Lawsuit Accuses Uber of Violating the Telephone Consumer Protection Act

An Illinois woman is accusing Uber of violating the Telephone Consumer Protection Act when it erroneously sent her multiple text messages, according to a lawsuit filed Friday in federal court in Chicago.

Maria Vergara allegedly received at least eight text messages in June from an Uber-owned number about an account she didn’t create. She didn’t provide consent to receive the messages, which the lawsuit calls spam.

The lawsuit, which seeks class-action status, alleges that the ridesharing company does not confirm the accuracy of information it receives from customers or potential customers who sign up for its app. As a result, people like Vergara are forced to pay for text messages and calls they did not authorize, the suit stated. Those people, the lawsuit alleges, are entitled to a minimum of $500 in damages for each time Uber violated federal law.

Uber said it was reviewing the lawsuit.