Gannett-Outsourced Calls Violate TCPA, Alleges Class Action
Gannett violates the Telephone Consumer Protection Act by authorizing telemarketing calls without consent to consumers who registered their phone numbers on the do-not-call registry or who were called despite asking for the calls to stop, alleged a class action Wednesday…
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(docket 2:22-cv-01464) in U.S. District Court for Eastern Wisconsin in Milwaukee. Gannett outsources its customer service and customer retention programs to a vendor, A Marketing Resource (AMR), for the unlawful calls to plaintiff Jean Zoulek, a Hubertus, Wisconsin, consumer, and the putative class, said the complaint. “Gannett provides lists of consumer phone numbers to AMR, including those that have subscribed to their publications in the past, for the sake of telemarketing their subscription services to them,” it said. Gannett pays AMR for each subscription renewal it generates, it said. “Numerous consumers have posted complaints online about calls they received from AMR, including complaints from consumers who received unsolicited calls after telling AMR employees to stop calling,” said the complaint. The FCC “has instructed that corporations such as Gannett may not avoid liability by having their telemarketing outsourced,” it said. Zoulek’s class action seeks injunctive relief and statutory damages. Neither Gannett nor AMR commented Thursday.