Get this: It wasn't even his cell phone.Al Burrows of Las Cruces, New Mexico, sued Verizon Wireless in Santa Fe's 1st Judicial District Court on April 20, claiming violations of state and federal debt collections laws, as well as "negligent infliction of emotional distress"—for which he wants the telecom giant to pay punitive damages. As of May 25, Verizon had yet to respond to a summons.
According to the lawsuit, last year Verizon bill collectors were making calls "too numerous to count" to Burrows over a relative's unpaid cell phone bill. When he hung up on one of these calls, the Verizon rep called him back, and grew "vulgar" and "abusive" in an attempt "harass and intimidate" Burrows.
"In particular, [Verizon's] representative stated that she knew where [Burrows] resided and said 'I am gonna blow your mother fucking house up.'"
The endless collection calls caused Burrows to change his address, the lawsuit claims.
Here's an image of the relevant section of Burrows' lawsuit:
SFR emailed a regional Verizon Wireless spokesperson requesting a response to Burrows' lawsuit. We'll update when the company replies.
Verizon Wireless spokesman Scott Charlston passes along this statement:
"As a matter of policy we don't comment on pending litigation. I can say the alleged behavior is inappropriate and we take such allegations very seriously."
