If you post an ad on Craigslist, that ad might be worth money to you. A company called One Stop Motors, in Las Vegas, NV appears to be at it again. Here is how the scam works.
You post an ad on Craigslist, or any advertising medium for that matter. Craigslist works best as it immediately creates liability for the scammer.
In your personal ad for sale on CL, you post that "IT IS NOT OK FOR COMMERCIAL INTERESTS". Then along comes this scam company trying to sell you their advertising services.
It starts with a call from a "automated female voice" offering to assist you. You didn't ask to be helped. Nevertheless, the "artificial voice" invites you to call back to list your vehicle. Guess what, if they called your cell phone, they broke the laws. The Federal TCPA (Telephone Consumer Protection Act) as below allows for $500 for EACH CALL like this. Yes, each call. You can use this weapon against ANY TELEMARKETER. If they called with an autodialer system or a pre-recorded voice:
, 47 U.S.C. 227 et seq. (tcpa). More specifically:
(b) Restrictions on use of
automated telephone equipment
(1) Prohibitions
It shall be unlawful for any
person within the United States, or any person outside the United States if the
recipient is within the United States
(A) to
make any call (other than a call made for emergency purposes or made with the
prior express consent of the called party) using any automatic telephone
dialing system or an artificial or prerecorded voice
(iii) to any telephone number assigned to a paging service,
cellular telephone service, specialized mobile radio service, or other radio
common carrier service, or any service for which the called party is charged
for the call;
That's it the penalty if $500 per call, yes $500 per call. I have made thousands of dollars from scam companies trying to solicit me after I told them not to (in this case you don't even need to, just them calling you creates liability)
The laws provide for damages here:
" (3) PRIVATE RIGHT OF ACTION. A
person or entity may, if otherwise permitted by the laws or rules of court of a
State, bring in an appropriate court of that State
(A) an action based on a violation of
this subsection or the regulations prescribed under this subsection to enjoin
such violation,
(B) an action to recover for actual
monetary loss from such a violation, or to receive $500 in damages for each
such violation, whichever is greater, or
(C) both such actions.
Yes $500 each call!
They have to be calling your cell with an autodialer or pre-recorded voice though.
It's time to put these bastards out of business. I received a call today and faxed over a lawsuit and they called back again. I asked to speak to Rob Wilder (the president of this fraud company) and was transferred to a "Joan" real winner of the human race, all she says is "no response will be forthcoming from this company". We will see about that when I have the Clark County, NV Sheriff padlock their business for a civil attachment. They are not out of my reach on the East Coast. I urge all contacted by this sham/scam company to sue them under the TCPA. Obviously I am not representing anybody but myself, but ANYBODY can file a small claims lawsuit. Please do and put companies like this OUT OF BUSINESS.
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