National Grid Companies Hit with TCPA Class Action Over Debt Collection Calls [UPDATE]
Last Updated on May 3, 2022
Ewan et al v. National Grid USA Service Company, Inc. et al
Filed: December 22, 2017 ◆§ 1:17cv7472
National Grid USA Service Co. and The Brooklyn Union Gas Company face a lawsuit claiming they and their debt collectors called consumers without consent.
New York
Case Updates
January 27, 2022 – File A Claim: National Grid Class Action Settlement Site Is Live
The official website for the $38.5 million National Grid settlement described below is live and can be found here.
To submit a claim, head to this page and enter your personalized notice ID and confirmation code, or click the option on the right and proceed to enter your contact information. Claims must be submitted online or postmarked by May 22, 2022.
If you do nothing, you will not be issued a settlement payment.
Covered by the settlement are consumers in the United States who received a phone call using a prerecorded or artificial voice from National Grid and/or certain related entities at any time from March 9, 2011 until October 29, 2021. According to the website, National Grid encompasses the companies KeySpan Gas East Corporation, The Brooklyn Union Gas Company, Niagara Mohawk Power Corporation, Boston Gas Company, Colonial Gas Company, Massachusetts Electric Company, Nantucket Electric Company and The Narragansett Electric Company.
For more information on the litigation and settlement, head to this page. Contact information for the settlement administrator can be found here.
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November 16, 2021 – $38.5M Settlement Preliminarily Approved
A $38.5 million deal to settle the lawsuit detailed on this page and another similar case with which it was consolidated has received a judge’s preliminary approval.
According to court documents, the settlement will cover U.S. residents who, anytime between March 9, 2011 and October 29, 2021 received certain telemarketing calls from National Grid that used a prerecorded or artificial voice. Included are calls about the payment or status of a National Grid bill or account; an “important matter” concerning a bill or account; a disconnect notice concerning a National Grid utility account; an invitation to attend a customer assistance expo or speak with the National Grid Consumer Advocacy Group, National Grid Consumer Advocate, or National Grid Credit Department; or the availability of a government assistance program for paying invoices.
The National Grid utilities that fall under the deal include KeySpan Gas East Corporation, The Brooklyn Union Gas Company, Niagara Mohawk Power Corporation, Boston Gas Company, Colonial Gas Company, Massachusetts Electric Company, Nantucket Electric Company and The Narragansett Electric Company.
Those who fit the aforementioned criteria will be able to file a claim for payment, which plaintiffs’ counsel estimates will fall between $50 and $150 depending on how many claims are filed. Notices to those who are covered by the deal are expected to be sent via email and first-class mail and will include more information on the settlement and how to submit a claim. A website, which was not live at the time this update was written, will also be established at NationalGridTCPASettlement.com.
The settlement also includes non-monetary relief that an October 29 memo describes as “nothing less than a wholesale revamping of National Grid’s TCPA compliance procedures.” According to the memo, National Grid has agreed to implement “multiple ways” for customers to prevent robocalls, including an internal do-not-call list that will be honored by National Grid, its vendors and third-party debt collection agencies.
U.S. District Judge Joanna Seybert preliminarily approved the settlement on November 8 and scheduled a final approval hearing for June 10, 2022.
Call center operator National Grid USA Service Company, Inc. and natural gas provider The Brooklyn Union Gas Company are on the wrong side of a proposed class action in which two plaintiffs claim the companies, as well as debt collectors working on their behalf, unlawfully use automated dialing systems to place calls to consumers’ cell phones. In the complaint, the plaintiffs back up their argument by citing job openings posted by the defendant seeking someone for “outbound collections” with experience using a predictive dialer and designing and executing call campaigns for collections. Moreover, the complaint points to an admission by the defendants’ parent conglomerate, National Grid, to the Federal Communications Commission in 2014 that they routinely use prerecorded calls to communicate with consumers.
The plaintiffs, both former Brooklyn Union Gas customers, claim they never provided the defendants with consent to call their cell phones. The case says the calls concerned allegations about debts supposedly owed by the plaintiffs to Brooklyn Union Gas.
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