Get The Message: Keller Williams Realty Sued for Repeated Spam Texts

Getting unwanted messages and calls is always annoying, even more so when your opt out messages are totally disregarded AND you’re on the national do-not-call registry. 

One man is hitting back at unwanted messages, what he calls an “aggressive” telemarketing campaign, from Keller Williams Realty, Inc. after he said the real estate company’s messages invaded his privacy and wasted his time despite him being on the registry and asking the company to stop.

Opt-out ignored, texts kept coming

Miami resident Mauricio Cardero filed a proposed class action lawsuit against Keller Williams Realty, Inc. alleging violations of the Telephone Consumer Protection Act, saying despite him never being a customer of the company and asking it to stop messaging him, the realty firm repeatedly sent messages to his personal cell. 

The company even sent an opt-out confirmation message stating “You have successfully been unsubscribed. You will not receive any more messages from this number.” before texting him again!

Cardero said it’s highly likely the company doesn’t maintain a master opt-out list and has “failed to maintain internal policies” to track opt-out requests, given the texts he received came from different numbers. 

Invasion of privacy and potential payout

Cardero said he never gave the firm consent to be contacted, and, if he ever had, it would have been revoked when he asked them to stop. But, he argues, Keller Williams Realty continued unsolicited text messages resulted in an “invasion of his privacy, aggravation, annoyance, intrusion on seclusion, trespass, and conversion,” Cardero claims in the lawsuit, also causing annoyance and disrupting his daily life. 

Because of that, he wants up to $1,500 in damages for each call in violation of the TCPA, as well as injunctive relief to stop the company’s messaging, “which has resulted in the invasion of privacy, harassment, aggravation, and disruption of the daily life of thousands of individuals,” he says.

A history of hefty fines for TCPA violations

Violations of the TCPA have led to some serious losses for major companies. 

• National Grid had to pay $38.5 million to consumers to resolve a lawsuit accusing it of violating the law with pre-recorded phone calls

• California company Stoneledge Furniture had to pay $4 million (or $10 million worth of vouchers) for sending unsolicited text messages to consumers. 

• Bath Saver Inc. and franchisee Bath Fitter created a $1.95 million settlement fund to resolve a class action lawsuit alleging violations of the TCPA.

• Shoe retailer Journeys paid $855,000 to consumers over its telemarketing texts. Qualifying consumers each got a cash payment of up to $161.47.

Meanwhile, other companies, including Keller Williams Realty and Carvana, are still in court fighting claims of violations. 

Cardero wants to represent people from across the country who have been sent telemarketing texts by the realty firm. 

The plaintiff and proposed class are represented by Andrew Shamis, Garrett O. Berg, and Christopher E. Berman of Shamis & Gentile, P.A. and  Scott Edelsberg of Edelsberg Law, P.A.

The Keller Williams Realty spam text proposed class action lawsuit is Cardero v Keller Williams Realty, Inc., Case No. 1:24-cv-21490-RKA in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Florida, Miami Division.