Unwanted Autodialer Calls May Be Violation of Federal Law

Your telephone rings. When you pick up the phone, the caller doesn’t respond to your hello right away. The line seems dead for a second or two.  Then the person speaks or the recording starts. Unwanted autodialer calls are easy to identify.

In lieu of this characteristic delay, conversation on autodialed calls may also be preceded by a click. It sounds almost as if the person on the other end of the line has hung up on you, but no dial tone follows.

What is an Autodialer?

An autodialer is a computer system that dials phone numbers without human intervention.  There may be a human speaker that intercepts the phone call shortly after the recipient picks it up, or there may be strictly a recorded message ready to play.

Regardless of whether there is a real human on the calling end of the line, unwanted autodialer calls are annoying, time-wasting, and may be against federal law. Most consumers have been on the receiving end of them. And in certain circumstances, use autodialers can be in violation of the Telephone Consumer Protection Act of 1991 (TCPA).

TCPA and Autodialing Equipment

According to the TCPA, any call made using automated telephone dialing equipment is prohibited when the recipient number is an emergency number such as 9-1-1 or a hospital emergency line. It is also against this law if the recipient number is associated with a physician’s office or a hospital, health care facility, or elderly room.

Finally, if the recipient number is a cellular telephone whereby the recipient must pay for the service necessary to be contacted by unwanted autodialer calls, the caller may be in violation of this critical consumer protection law.

What Constitutes Unwanted Autodialer Calls?

The Federal Trade Commission (FCC) was put in charge of handling all the rules associated with who businesses could and could not call under the TCPA. After unsuccessfully putting the consumer in charge of contacting every telemarketing company to be put on a do not call list, the FCC established the National Do-Not-Call Registry.

Currently under TCPA, solicitors must at all times honor the National Do-Not-Call list.  Once a consumer registers his or her phone number on this website, it remains on the list permanently.

Solicitors must also maintain their own internal do-not-call list for their business. If a recipient receives a telemarketing call and they request to be put on the company’s do-not-call list, the request must be honored.

What are the Consequences of TCPA violations?

Persons who feel they have been harassed by a telemarketing company or other business with whom they may or may not have a commercial relationship may be entitled to sue. Successful TCPA plaintiffs may win $500 in statutory damages per violation over unwanted autodialer calls.

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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