The Telephone Consumer Protection Act (TCPA) at 47 U.S.C. § 227 prohibits anyone from calling you using a prerecorded or synthetic voice without your prior consent. It also makes it illegal for telemarketers to call or text your residential telephone (cell phone or landline) if your number is listed on the National Do-Not-Call Registry. Under the TCPA, people who receive unsolicited calls and texts may be eligible for between $500 and $1,500 per violation. This cap on statutory damages can mean it is difficult to find counsel willing to represent you in a cost-effective way. Class actions solve this problem by aggregating a much larger number of TCPA violations.

Common TCPA Violations

Use of a Prerecorded or Robotic Voice

Companies are not permitted to use a mechanical or prerecorded human voice.

National Do-Not-Call Registry

Once you place your number on the National Do-Not-Call Registry, telemarketers are prohibited from making unsolicited calls. Telemarketers are required to identify themselves, the company for whom they are calling, and that company’s telephone number and address. Some telemarketers “spoof” their caller ID number to prevent frustrated consumers from identifying them, and to entice them to answer local area number calls. Telemarketing companies must have a written policy for maintaining a do-not-call list. Failing to provide a copy of the policy on demand can violate the TCPA. Debt collectors can place unsolicited calls to people who owe a debt, even if those individuals are on the National Do-Not-Call List, but debt collectors may violate other federal laws if they continue to call after you have told them to stop calling.

Internal Do-Not-Call Lists

Telemarketers must maintain an internal Do-Not-Call List of consumers who have requested that the company stop calling them, and cannot take more than 30 days to honor such a request.

Wrong Numbers

Companies must ensure that they are not making calls to telephone numbers that have been reassigned. If a company calls you on a number that used to belong to someone else, it might have violated the TCPA.

Preston Law Offices Files Class Action Lawsuits for TCPA Violations

If you have received unwanted robocalls, telemarketing calls, or text messages in violation of the TCPA, you might be entitled to compensation. Preston Law Offices represents plaintiffs nationwide in class action lawsuits for violations of the TCPA. Working with local co-counsel, Preston Law Offices unites people who have suffered a common harm to fight against large corporate defendants. Using the power of a TCPA class action lawsuit, we force big companies to change their ways. Preston Law Offices handles consumer class action cases on a contingency fee. We only get paid when we win or settle a case. Our fee is charged as a percentage of the total recovery. To learn more, contact us today so we can evaluate whether you have a case.