Job Website Smacked With Suit Over Unsolicited Texts

Job Website Smacked With Suit Over Unsolicited Texts

By Christopher Crosby
Law360, New York (August 3, 2017, 5:22 PM EDT) -- Consumers hit a job-placement website with a proposed class action in Florida federal court Wednesday alleging that the business robotexts unsolicited messages as part of a widescale telemarketing campaign that violates the Telephone Consumer Protection Act.
Although it collects cellphone numbers from applicants and send them texts of tailored job openings, Gigats.com also blasted people who never signed up for its service with offers in order to grow its customer base, consumers allege in a complaint.

Gigats not only failed to get consent to send the messages, but it also sent them to people who were listed on the national do not call list, the complaint states.

“Unfortunately for consumers, Gigats casts its marketing net too wide,” the complaint states.

Laura Hilton, an Ohio resident looking to represent consumers in the suit, says Florida-based Gigats and its subsidiaries sent her cellphone four texts containing job opening alerts between March and April.

The texts were addressed to another woman Hilton did not know, and were sent despite her number being listed on the national do not call list, the complaint states.

Similarly Daniel Metzger, a California resident also looking to lead the group of consumers, said he received texts from Gigats and others about jobs meant for another person. Despite texting “stop,” as instructed, he received two additional messages, the complaint states.

Both consumers say they never signed up for Gigats nor provided the company with their numbers.

“Widespread telemarketing, often through third parties such as defendants affiliates is a major method by which defendant recruits new customers,” the complaint states.

The consumers say the unauthorized text messages were sent in mass from an automatic texting, or robotexting, system. The messages annoyed them, drained their cellphone battery and invaded their privacy, the consumers say.

The complaint would establish three nationwide classes of consumers, including people who were autodialed without consent, people who were autodialed even after texting “stop”, and people whose numbers are on the do-not-call list. No estimate on the class size was given.

Hilton and Metzger have asked the court to prohibit the practices, stop Gigats from doing any telemarketing until it compiles an internal list of people on the national do not call list, and award damages.

In an email to Law360 Thursday an attorney for the consumers, Stefan Coleman, said, "Consumers have the right to be left alone and not contacted or intruded upon on their personal cell phones any time of day."

Gigats did not return a request for comment Thursday.

The consumers are represented by Stefan Coleman.

The case is Hilton et al v. Expand Incorporated number 6:17-cv-01427 in U.S. District Court for Florida Middle.

--Editing by Pamela Wilkinson.

Update: This story has been updated with comment from the consumers' attorney.