If you’ve ever endured a robocall about a “free cruise trip,” you may be entitled to some cash.
Resort Marketing Group, which represents cruise lines like Carnival, Royal Caribbean and Norwegian Cruise Line, settled a class action lawsuit that alleged the company violated the federal Telephone Consumer Protection Act (TCPA) by spamming thousands of people with recorded telemarketing calls without their prior consent, according to the lawsuit. Now consumers who received these calls can get up to $300 for each one they got — with a cap at $900 per phone line.
The marketing company violated the TCPA because they did not have the consumers’ permission to contact them. In 2009, the company started buying the contact information for consumers from a data broker, according to the lawsuit. The law does not allow telemarketers to send pre-recorded messages using automated dialing equipment to people without the caller’s written consent to be contacted that way.
The marketing company settled the lawsuit and now the company and the three cruise lines it represents owes between $7 million and $12.5 million, depending on the number of claims by individuals who received these calls filed. If the company didn’t settle, consumers would have been entitled to somewhere between $500 and $1,500 per violation of the act.
Those eligible to submit a claim had to have received a call between July 23, 2009 and March 8, 2014. If you’re wondering whether you’re eligible to submit a claim, you can file a claim form here before Nov. 3, 2017.