Gerber, a TCPA-violating life insurance company

Wall of Shame Name and Shame
, , , ,
1

Scam Number: Spoofed
Call Center Location: Pakistan :pakistan:
Calls as: “American Benefits” or “American Senior Benefits”
Hold Music: Scammistani National Anthem
Technician: “Adam”
Senior Supervisor: “Josh”
Falsely claims: I was interested in “Free life insurance quotes”
Broker: Gerber Life Insurance Company

I received multiple fraudulent cold calls on my PBX line from a Pakistani call center who spoofed a similar number in violation of the Truth in Caller ID Act. The agents claimed to work for “American Senior Benefits” to try and sell me a final expense plan from their American broker, which in this case was identified as the Gerber Life Insurance Agency, which is primarily headquartered at 445 State Street, Fremont, MI 49412-1056.

image
image1486×415 101 KB

User complaints on their Google, TrustPilot and BBB listings indicate patterns of fraudulent activity, such as:

  • Refusing to pay insurance for deceased, schizoprenic customers.
    image
  • Refusing to offer refunds.
    image
  • Sending fraudulent cold calls and harassing mailers whilst refusing to place individuals off their mailing list.
    image
  • Having agents hang up on their customers when they rightfully asked for information during policy reviews.
    image
  • Sending fraudulent mailers with signature requests on enclosed documents.
    image
    image914×416 39.4 KB

On January 23, 2023, the company was sued for violating the Telephone Consumer Protection Act (TCPA) in the Southern District of New York after the plaintiff, Thomas Matthews of Roanoke, Virginia, received multiple telemarketing calls by a third-party that operates as “Legacy Quotes” when his number was on the national do-not-call registry. The case was terminated on August 2, 2024

https://www.courtlistener.com/docket/66750415/matthews-v-gerber-life-insurance-company/

The company was also sued for TCPA violations in the Westen District of Texas after the plaintiff, Alan Contreras, received fraudulent cold calls from spoofed similar numbers on behalf of their company while his number was on the do-not-call registry.

https://www.courtlistener.com/docket/63313903/contreras-v-gerber-life-insurance-company/

The company was also sued for TCPA violations in the Western District of Pennsylvania after the plaintiff, Stewart Abramson, received prerecorded robocalls from spoofed similar numbers promoting an “insurance opportunity for people over 50 years of age”

The company was also sued for TCPA violations in the Eastern District of Arkansas.

Associated Facebook Account - Redirecting...

Associated Instagram Account - Gerber Life (@gerberlife) • Instagram profile

Associated LinkedIn Account - Gerber Life Insurance Company | LinkedIn

Associated Pinterest Account - https://www.pinterest.com/gerberlife/

Associated X Account - x.com

Associated YouTube Channel - https://www.youtube.com/user/gerberlife

Associated Phone Number - (800) 704-2180 (Verizon)

Associated Email Addresses:

4 Likes
2

I’ve been getting similar calls lately.

The structure though is I get a call from a call center. They take basic information.

The trick they are playing here though is they ask permission to call you back. In order to get a call back you need to say its ok for them to call even though you are on the DNC list.

Thus the only way to identify the companies receiving the benefits of these calls is to OK the second call, likely made by the insurance company itself.

4 Likes
3

Excellent research! Since this entity is located in Michigan, it will be best to report them the following way (in my experience, State investigators tend to be more responsive than Federal ones):

3 Likes
4

Which is why I only do as such when accepting calls from the PBX line I use. Though, if I’m being completely honest, I could still technically report them to donotcall.gov if they try calling my cell phone, as I highly doubt their consent is even enforceable.

4 Likes
5

Agreed. The fact that they use foreign lead generators breaking the TCPA and TSR by calling numbers on the National DNC means that they’re subjected to vicarious liability. Also, many of their foreign call center workers answer as “Medicare Benefits Advisors” or “Medicare Advisors”. This could be interpreted as impersonating the government program, which is a crime.

4 Likes
6

Absolutely correct. I pursued several TCPA violators in 2020 and 2021 and I collected $25,000 for my efforts. It’s a laborious process but if you are good with social engineering (which most of us clearly are) and a good detective you can find out who hired the call center. I never get true telemarketing calls anymore because I’m on the blacklist. If any of you want coaching (no charge) on how to do this I’ll gladly help you out. I also recommend Doc Compton’s forum where you can network with other TCPA violator auditors and share information as well as get demand letter templates and advice on how to do this. I cannot divulge any of Doc’s proprietary information as it is copywritten and would be unethical. I’m not recommending people to his site because I get any benefit from it, I’m just saying it was a huge help for me. It was fun while it lasted.

5 Likes
7

Thank you very much for sharing! Yes, an average simple civil lawsuit for TCPA violations is around $10K to $12K. Now, if a person ends up being a class representative for a massive TCPA lawsuit, they can often expect higher amounts than that, depending on all factors involved. I always recommend litigation to people, as you’ll then be left alone and stand for what’s right. Scammers and spammers and even some VOIP carriers will blacklist your number, once they realize that they are dealing with a stern and litigious person. After years of litigation and sending numerous cease and desist notices to several carriers, I have been able to greatly reduce the number of harassing telemarketing calls, as well.

When I know that it is some “little shit” VOIP carrier, especially used by primarily companies in India, Pakistan or the Philippines, I always send a legal demand telling them to place a universal block on my number. After all, there is very little risk that they’d ever be used by any American entity, and I have zero interest in having any foreigners from these nasty countries call me. They never call for a good or valid reason, anyways.

3 Likes
8

The largest settlement I ever reached was $10,000. The rest were $750-$2500. Actually the last thing you want is a lawsuit, particualarly one that is large and gets bumped to Federal Court. You have to hire a lawyer and it can be pretty dicey. I sued a violator about 3 years ago and had them dead to rights…Local company to me, perfect records and I was suing them for $39,000. They ended up filing bankruptcy on me and the case was worthless. You’re much better off getting them to settle before going to court.

Moreover, if you file a small case it has to go to small claims court and that is a very mixed lot as some state judges don’t acknowledge the jurisdiction that has been extended to the states through the TCPA. Even more important, the likelihood of finding an attorney who is willing to represent you in a TCPA case is very remote. There has to be a lock solid case, a known solvent violator and up front fees. I think I ended up paying about $3000 for a case that went nowhere. Offer settlement first and take the easy money if it’s offered. YOu can negotiate, but it really depends on the solvency of the offender and how solid your evidence is.

4 Likes
9

oh one more point…regarding the overseas call centers…two of the American companies forced the call center to indemnify them and I settled with them instead. Actually received payment with paypal from a company in India and another in Pakistan.

4 Likes
10

These are good points, but I cannot agree with this particular one above. I’ve worked with at least 5 different attorneys who represented me in Federal courts. Granted, those were more complex and involved cases, but there are attorneys who are responsive and who will work with you. All of the ones I worked with operated on the contingency fee basis. So, when we lost some cases, I did not have to pay a dime. And when you win, they usually get 33-35% of the final amount. To make some good money, you do have to be a class representative to get some “extra”, though. It also depends on the Circuit. Regular class members often get 100 dollars, at best (and often as low as $5-$10). Also, some Circuits aren’t very “pro-plaintiff” and won’t allow any extra awards to a class representative.

2 Likes
11

I’ll keep that in mind. I think that most of the law firms are in Texas as it seems to be the most TCPA plaintiff friendly state. I know that there is a law firm based out of Pennsylvania as I recall that was licensed in several states that would handle TCPA cases but at least where I am in Tennessee I could only find one. I actually had that case with the Pennsylvania firm for at least a year and they did very little with it and they had staff turnover. Only when I dealt with a Nashville attorney did the case actually get filed.

3 Likes
12

I know some good ones in Illinois, Florida, Massachusetts, California and one in Pennsylvania. Feel free to send me the PM, and I will gladly share their names and contact information :slight_smile:

Overall, though, I agree with you. If you can represent yourself, have clear evidence and not too complex of a case, you may get more money out of these spammers by sending a stern and well-written legal demand to them directly, w/o attorneys’ involvement. Plus, no need to share any percentage of settlement funds as part of attorney fees.

Unfortunately, it only tends to work with more straightforward cases that involve smaller to midsize companies. In my experience, I find that big defendants tend to defend themselves more vigorously, and often have powerful attorneys who’ll fight you. Not to mention, when it’s numerous players involved, it gets too complex and involved for a regular person like you and I to handle. Just my 2 cents :slight_smile: Great conversation.

2 Likes
13

Yeah absolutely. Hopefully others can take advantage of our experiences. My ship has sailed though. I’m thoroughly convinced that my number is on the Blacklist alliance do not call list. I’ve had a few people connect and say “oh you’re on the do not call list.” Yeah, not shit

2 Likes
14

Question: What sort of “database” (if you can call it that) do you think these spammers and scammers maintain? I’ve noticed that I often get the same type of BS calls and some of them even try to target my relatives, but yet they will call or text my phone. They must be all using the same sort of tool for it.

I suspect that it’s often driven by some info they source on the Dark Web.

1 Like
15

Oh I’m sure it is. I know that there is some type of database because I use the same fake name for the intro calls and often times they’ll use that name before I provide it. Has to be available on the black web

2 Likes