Robocalls: What They Are and How to Stop Them

Almost every person who owns a home phone or cell phone has likely experienced robocalls, that is unsolicited, prerecorded telemarketing calls or text messages that are autodialed to both landlines and wireless phone numbers.

Robocalls are not illegal. However, the use of robocalls is heavily monitored by the Telephone Consumer Protection Act (TCPA), a Federal Communications Commission (FCC) statute that limits the types of robocalls that can be made by a company or entity.

Many companies have allegedly committed TCPA violations, and as a result, they have been hit with TCPA lawsuitsand TCPA class action lawsuits by consumers who allege they received unsolicited phone calls and/or text spam without prior expressed consent.

TCPA Law and Robocall Rules

Not all robocalls are illegal. Some are permitted by TCPA statutes as long as prior consent is given. For example, the FCC requires most businesses to obtain a consumer’s prior written consent, which can be done via paper, on a company website, telephone or through a recording of a consumer’s oral consent before the business can make any prerecorded telemarketing calls to a home phone number. This same TCPA law requires businesses to get the same type of consent before placing an autodialed text message or prerecorded telemarketing call to a consumer’s wireless cell phone number.

In the past, telemarketers were able to place robocalls to a consumer’s landline based on an “established business relationship,” that is, a relationship a consumer establishes through purchasing a business’s product or contacting the business for any reason.

This is no longer the case. A business must obtain prior express written consent before placing a robocall for telemarketing purposes.

Additionally, telemarketers have never been allowed to contact a consumer’s wireless cellphone number to place a robocall based on an alleged “established business relationship.”

It is important to remember that not all robocalls are illegal or in violation of TCPA rules. Informational robocall messages that inform consumers of school closings, flight updates, and other types of information are permitted to be placed on a landline or wireless number without a consumer’s prior written consent.

How to Stop Robocalls

According to FCC statutes and the TCPA, telemarketers must immediately allow a consumer to opt-out of receiving additional robocalls in the future, usually through an automated menu during the prerecorded telemarketing call. Additionally, the telemarketer’s message must announce the robocall opt-out mechanism from the beginning of the call and this opt-out option must remain available during the duration of the robocall.

Before you even receive a telemarketing robocall from a business using an automated dialing system, there are steps you can take to protect yourself and your family from telemarketers.

For example, if you put your home and cell phone numbers on the national Do-Not-Call registry, telemarketers are completely forbidden from contacting you via these numbers unless you have given a business, company, or entity prior expressed written consent to call you. This also pertains to telemarketing messages that do not employ prerecorded robocalls and autodialers.

If you believe you have been robocalled or received text spam without your prior consent, you may have the legal right to pursue a TCPA lawsuit or join a TCPA class action lawsuit.

Join a Free TCPA Class Action Lawsuit Investigation

If you were contacted on your cell phone by a company via an unsolicited text message (text spam) or prerecorded voice message (robocall), you may be eligible for compensation under the Telephone Consumer Protection Act.

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