Millions settled: Law student wins case against Stellantis spam tactics
The FCA corporation, which is currently part of Stellantis, attempted to promote the clearance of one of its models in a morally and legally dubious way. However, among the recipients was a diligent law student who, after years of legal battles, secured a costly settlement for the company.
This unusual story begins back in 2018, before the merger of FCA and PSA, which resulted in the formation of Stellantis. The American branch of FCA chose a rather unorthodox method to advertise the clearance of the Chrysler Pacifica, which turned out to be quite problematic in the long run.
They opted for the so-called "ringless voicemail." These messages are sent directly to the subscriber's voicemail without making a call. Modern phones often flag these messages as spam, and in some countries, the use of this method is outright banned.
Unfortunately, one of the recipients of the message was Miriam Gregorian, a law student. The message from FCA not only surprised her but also raised concerns about privacy protection.
She was determined enough 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 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 for many years, as the court could not precisely determine whether and what losses were incurred by those who received the message. Although the company maintained 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 CAD 34 or CAD 81 in compensation.
It may not seem like a substantial sum, but given the number of affected individuals, the total settlement value is expected to be CAD 12 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.
