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WEBVTT >> THIS IS A MESSAGE FOR PAULDEMUTH.>> NINE TIMES A DAY, I'M GETTINGA CALL.>> HELLO, MAY I SPEAK TO PAULDEMUTH>> I WENT BALLISTIC.PAUL: WHEN PAUL DEMUTH FELBEHIND ON HIS STUDENT LOANPAYMENTS DURING HARD TIMES, THECALLS FROM NAVIENT, FORMERLYART OF SALLIE MAE, STARTEDCOMING.AND THE CALLS KEPT COMING EVENAFTER DEMUTH TOLD THEM TO STOP.ACTION NEWS INVESTIGATESOBTAINED AUDIO OF SOME OF THOSCALLS.>> IS PAUL DEMUTH THERE?>> YEAH, I ALREADY SPOKE TO YOUGUYS YESTERDAY, IT'S ALREADYTAKEN CARE OF.WHY DO YOU KEEP CALLING MESTOP CALLING ME AND MY COSIGNER.PAUL: BUT JUST SIX HOURS LATER,NAVIENT CALLED AGAIN.>> HI, I WAS CALLING TO SPEAKWITH PAUL DEMUTH?>> HI, I'M HERE TO TELL YOUYOU'RE GOING TO STOP CALLING MEBECAUSE THIS IS BORDERLINEHARASSMENT.IF I DON'T HAVE THE MONEY AT9:45 IN THE MORNING, WHAT THEHECK MAKES YOU THINK AT 11:00I'M GOING TO HAVE THE MONEY?PAUL: AMY GINSBURG IS DEMUTH'ATTORNEY.>> ONCE THE CONSUMER SAYS STOPCALLING ME, THEY NEED TO STOPROBOCALLING.THEY CAN STILL MAKE MANUAL PHONEROBOCALLS.PAUL: DID THAT WORK?>> NO.WHY DO YOU KEEP BLOWING UP MYPHONE?THIS IS HARASSMENT.PAUL: SO DEMUTH FILED SUIT.AN INDEPENDENT ARBITRATOR FOUNNAVIENT MADE 200 UNAUTHORIZEDROBOCALLS TO DEMUTH DURING ATWO-YEAR PERIOTHE ARBITRATOR SAID NAVIENT MADETHE CALLS KNOWINGLY OR WILLINGAND ORDERED THE COMPANY TO PAYDEMUTH $1500 PER CALL, A TOTALOF $300,00DEMUTH OWED JUST $15,000 ON HISLOAN AND THAT MONEY WILL BEDEDUCTED FROM THE AWAR>> HERE IT'S PRETTY CLEAR INPAUL'S CASE THOSE CALLS WEREKNOWINGLY AND WILLINGLY MADEBECAUSE THE RECORDINGS WEREPRETTY CLEAR THAT HE WAS TELLINGTHEM DON'T CALL ME AND THEYCONTINUED TO CALL.PAUL: NAVIENT REFUSED OUREQUESTS FOR AN INTERVIEW OR ASTATEMENT ON THE DEMUTH CASE. ACCORDING TO COURT RECORDS,NAVIENT SAID DEMUTH NEVERREVOKED HIS CONSENT TO ALLOWROBOCALLS, AND THEREFORE, ALLCALLS PLACED TO HIS CELLULARTELEPHONE WERE APPROPRIATE.THE COMPANY IS APPEALING THEARBITRATOR'S RULING.DEMUTH IS FAR FROM THE ONLY ONEALLEGING HARASSING CALLS BNAVIENT.LAST MONTH, SIX CONSUMER GROUPSSENT THIS LETTER TO THE FCACCUSING NAVIENT OF MASSIVE ANDCONTINUOUS VIOLATIONS OF THEFEDERAL ANTI-ROBOCALLING LAW.THE LETTER SAYS, "NAVIENT HASDELIBERATELY ENGAGED IN CAMPAIGN OF HARASSING ANDABUSING CONSUMERS THROUGH THUSE OF REPEATED, UNCONSENTED-TOROBOCALLS, CALLING CONSUMERS'CELL PHONES HUNDREDS, AND INSOME CASES THOUSANDS OF TIMESAFTER BEING ASKED TO STOP.THE GROUPS WERE RESPONDING TO ANATTEMPT BY NAVIENT AND OTHERSTUDENT LOAN COMPANIES TOOVERTURN AN FCC RULE THAT ALLOWSNO MORE THAN THREE ROBOCALLS ADAY BY COMPANIES TRYING COLLECT A DEBT OWED TO THEFEDERAL GOVERNMENT.PENNSYLVANIA'S PHEAA SIGNED ONWITH NAVIENT AS PART OF THATEFFORT.IN THIS DOCUMENT, NAVIENT ANDTHE OTHER COMPANIES SAY THE FCCRULE IS "DRAWN FROM THIN AIR, NOT SUPPORTED BY ANY DATA IN TRECORD, AND IGNORES THE WEALTHOF EMPIRICAL EVIDENCE."ND THE COMPANIES SAY THEROBOCALL RESTRICTIONS KEEP THEMFROM COLLECTING $2 BILLION PERYEARPENNSYLVANIA ATTORNEY GENERALJOSH SHAPIRO TELLS ACTION NEWSINVESTIGATES HE SIDES WITH THECONSUMER GROUP>> I'M GOING TO CONTINUE TOPETITION THE FCC TO MAKE ITHARDER TO ROBOCALL YOU, NOTEASIER.LOAN SERVICERS, LOAN PROVIDERS,IF THEY'RE PREYING ONPENNSYLVANIANS, I'M GOING TOHOLD THEM ACCOUNTABLE ANDPROTECT STUDENTS AND LOANHOLDERS HERE IN PENNSYLVANIA.PAUL: EARLIER THIS MONTH, AFEDERAL COURT APPROVED A $19MILLION SETTLEMENT FOR 24,000PEOPLE INVOLVED IN A CLASSACTION LAWSUIT AGAINST NAVIENT.THE PLAINTIFFS SAY NAVIENTROBOCALLED THEM EVEN THOUGH THEYDID NOT EVEN HAVE A LOAN WITHTHE COMPANY.IN A STATEMENT, NAVIENT DENIESTHE ALLEGATIONS, BUT SAYS ITSETTLED TO AVOID THE COSTS OFLITIGATION.DEMUTH SAYS HE HOPES HISLAWSUITS AND OTHERS HAVE ANIMPACT ON NAVIENT AND OTHERROBOCALLERS.>> I WOULD MUCH RATHER OWE THEMAFIA THAN DEAL WITH NAVIEEVER AGAINPAUL: EXPERTS SAY IF YOU WANT TOFIGHT ROBOCALLERS, HERE ARE AFEW IMPORTANT THINGS TO KNOW --MAKE SURE YOU TELL THE COMPANYCALLING THAT YOU DO NOT WANT TOBE CALLED. IF YOU CAN LEGALLY RECORD THECONVERSATION, THAT MAY HELP YOURCASEIF YOU KEEP GETTING CALLS,CONTACT AN ATTORNEY.WE HAVE MORE INFORMATION ABOUT

Advertisement Harmarville man fights robocaller, wins $300,000 The company was ordered to pay $1,500 per call, for a total of $300,000. Share Shares Copy Link Copy

Most people have gotten robocalls. They are those annoying, automated phone calls made by telemarketers and bill collectors.Action News Investigates found that under certain conditions, people can sue the company making those calls and collect up to $1,500 for each call.Paul DeMuth, of Harmarville, was awarded $300,000 from the country's largest student loan company.When DeMuth fell behind on his student loan payments during hard times, the calls from Navient; formerly part of Sallie Mae, started coming. The calls kept coming even after DeMuth told them to stop.Action News Investigates obtained audio of some of those calls.Caller: “Is Paul DeMuth there? “DeMuth: “Yeah, I already spoke to you guys yesterday. It's already taken care of. Why do you keep calling me? Stop calling me and my cosigner.”But just six hours later, Navient called again.Caller: “Hi, I was calling to speak with Paul DeMuth?”DeMuth: “Hi, I'm here to tell you you're going to stop calling me because this is borderline harassment.”“If I don't have the money at 9:45 a.m., what the heck makes you think at 11 I'm going to have the money?” DeMuth said in an interview.Amy Ginsburg of Kimmel and Silverman is DeMuth's attorney.“Once the consumer says, ‘Stop calling me,’ they need to stop robocalling. They can still make manual phone calls, but they can't make the robocalls,” Ginsburg said.DeMuth said he asked Navient to stop calling, but they did not. So he filed suit. An independent arbitrator found Navient made 200 unauthorized robocalls to DeMuth during a two-year period.The arbitrator said Navient made the calls knowingly or willingly and ordered the company to pay DeMuth $1,500 per call, for a total of $300,000.DeMuth owed just $15,700 on his loan, and that will be deducted from the award.“It's pretty clear in Paul's case, those calls were knowingly and willingly made because the recordings were pretty clear that he was telling them, 'Don't call me,' and they continued to call,” Ginsburg said.Navient refused requests for an interview or a statement on the DeMuth case. According to court records, Navient said Demuth never revoked his consent to allow robocalls and “therefore, all calls placed to his cellular telephone were appropriate.”The company is appealing the arbitrator's ruling.DeMuth is far from the only one alleging harassing calls by Navient. Last month, six consumer groups sent a letter to the Federal Communications Commission accusing Navient of “massive and continuous violations” of the federal anti-robocalling law.The letter said, "Navient has deliberately engaged in a campaign of harassing and abusing consumers through the use of repeated, unconsented-to robocalls, calling consumers' cellphones hundreds and, in some cases, thousands of times after being asked to stop."The groups were responding to an attempt by Navient and other student loan companies to overturn an FCC rule that allowed no more than three robocalls a day by companies trying to collect a debt owed to the federal government. The Pennsylvania Higher Education Assistance Agency signed on with Navient as part of that effort.In a filing with the FCC, Navient and the other companies said the FCC rule is "drawn from thin air, is not supported by any data in the record, and ignores the wealth of empirical evidence." The companies also said the robocall restrictions keep them from collecting $2 billion per year.Pennsylvania Attorney General Josh Shapiro told Action News Investigates he sided with the consumer groups.“I'm going to continue to petition the FCC to make it harder to robocall you, not easier,” Shapiro said. “Loan servicers, loan providers, if they're preying on Pennsylvanians, I'm going to hold them accountable and protect students and loan holders here in Pennsylvania.”Earlier this month, a federal court approved a $19.7 million settlement for 24,834 people involved in a class action lawsuit against Navient. The plaintiffs said Navient robocalled them even though they did not even have a loan with the company. In a statement, Navient denied the allegations but said it settled to avoid the costs of litigation.DeMuth said hopes his lawsuits and others have an impact on Navient and other robocallers.“I would much rather owe the mafia than deal with Navient ever again,” he said.Experts said for people who want to fight robocallers, here are a few important things to know:Make sure to tell the company calling that you do not want to be called.If it is possible to legally record the conversation, that may help your case.If calls keep coming, contact an attorney.More information about how to fight robocalls can be found here.