| | | Couple Wins $1M Suit Against Bank of America for 'Outrageous' Robocall Harassment
.............................................................................................................
By BRIAN ROSS, STEPHANIE ZIMMERMANN and RANDY KREIDER
8 hours ago
Good Morning America
Bank of America is being forced to hand over more than $1 million to a Florida couple after the bank flooded them with hundreds of loan collection calls for years – the latest example of alleged behavior that has cost the bank tens of millions.
In a complaint filed in July, attorneys for Nelson and Joyce Coniglio said that the couple had been on the receiving end of “patterns of outrageous, abusive and harassing conduct” by a subsidiary of Bank of America that included 700 calls in four years, after the bank said the couple fell behind on mortgage loan payments in 2009. The Coniglios also received "threatening collection letters asserting false and misleading information,” the complaint said.
The couple sent multiple letters from legal representation asking the bank to stop, but the calls -- sometimes up to five a day -- continued. The complaint describes automated calls leaving repeated pre-recorded messages.
“If I did what Bank of America did, I’d probably be behind bars,” Joyce Coniglio told CBS News' Tampa affiliate WTSP.
In the end, a Florida judge awarded the couple $1,051,000 -- approximately $1,500 for every call -- in addition to court costs and attorney fees.
"This judgment against Bank of America is an epic win for consumers across the country," Billy Howard, an attorney for the Coniglios told ABC News. "It's time to fight back against these 'robo-bullies'."
More (with a real kicker at the end) |
|
