There is very little left for you to be one of the beneficiaries of the class action lawsuit against DirecTV for $17 million, accused of violating the Telephone Consumer Protection Act (TCPA in the United States).
The lawsuit alleges that DirecTV made collection calls with pre-recorded messages to cell phones from people who were not its customers, which is illegal. He did it through four debt collection agencies.
The TCPA is a federal law that tries to prevent companies or other institutions from making certain types of calls to the general public. This law makes it illegal to place a debt collection call using a pre-recorded message to a cell phone unless the calling party first obtains prior express consent to call the recipient.
As part of the settlement, eligible individuals could receive up to $400 in favor of users within the National Do-Not-Call Registry.
STEP BY STEP: SO YOU CAN CLAIM YOUR MONEY
- The first thing you should know is that the deadline to be part of the lawsuit and send your form is next Monday, August 7.
- To find out if you received an unwanted call from DirecTV, you can find out by doing click here. There you put your cell phone number, and it will appear whether or not you received collection calls.
- If you have been one of those affected, you can fill out the form in which you must enter personal information such as name, telephone number, address, among others.
- The lawsuit included 113,997 phone numbers affected by the calls. If you received a notice informing you of this settlement, your name is associated with a phone number that received calls and you must file a claim for payment.
- If you did not receive a notice, you can still submit a Claim Form with your phone number. If your phone number is on the list of those 113,997 numbers, you may be eligible for payment. You can also check to see if your number is on the list and then submit a Claim Form.
HOW MUCH MONEY WOULD YOU RECEIVE AND WHEN?
The median cash payout is estimated to be $461, and the minimum $324, based on demand estimates where 20% of people file valid claims.
It is not yet clear when the payments will begin to be sent. These will take place approximately two months after the Court approves the settlement.
The final approval hearing is scheduled for August 23. Even if the Court approves the Settlement, there may be appeals and it is uncertain how long they may take to resolve.
For more information about this lawsuit, you can do click here.
