for a short-term loan. “It is only after a consumer takes the bait and applies for a short-term loan at the website [from the link in the text] that the true advertisers and beneficiaries of the text messages are revealed,” the TimesFreePress.com quotes from the lawsuit.
The defendants claim they shouldn’t be liable to individual consumers for the texts, presumably arguing that the texts originated from their affiliated marketing companies, not the payday loan companies or Brown himself. David Hutton, the attorney representing Brown’s companies, said that they only send out “one text message to one client.” However, their marketing affiliate, Leadpile, has blogged about the effectiveness of SMS lead generation (spam text message) illustrating in a detailed chart how a single spam text message can be sent to thousands of cell phones to generate more than 6,000 visits to a company’s website. Brown also allegedly argues that his companies are not subject to US law because he keeps his website servers offshore.
The law firm of Audet and Partners, LLP is currently investigating consumer complaints about spam-texts and violations of the Telephone Consumer Protection Act. Eligible claimants may be entitled to damages under the law, which provides between $500 and $1500 per unsolicited spam text. If you believe you have received unlawful spam texts, please contact one of Audet and Partners, LLP experienced spam-text lawyers at (800) 965-1461 or you can fill out the confidential case inquiry form on our website.
Source: Smith, Ellis (2014, March 28); Retrieved from: http://timesfreepress.com/news/2014/mar/28/lawsuit-against-payday-king-for-spam-texts-gains/
