Wells Fargo Dealer Services has agreed to pay $14.8 million to settle a class action lawsuit alleging that the auto lender made electronic collections calls without prior permission from the borrower, according to a press release issued by the lawyers in the case on Monday.
The preliminary anticipated settlement was announced in February, but was reduced by nearly $1 million after the courts discovered the class was smaller than originally estimated, according to a published report. Wells Fargo denies the allegations, but both sides have opted to settle.
It was initially estimated that nearly 3.4 million people were affected in the class action lawsuit, which would have resulted in payments of $4.65 per person. However, new estimates that were not released and low claims rates are likely to make payments closer to $20 to $50 per person, according to the release.
The suit claims Wells Fargo violated the Telephone Consumer Protection Act (TCPA) by using an automatic telephone dialing system and/or an artificial or prerecorded voice to initiate calls or text messages to cell phones. This is not illegal on its own, but the plaintiffs claim this was done without consent beforehand.
A spokeswoman from Wells Fargo Dealer Services declined to comment.
Final approval of the settlement in the the Northern District of Georgia is scheduled for November. Borrowers who feel they have received these robo calls without permission can submit a claim at lusterwellsfargotcpa.com.
