Hi TCPAWorld!
In the ever evolving landscape that is the TCPA, another big class action lawsuit against a lending company case was just filed this week in the U.S. District Court down in beautiful San Diego. While the court is located in a gorgeous city, the allegations against the defendant paint a not so pleasant picture.
In the case Cardenas v. Can I Have Money LLC, 2026 WL (S.D. Cal Jan. 20, 2026), Plaintiff filed a class action lawsuit against the defendant alleging that defendant violated the TCPA for sending unsolicited text messages to phone numbers that were registered on the National DNC list. To say that the reviews of the company were not pleasant would be an understatement. In the complaint filed, Plaintiff included not only a job posting for the Defendant that showed they were a company that provides leads and software for texting but also some reviews consumers have posted to the Better Business Bureau page. To give you an idea of the reviews, one of them called the defendant as “sleazy text-message spammers” and blasted the alleged owner saying “shame on you…for running a company that treats people like dirt.” Another review on the complaint said that “BBB needs to give this company a failing grade for harassment and send me $$$ as I am going through a stressful, trying time over the death of my son in a motorcycle accident…If this continues, I will seek harassment charges against Can I have Money LLC.” There is leaving a bad review and then there are these. If the Defendant really does send so many messages that one would consider harassment charges, that paints a bad image for the Defendant. While the reviews that are listed in the Complaint don’t seem to appear now in the Better Business Bureau page for the company, feel free to take a look at some of the reviews/complaints that are still there. It is not too pleasant.
The reviews on Trustpilot.com that Plaintiff references in the complaint as well are not that flattering either.
https://www.trustpilot.com/review/canihavemoney.com
Unfortunately for the Defendant, the allegations and allegedly numerous texts the company sent to the Plaintiff in this case seem to (at the very least) give some credence to those reviews. Plaintiff alleges to have received an unsolicited text message to her cell phone on November 10, 2025 and when Plaintiff texted the number immediately asking to confirm the company name, she did not receive any response. When the number was called, Plaintiff alleges that an automated system identifies the company name as Can I Have Money. On a couple additional messages, when new numbers text her and she asks to confirm the name, she either gets no response or just a regurgitation of “I’d be happy to send over a detailed email that will answer all your questions about the company.” Have a look at some of the text messages below.
On another occasion, Plaintiff replied in a text saying “I’m sorry your messaged me I’M on do not call list please stop messaging Ava thx.” Despite the request, Plaintiff received another unsolicited text message to her cell phone from a 945 number but after asking to confirm the name of the company, there was no response as usual. When the number was called, again an automated system allegedly identified the company as Can I Have Money. The text messages that Plaintiff received are directed to Eric and Plaintiff believes that Eric is the name of somebody who owner her cell phone number years before she acquired it. As usual, Plaintiff alleged that she has never done business with the defendant nor has she consented to be contacted by them. Furthermore, she alleges that Defendant’s actions has harmed her in the form of annoyance, nuisance, and invasion of privacy, and disturbed the use and enjoyment of her phone.
While this case does seem to show a propensity of the defendant to send multiple text messages to individuals regardless of whether they are customers or on the DNC list as evidenced by the complaint and the reviews, the bigger issue lies with the same question that still lingers: are text messages calls? We have seen cases that have held text messages are not “calls” for purposes of the TCPA’s provisions. The famous Davis v. CVS Pharmacy, Inc., 2025 WL 2491195 (N.D. Fl. Aug. 26, 2025) supports that argument. For a refresher on that, see the article below.
However, we have also seen courts rule in a way that seems to support the perspective that text messages can be calls. An example would be in Reisman v. Gen Digital, 2026 WL 60370 (D. Az. Jan. 8, 2026) where a court denied the motion to stay discovery as it was not “convinced” that Defendant’s argument that “the private right of action created in the TCPA does not apply to text messages” would result in a dismissal of the Plaintiff’s claims. As a refresher, feel free to take a look at the article below.
The allegations in the complaint seem to show Plaintiff having a pattern of sending lots of messages, but the importance of this case will be determined by how the court views text messages. Plaintiff clearly alleges that Defendant sent unsolicited text messages as shown above, and we know that the TCPA prohibits telemarketers from contacting consumers without their express consent and who are on the DNC registry. There is ample cases supporting both sides of the argument of whether text messages are “calls” for purposes of the TCPA provisions. It will be interesting to see the strategies that both sides employ to support their position. If the reviews provided to the Better Business Bureau are genuine and there is a history of similar complaints or allegations by consumers against Can I Have Money LLC, I’d speculate that the court may have a deference for the Plaintiff and come down hard on Defendant to punish for their continuous actions and send a warning to other companies engaging in similar conduct. Again, this is entirely speculation from me but this case presents a unique opportunity on two fronts. The first is of course to see how the court will approach the ever-evolving question regarding whether text messages are calls and the other is what kind of message will the court want to send Defendant and future potential defendants if the allegations are determined to be true.
I will be sure to follow this case carefully TCPAWorld as it has the potential to be a very important one. As I learn more, I will be sure to report back as soon as it happens so stay tuned.
Until next time, TCPAWorld!
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