No, it’s not. Carnival
Carnival Cruise Line
Carnival Cruise Line is an international cruise line with headquarters in Doral, Florida. Its logo is the funnel like the funnels found on their ships, with red, white and blue colors. The funnels are shaped like a whale's tail. Currently, Carnival is the largest cruise line in the world, based on passengers car…
What is the average settlement for a robocall lawsuit?
You could be eligible for a settlement between $300 and $900. Resort Marketing Group allegedly made robocalls from 2009 to 2014, telling customers they were eligible for free cruises. Victims say the calls were just a marketing gimmick.
Did resort marketing group make robocalls about free cruises?
Resort Marketing Group allegedly made robocalls from 2009 to 2014, telling customers they were eligible for free cruises. Victims say the calls were just a marketing gimmick. To see if you are eligible for part of the settlement, go to this site, click "submit claim" and follow the links to enter your phone number.
What happened to the resort marketing group lawsuit?
Then, in June 2017, Resort Marketing Group and three cruise companies ended the lawsuit by agreeing to a settlement. Charvat would drop his case, the settlement stipulated, if the defendant companies set up a $12.5 million fund to compensate the millions of people whose privacy rights were allegedly violated by Resort Marketing Group's calls.
Did cruise lines really pay $12 million to settle robocalls lawsuit?
Carnival, Royal Caribbean and Norwegian cruise lines really have agreed to pay up to $12.5 million to settle a lawsuit that alleged millions of robocalls offering free cruises were made nationwide on their behalf by Resort Marketing Group Inc. or related companies from July 2009 to March 2014.
Who is Resort Marketing Group?
A company called Resort Marketing Group—which represented cruise companies such as Royal Caribbean, Norwegian Cruise Lines, and Carnival —purchased hundreds of thousands of pieces of consumer data from a third-party broker in 2012.
How to File a Robocall Lawsuit?
We’ll take you through some crucial steps required for filing a lawsuit against a company that has bothered you with (an) illegal robocall (s). For starters, it’s important to understand your consumer rights and differentiate between legal and illegal robocalls.
Why do scammers spoof their phone numbers?
They may even spoof their phone number to make it look like it belongs to a particular institution. Some scammers target particular groups and minorities. The most well-known examples involve robocalls in Mandarin that focused on Chinese-speaking nationals living in the U.S.
Why are robocalls bad?
The problem with robocalls is that they’re often coming from illegitimate companies that do not care about the Do Not Call Registry or any other type of legal regulations. In many cases, those companies operate overseas, which makes it difficult to enact state and federal laws against the perpetrators.
What does it mean when a scam calls you?
The narrative of most scam calls implies that there has been some sort of trouble, which can only be solved if you wire funds immediately or reveal personal information.
How does Robo Revenge work?
Robo Revenge is set upon the foundation of DoNotPay’s virtual credit card, a tool that can generate a pseudo credit card number that’s not linked to your actual bank account. To the merchant or, in this case, the scammer, this will look like a legitimate credit card number, and they will, at some point, endeavor to withdraw money from it. Once they make that attempt, they will fall into a trap because they’ve just revealed their true identity. In most cases, scammers caught red-handed prefer to avoid court altogether and may offer you a settlement to make things right. The figure you’re looking at could go up to $3,000!
What does "know your enemy" mean when dealing with robocalls?
When dealing with robocalls, a well-known proverb comes to mind: Know your enemy. Scammers are getting more creative by the day, and it may feel increasingly difficult to keep track of their devious schemes and patterns.
The Case
According to the 2012 lawsuit [ PDF ], the cruise lines authorized Resort Marketing Group to make recorded “robocalls” to customers. Starting in 2009, Resort Marketing Group began telemarketing on behalf of the cruise lines by purchasing consumers’ contact information from a third-party data broker. Resort Marketing Group claimed that the individuals it contacted had opted in to receive the calls by visiting various websites, which are unaffiliated with the company or any of the cruise lines.
The Settlement
A federal judge granted preliminary approval of the settlement [ PDF] in July. Under the settlement, the companies would set up a fund no less than $7 million and no more than $12.5 million. The ultimate size of the fund will depend on the number of claims filed.
What company violated the Telephone Consumer Protection Act?
You’ll recall that last year, we told you about a class-action lawsuit in which it was found that a company called Resort Marketing Group — which in the past represented Carnival, Royal Caribbean and Norwegian cruise lines, among others — violated the Telephone Consumer Protection Act by spamming thousands of people. Their unsolicited, pre-recorded messages promising a free cruise were proved to be a type of spam prohibited unless specifically solicited.
Is a free cruise to tropical getaways costing one company a penny?
Offering a free cruise to tropical getaways is costing one company a pretty penny!
What happens if you get a robocall from Carnival?
If you received a robocall from Carnival, Norwegian or Royal Caribbean, you might want to enter your phone number on a class-action website. A class-action lawsuit against those cruise lines and Resort Marketing Group means you might get between $300 to $900 for the calls. Philip Charvat filed the lawsuit, saying he had received telemarketing calls ...
Where is the case of Charvat v Resort Marketing Group et al?
For further reading, the case is Charvat v. Resort Marketing Group et al., Case No. 1:12cv05746 in the U.S. District Court, Northern District of Illinois.
How much money can a class member receive for a telemarketing call?
Settlement Class Members may receive up to Three Hundred U.S. Dollars ($300) for each telemarketing call made to a Settlement Class Member’s residential or cellular telephone line by the RMG Defendants as reflected by the Call Records. The maximum number of calls for which a Settlement Class Member may recover is three (3) per phone number and the most any one Settlement Class Member may receive is up to Nine Hundred US Dollars ($900.00) per unique phone number. A Settlement Class Member may submit multiple claims only if they have multiple phone numbers listed in the Call Records.
How much is the settlement fund?
However, if the number of people eligible for compensation is high enough, then the “settlement fund” ($7-12.5 million) will have to be more thinly disbursed, meaning the amount each individual gets could well end up being lower than $300.
Who filed a lawsuit against the cruise line?
Philip Charvat filed the lawsuit, saying he had received telemarketing calls without his permission after the cruise lines contracted with Resort Marketing Group. Without that consent, Charvat and his attornies claimed the involved companies had violated the Telephone Consumer Protection Act.
Is the settlement arrangement real?
The case is real, the settlement arrangement is real, and the possibility of receiving compensation is real, although far from certain.
How much can you get for a robocall?
Could you be in line for a robocall settlement? Most people don't know it, but everyone who receives illegal telemarketing calls or texts is entitled to up to $1,500 in damages for each violation. Our experienced robocall attorneys can help.
What company is suing for spam cell phone numbers?
In August 2017, home security company Monitronics agreed to settle multiple class action suits for $28 million, resolving allegations that authorized dealers of Monitronics products used autodialer systems and pre-corded voice messages to spam residential and cell phone numbers, including numbers that are on the National Do Not Call Registry.
How much did Capital One pay in TCPA?
In one of the largest TCPA settlements ever, Capital One and three collection agencies, Leading Edge Recovery Solutions, Capital Management Services, and AllianceOne Receivables Management, have agreed to pay $75.5 million to plaintiffs involved in a class action.
What does it feel like to receive telemarketing calls?
Most people who receive constant telemarketing calls feel like they have no options. Despite feeling harassed and hounded at all hours, the vast majority of Americans think the only answer to incessant "solicitation" calls is to ignore them.
How much did AT&T pay in a class action lawsuit?
AT&T Forced To Pay $45 Million. In another class action lawsuit, AT&T Mobility agreed to pay $45 million after mediation sessions in which a plaintiff provided evidence that he had been called 53 times on his cell phone in fewer than two years.
How much did the Berkley Group pay in damages?
In 2016, a class action lawsuit which had been pending since 2012 finally ended with the defendants, Caribbean Cruise Line, The Berkley Group, Vacation Ownership Marketing Tours, and Economic Strategy Group agreeing to pay up to $76 million in damages.
Why do people file a class action lawsuit?
Many lawsuits filed under the Telephone Consumer Protection Act come in the form of a class action, because it's usually the case that hundreds or thousands of people have been fielding the same illegal sales calls. Class action allows those victims to band together, putting pressure on companies who break the law and flood people's phones with an endless stream of marketing calls.
The Resort Marketing Group has settled with the Cruise Industry Association of America and several other cruise lines
The company has agreed to reimburse consumers who received telemarketing calls. The settlement requires these companies to provide full refunds within six months, but the cap is $900 per phone line. In addition to the full refund, the plaintiffs will be reimbursed a total of $2.5 million.
The lawsuit claims that the Defendants violated the TCPA by soliciting customers for surveys
These surveys were for the sale of vacation properties and timeshares. The majority of surveys came from Political Surveys of America. Individuals who accepted the free cruise were then transferred to a representative of the Caribbean Cruise Line. The TCPA has allowed for a class action settlement of the claims.
How much did Carnival pay for robocalls?
Carnival, Royal Caribbean and Norwegian cruise lines really have agreed to pay up to $12.5 million to settle a lawsuit that alleged millions of robocalls offering free cruises were made nationwide on their behalf by Resort Marketing Group Inc. or related companies from July 2009 to March 2014. But some people have tried to scam their way ...
What is the settlement administrator's website?
The settlement administrator also set up a website, rmgtcpasettlement.com, where others could check if their phone number or numbers had been called, making them eligible to file.
How much money can you claim for a phone call?
People who received calls could file a claim for up to $300 per call, for up to three calls, for a total of up to $900, for each phone number that was called. The amount each person would receive would depend on how many claims were filed. Some call recipients were mailed a notice from the settlement administrator instructing them to file a claim.
Why did the cruise line call violate the Consumer Protection Act?
The lawsuit alleged the calls violated the Telephone Consumer Protection Act because they were made to people who had not previously agreed to receive the calls. It alleged people were told they had “won” or been “selected” to receive a cruise, but later were told they would have to pay taxes or port fees to reserve their trip.
Who must submit proof linking them to the phone number or numbers they allege were called?
Everyone who filed a claim through the website, or who mailed a claim, must submit proof linking them to the phone number or numbers they allege were called.
Did the settlement get media attention?
The settlement got a lot of media attention, including from me. I wrote a column about it last year in my previous role as the Watchdog.
Will each claimant receive a pro rata settlement?
The settlement website says that due to the significant response, each claimant will receive a pro rata share of the settlement fund. “The exact per consumer recovery is still unknown, but it is expected to amount to several dollars,” the website says. If you haven’t already filed a claim, you missed the boat.
