Victims of Free Cruise Telemarketing Calls Could Get Up To $900 In Settlement

Who hasn't fallen prey to those all too familiar phone calls offering you a "free cruise"? You know the ones I mean. The persistent auto-dials that tell you that you have won, or are entitled to a free trip to the Bahamas or some other tropical destination.

Well thanks to a class action lawsuit and recent settlement, you may be entitled to some cold hard cash! Anywhere from $300-900 in fact!

The lawsuit claims that the recorded calls made between 2009 and 2014 violate the Telephone Consumer Protection Act. A marketing company titles RMG made pre-recorded telemarketing calls to landlines and cell phones offering free cruises with Carnival, Royal Caribbean, and Norwegian as promotions and that these calls are said to have violated the TCPA.

A settlement was reached last month to payout up to $12.5 million to people who received the calls.

You are included in the Settlement as a Settlement Class Member if you were the owner, subscriber, or user of a residential or cellular telephone line that received pre-recorded telemarketing calls between July of 2009 and March of 2014 that were initiated by RMG during which you were offered a free cruise with Carnival, Royal Caribbean and Norwegian cruise lines and your phone number is contained in the call records produced by RMG in this case. The Call Records contain all phone numbers that RMG used to initiate pre-recorded telemarketing calls to promote its business. Any person submitting a claim with a telephone number not found in the records of RMG is ineligible for distribution from the settlement fund.

Finding out if you are part of the claim is really, really easy! Just click here and follow the prompt to enter your phone number and submit a claim. The site will automatically scan the logs for whatever number you have entered and will let you know if you are part of the claim. Every phone number you have could be eligible, so try them all and submit claims for any you find!

Each RMG telemarketing call you received will have a maximum value of $300. You may file a claim for up to three calls per telephone number included in the Call Records. This means that your maximum payment amount could be $900 per telephone number. Although payment amounts could be $300-$900, actual payment amounts will be based on the total number of calls and valid Claim Forms received. For example:

• If, after deducting attorneys’ fees and expenses, the incentive award, and settlement administration costs, the amount needed to pay all valid claims is less than the balance of the Settlement Fund, then each Settlement Class Member who submits a valid Claim Form will receive $300 per call for up to three calls, and the remaining funds will be donated cy pres to the National Consumer Law Center (www.nclc.org) or other approved recipient.
• If, after deducting attorneys’ fees and expenses, the incentive award, and settlement administration costs, the amount needed to pay all valid claims is greater than the Settlement Fund Ceiling, then each Settlement Class Member who submits a valid Claim Form will receive a proportionately reduced payment amount, meaning each Settlement Class Member will receive the same reduced payment amount per call for up to three calls.

To receive a cash payment, you must submit a Claim Form by November 3, 2017. The Court will hold a Final Approval Hearing on April 4, 2018 to decide whether to grant final approval to the Settlement. If the Court approves the Settlement, there may be appeals. It is always uncertain whether appeals will be filed and, if so, how long it will take to resolve them. Settlement payments will be provided as soon as possible, if and when the Court grants final approval to the Settlement and after any appeals are resolved.