Cell Phone Spam Calls Lawsuits May Lead to Compensation for Recipients

Lawsuits citing Telephone Consumer Protection Act (TCPA) violations, including cell phone spam calls, are on the rise in recent years following a 2015 ruling from the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) clarifying the TCPA’s restrictions. Consumers who have been subject to TCPA-violating phone calls may be entitled to receive compensation for each violation.

In a cell phone spam calls lawsuit filed earlier this month, Plaintiff Robert P. claims that Bank of America violated the terms of the TCPA by repeatedly calling him on his cell phone, despite his explicit request for them not to do so.

Robert says that several years ago he opened a credit card with Bank of America. Earlier this year, he claims he began to receive harassing calls from the bank on his cell phone.

On March 23, 2018, Robert claims to have written a letter to Bank of America, expressly revoking consent for them to call him. Despite this, Robert claims in his cell phone spam calls lawsuit that Bank of America has continued to call, text, and harass him, frequently through an automatic telephone dialing system (ATDS).

What is the TCPA?

The TCPA was signed into law in 1991 to protect consumers from being harassed by solicitors and telemarketers. The TCPA regulates cell phone spam calls, as well as automated texts and junk faxes. It requires companies to abide by strict rules regarding how and when they may contact consumers. It also requires them to respect the national Do Not Call registry, as well as the do not call lists of individual companies. In 2015, the FCC released the TCPA Declaratory Ruling and Order, which clarified the restrictions of the TCPA. These restrictions include:

• Companies must not use ATDS programs to call cell phones and leave messages unless they have the express affirmative consent of the consumer.
• Consumers may revoke their consent to be called. They may do this at any time and in any reasonable manner.
• Companies may not send unsolicited text messages to consumers.
• Consumers must be given the option to opt out from receiving automated text messages.
• Calls must not be placed before 8 a.m. or after 9 p.m. local time for the call recipient.
• Companies may not call numbers registered on the Do Not Call list.
• Companies must cease calling reassigned numbers.
• Callers must disconnect an unanswered telemarketing call before 15 seconds or four rings.
• Callers must clearly state the identity of the business responsible for making the call, as well as the telephone number they are calling from.

Consumers who believe they have been the recipient of
cell phone spam calls or texts that violate the terms of the TCPA may be entitled to compensation of up to $1,500 for each violation, or actual monetary losses, whichever is higher. If you have received harassing phone calls or texts from a company despite revoking your consent for them to contact you, you may qualify to join a cell phone spam calls investigation.

Robert’s Cell Phone Spam Calls Lawsuit is Case No. 1:18-cv-07142, in the United States District Court for the Eastern District of New York.