Class Action Claims Newegg Failed to Honor Opt-Out Requests for ‘Shuffle’ Event Texts

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A proposed class action claims online retailer Newegg, Inc. has sent unlawful telemarketing texts to consumers’ cell phones after they attempted to opt out of receiving the messages.

Alleging violations of the federal Telephone Consumer Protection Act (TCPA), the 18-page case claims Newegg, a company that helped popularize PC building, either had no policy in place to keep track of consumers’ opt-out requests or did not follow “whatever policy, process or procedure it had in place,” such that consumers have frequently received automated texts after requesting that the messages stop.

The plaintiff, a California resident, claims to have initially signed up for Newegg’s “Shuffle” marketing program in order to participate in the popular tech e-retailer’s drawing system to purchase high-demand, limited-supply products. The case says the plaintiff subsequently received multiple text messages informing him of the start times of certain Shuffle events. 

After unsuccessfully participating in several drawings, the plaintiff decided to opt out of Newegg’s Shuffle program by replying to the texts with “STOP,” the suit relays. Although Newegg responded with two identical messages stating the man would no longer receive the texts, the defendant continued to send additional messages regarding the start times of its Shuffle events, according to the case.

The plaintiff says he ultimately attempted to opt out of the text program four separate times yet continued to receive the automated messages.

Per the suit, Newegg knew it did not have consent to send texts to the plaintiff’s cell phone given it received and acknowledged his “STOP” commands. Nevertheless, the case alleges, Newegg sent at least nine unauthorized messages to the plaintiff and likely thousands more to other consumers without their permission.

The lawsuit claims the texts were sent using an automatic telephone dialing system capable of sending messages en masse without human intervention. 

“In other words, no human being physically dialed each digit of Plaintiff’s and the other class members’ telephone numbers to call their phones—the calls were made automatically pursuant to a computer program that was programmed to automatically decide what phone numbers to call when, and what content to send,” the complaint reads.

Per the case, Newegg was aware of the TCPA’s prohibition on the use of autodialers to send text messages without recipients’ prior consent yet “made the business decision to send these text messages, anyway.” Moreover, the suit says the defendant unlawfully sent messages to consumers whose numbers were listed on the National Do Not Call Registry after receiving their requests that the texts cease.

The plaintiff claims Newegg’s texts violated his privacy, “temporarily seized and trespassed” upon the use of his phone, forced him to divert attention from other activities, were “annoying and a nuisance” and wasted his time.

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