Spam Phone Calls May Violate the TCPA

Although many spam phone calls (often called autodialer calls or robocalls) are illegal, many businesses continue to use them, hoping that most consumers do not know these calls are against the law — and hoping that those who do don’t know how to report them.

But as knowledge about this issue spreads, more and more consumers are filing lawsuits against companies over illegally placed spam phone calls. Businesses across the country have been hit with allegations of placing spam phone calls in violation of TCPA regulations.

Reporting TCPA violations like spam phone calls can lead to you, and sometimes thousands of others, receiving a monetary award.

TCPA Background

The Telephone Consumer Protection Act, or TCPA, is a set of regulations intended to protect against unwanted solicitation through spam phone calls back in 1991. Spam phone calls are made using an autodialer or a pre-recorded messaging system. The TCPA generally bans the use of these spam phone calls to contact consumers who have not already given their explicit permission to receive such calls.

Though the TCPA targeted only spam phone calls and faxes at the time it was enacted, it has since expanded alongside technological advances to include text messaging and calls placed to mobile phone numbers.

If you have not given your prior express permission to receive these kinds of spam phone calls and texts, even if you are not on the National Do Not Call registry, you should be able to report these calls as TCPA violations, and you may receive some compensation in exchange.

Reporting Spam Phone Calls

Reporting spam phone calls that violate the TCPA or filing a lawsuit over these unwanted spam phone calls can help force companies to comply with TCPA rules. Reports of TCPA violations can also lead to a set monetary reward per violation, regardless of actual harm.

A huge number of people are plagued with spam phone calls here in the U.S. In fact, in the year 2014 alone, the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) received more than 215,000 TCPA complaints from consumers across the country.

If you have received unwanted spam phone calls from a company, but have not first given your prior express permission, you could be in a position to seek compensation through a civil TCPA lawsuit. Monetary awards are determined based on whether the violation was willful and knowing or if it was done unknowingly. Violations of the TCPA that are considered “willful” can entitle the person who receives the calls to between $500 and $1,500 in statutory damages for each such call.

A TCPA class action lawsuit that involves a group of customers targeted by the same spam phone calls — sometimes including thousands or even hundreds of thousands of consumers — can lead to a company paying a huge amount of money in the form of a fine or a settlement amount.

In order to report your TCPA violation claims, you will need a record of the spam phone calls or text messages as proof.

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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