Latest Class-Action Lawsuit Against Temu Alleges Illegal Telemarketing
Phyllis King’s new class-action lawsuit against Temu alleges that the company mistook her do-not-call registry status for an invitation to share its dollar deals.
King, a Delaware resident, filed the class action on July 3, alleging that despite her status on the federal do-not-call registry, Temu texted her directly four times in April. According to the complaint, “The text messages marketed [Temu’s] ‘deals,’ such as items on sale for $1.99 or $1, and asked [King] to access links to [Temu’s] website.”
More from Sourcing Journal
King says she did not provide Temu with express, written consent to contact her, nor did she provide the company with her phone number. She also notes that she lacks interest in Temu’s products.
“At no point has [King] sought out or solicited information regarding [Temu’s] products or services prior to receiving the telemarketing text messages at issue,” the complaint reads.
King alleges that for herself and those similarly situated, receiving texts or calls from Temu means that “their privacy has been violated and they were subjected to annoying and harassing calls that constitute a nuisance,” going on to allege that the calls or texts “occupied [King’s] and class members’ telephone lines, used up their time and prevented them from receiving legitimate communications.”
A Temu spokesperson said the company handles consumers’ interests with sensitivity.
“Temu takes consumer protection seriously. We believe the lawsuit is without merit and intend to defend our interests vigorously,” the spokesperson said in an email to Sourcing Journal.
King’s counsel alleges that Temu’s purported action violate the Telephone Consumer Protection Act (TPCA) and said the class, which the team has proposed would include everyone in the U.S. who is listed on the do-not-call registry and has received two or more telemarketing calls or texts from Temu within a 12-month period.
According to King, the proposed class members “likely number at least in the hundreds because of the en masse nature of telemarketing calls and text messages.”
King and her counsel seek both monetary damages and injunctive relief, which would prevent Temu from future telemarketing communications with those on the do-not-call registry. The complaint suggests that, based on two separate causes of action, each member of the proposed class should receive about $2,000 in damages for each call or text Temu allegedly made in violation of the TPCA.
According to court records, Temu has not yet responded to King’s complaint.
The new lawsuit is far from the first consumer—or government—outcry over privacy violations by the ultra-low-price marketplace platform.
Temu has been the defendant in an active class action alleging that it used “deceptive” and “unscrupulous” practices around consumers’ data, in turn violating their privacy rights. It has also been investigated by South Korea’s FTC for privacy violations and is being sued by the state of Arkansas for similar privacy-related issues.
Solve the daily Crossword
