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Automatic Telephone Dialing System (ATDS) Overview
The Telephone Consumer Protection Act, or TCPA, protects consumers from certain telemarketing activities, including certain uses of automatic telephone dialing systems, known as ATDS.
The ATDS provision of the TCPA was meant to protect consumers from telemarketers who use autodialers. With certain exceptions, telemarketers are prohibited from placing calls using an automatic telephone dialing system unless the recipient of the call has given the caller prior express consent to contact them that way.
As technology advances, however, the precise definition of an ATDS has become harder to determine.
What is an ATDS?
Per the TCPA, an ATDS is defined as equipment that can “store or produce telephone numbers to be called, using a random or sequential number generator,” and can dial the numbers it generates or stores.
Consumers fed up with telemarketing calls say the TCPA should protect them from any marketing call generated by equipment that stores large volumes of numbers. Marketing companies want the definition of ATDS under the TCPA to be more limited. They contend that to be considered an automatic telephone dialing system, the equipment must not only generate or store numbers but also have the ability to dial the numbers.
While defining an ATDS under the TCPA is still murky, the Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals has limited the definition. In a recent decision, the court concluded that for an ATDS to be prohibited under the TCPA, the system must do more than simply automate calling tasks, like dialing and hanging up.
Why Do Telemarketers Use ATDS?
Most consumers dread telemarketer calls. Number spoofing and identity theft scams have made consumers wary of picking up unknown calls as well. Given Americans’ distaste for telemarketing calls, one may wonder why companies use autodialers in the first place.
According to tenfold.com, autodialers help sales agents make more calls, leading to more sales. They are an inexpensive way for telemarketers to increase calls that lead to sales.
In fact, according to marketing company Ameyo, sales agents making cold calls without the assistance of an autodialer end up talking on the phone for an average of 10 to 15 minutes each hour. Auto dialers automate tasks like dialing, listening to busy tones, answering machines, and hang-ups, resulting in more time for sales agents to talk to potential buyers.
It is important to note that a number of different technologies are called “autodialers.” These include predictive dialers, preview dialers, and progressive dialers, with many variations in between.
How To Tell If a Call Was Made Using an ATDS?
Sometimes it’s easy to know if a call was placed using an autodialer – the phone number on the caller ID is unfamiliar. Another autodialer hallmark is a strange silence before the telemarketer begins their pitch. Other signs include sounds or clicking noises after you pick up.
Auto dialers are often used in conjunction with robocalls or a prerecorded message. Robocalls are also generally prohibited under the TCPA.
If you think you have been called by a telemarketer using an ATDS and did not give that company permission to contact you, or if your number is on the Do Not Call List, you may be able to make a claim under the TCPA. The TCPA carries steep fines of up to $1,500 per call that was made in violation of the law. An experienced TCPA attorney can help you make your claim.
