Have you had any feedback or letters concerning Ryan A. Swanberg and his telemarketing scam?
One of the dealerships I support just received a "Settlement Communication Letter" from Mr.. Sandberg who is claiming that we violated his rights under the TCPA and TSR.
I have attached a copy of the recording that was sent to our dealership. He sets the dealership up by asking for a copy of their policy and written confirmation that his name has been added to the dealership do not call list. If his request is not responded to in the 5 days he prepares his "communication letter" threatening to sue.
I would love to know if any other dealers in the country have any dealings with Mr.. Swanberg as well as getting the notification out to everyone about his tactics.
Thank you,
Patti Stephany
Here is some additional information: Thanks for the help!
All,
Please add the name of Ryan A. Swanberg to your dealership do not call
lists. Let your fleet department know not to respond to a request
from:
Ryan Swanberg
6582 157th Street, W. 119B
Apple Valley, MN 55124
Phone: 952-891-8569
Mr. Swanberg is making his living by baiting companies.
Here is his method:
1. He contacts the dealership via the internet asking for information on
a particular model.
2. When a fleet rep calls him back, he claims that he has changed his
mind and is no longer interested in the product. He never tells the
sales rep that he is recording the call or taking pictures of his caller
id and the number that is displayed.
3. He then requests that he be sent the Dealerships do not call policy,
and that his name be placed on the dealership do not call list, and
written verification that the name has been placed on the list.
4. If the information is not sent as requested, Mr. Swanberg then sends
a "Settlement Communication Letter" to the dealership stating that he is
willing to settle the violations ($1,500 per listed violation), if the
dealership does not respond he states that he will file a lawsuit.
In the documentation that was sent, Mr. Swanberg is alleging that the
following were violations:
a) The sales rep did not provide their name, the company name, a
telephone number or address where the caller could be contacted. The
call back number may not be a 900 number or any other number for which
charges exceed local or long distance. (in our case the number
displayed on his caller id was a 602 number and not the 800 number)
b) A request was made for a copy of the dealership "Do Not Call" policy
to be mailed within 5 days.
c) A request was made for Mr. Swanberg to be placed on the "dealership
do not" call list with written verification that the name was added.
d) Our personnel are not trained in the existence and use of a do not
call list (national or dealership).
All of this is currently under investigation, no response has been made
to Mr. Swanberg from the dealership. I have contacted NADA, Auto
Advisory (Rob Cohen), Dealers Edge (Mike Bower), and the DMA in the
hopes of finding out additional information on Mr. Swanberg and if he
has made the same attempt on other dealerships. I felt that is
important to get this information out and another store will not get
caught in his trap.
Additional information on Mr. Swanberg:
He claims to make $100K a year by suing or threatening to sue companies.
He is a high school dropout who works from his home where he has
installed 8 telephone lines to make and record his calls.
He has written a book on "Lawsuit: How I Turned the Tables on
Telemarketers and Debt Collectors".
He goes out of his way to get on as many internet databases as possible.
Most of his cases are settled out of court with settlements with 260 or
more companies with the average settlement being between $1,500 - 2,000
dollars. He often takes merchandise over money for payment (cell phone
service, carpeting, etc.)
[This message has been edited by mbowers (edited 11-22-2005).]