Sellantis pays $8.95 million in voicemail spam lawsuit settlement
The FCA corporation, now part of Stellantis, attempted to advertise the clearance of one of its models in a morally and legally dubious way. However, the recipient list included a diligent law student who, after years of legal battles, secured a costly settlement for the company.
5:38 PM EDT, May 18, 2024
This unusual story begins back in 2018, before the merger of FCA and PSA that resulted in the formation of Stellantis. The American branch of FCA chose an unorthodox method to advertise the clearance of the Chrysler Pacifica, which turned out to be problematic in the long run.
They opted for the so-called "ringless voicemail". These are messages sent directly to the subscriber's voicemail without making a call. Modern phones often flag these messages as spam. In some countries, the use of this method is outright banned.
Unfortunately, one of the recipients was Miriam Gregorian, a law student. The message from FCA not only surprised her but also raised concerns about privacy protection.
Determined, she decided to gather a group of people who received the message and then file a class-action lawsuit, citing the Telephone Consumer Protection Act. The recipients had not given any consent to receive information from FCA. Subsequently, a similar incident involving messages from the RAM brand was also included in the case.
Law student sued Stellantis. Settlement worth millions of dollars
The legal tussle between the student and Stellantis lasted many years, as the court struggled to determine the losses incurred by those who received the message. Although the company maintains that it did not break any laws, it eventually decided to settle, as reported by the American portal "CarScoops".
As part of the dispute resolution, Stellantis committed to compensating each person who received the message about the Chrysler promotion. There are reportedly 89,000 people on the list, and each will receive $25 or $60 in compensation.
While the sum may not seem substantial, given the number of affected individuals, the total settlement value is expected to be $8.95 million. For a company as large as Stellantis, this expenditure is not overly burdensome, but it is certainly a satisfactory solution for all those involved, particularly Gregorian.
