Getting one of those automated robocalls from your phone company can be annoying, especially if you haven't asked for it. Getting more than a 150 such calls, meant for the wrong person, in less than a year -- that sounds like harassment.
That's what Time Warner Cable did to Araceli King, sending her 153 automated calls meant for Luiz Perez, who once had the same cellphone number, Reuters reported Tuesday.
It's not that King didn't object. She called Time Warner Cable and explained the situation, but the calls kept coming. Finally, in March 2014, she sued, but TWC kept calling.
TWC defended that it thought it was (legitimately) calling Perez, but U.S. District Judge Alvin Hellerstein decided the company did not do enough to address the issue, awarding King triple damages, or $1,500 per call.
"Defendant harassed plaintiff with robocalls until she had to resort to a lawsuit to make the calls stop, and even then TWC could not be bothered to update the information in its IVR system," Hellerstein wrote in the verdict.
According to a TWS spokesperson, the company is currently reviewing the verdict.
Time Warner Cable has had similar incidents before. In February 2015, it called one customer a "cunt" in a letter.
Charter Communications agreed in May to acquire TWC for $55.3 billion in cash and stock.