Joanna Szabo  |  April 10, 2020

Category: Legal News

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Car dealer on cell phone

It can be hard to stop car dealers from calling your cell phone, but the Telephone Consumer Protection Act (TCPA), which was passed into law in 1991, arms consumers with the statutory right to sue repeat telemarketing offenders.

According to the Houston Chronicle, the TCPA prohibits autodialed debt collection or sales calls to cell phones in the absence of the written permission of the cell phone account holder. The written consent aspect of the law was added by the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) in 2012, requiring that consumers actively opt in (or out) after “clear and conspicuous disclosure” of the terms of the agreement.

The 2012 update also meant that telemarketers can no longer rely on an “established business relationship” as carte blanche to avoid getting this consent from consumers for contacting them on their home phones, and must also provide an automated opt-out method in every robocall so that consumers can immediately tell the telemarketer to stop calling.

The increasing number of spam texts and robocalls are a concern for people all across the country. The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) reported receiving more than 275,000 complaints about robocalls and spam texts in each month of 2017.

Does the National Do Not Call Registry Help Stop Car Dealers from Calling Cell Phones?

For a number of years after the passage of the TCPA, technology continued to develop and its use by telemarketers as well as common consumers expanded as well. The TCPA now included technologies like texts, robocalls, and prerecorded messages.

The National Do Not Call Registry was established as an update to the TCPA to encourage compliance with the elements of the law. Originally, it was a requirement that companies develop their own internal means of tracking customers that expressed a desire to not be contacted on their landlines or cell phones.

The National Do Not Call Registry was part of a 2003 amendment that gave consumers the ability to register their mobile and landline phone numbers associated with their names in a master database of U.S. citizens desiring to not be contacted by telemarketers for any reason.

When the amendment was first passed, registrants could maintain their numbers on the list for five-year increments. In 2007, the Do Not Call Improvement Act made this registration permanent. As part of the implementation of the list, telemarketers were given a 31-day grace period to cease and desist calling numbers appearing on the registry.

The Do Not Call Registry has garnered more than 229 million active registrations, according to the FTC’s 2017 report.

Unfortunately, simply putting your number on the Do Not Call Registry is often not enough to completely stop telemarketing calls.

Indeed, signing up for the registry will typically prevent most legitimate businesses that adhere to the register’s rules from making these telemarketing calls, but it will not prevent scammers who are willing to ignore the law.

Stop car dealers from callingSome calls are still allowed under FTC rules, even for those listed on the registry. These include political calls, charitable calls, debt collection calls, purely information calls, and surveys, though none of these are legally allowed to include a sales pitch.

Despite the registry and the virtual prohibition of telemarketing to a cell phone using Automatic Telephone Dialing Systems (ATDS) and prerecorded messages, calls using this technology are difficult to trace and the Act hasn’t helped to stop car dealers from calling or other telemarketers.

According to the Houston Chronicle, adopted software used by marketers can assume the originating area code of the person being called. This makes it seem to the recipient that the call is coming from a neighbor (a practice referred to as “neighbor spoofing”), when in fact, it may be based offshore in an entirely different country.

While the FTC cannot respond to every robocall complaint directly, when people file a Do Not Call complaint, this helps the FTC and other agencies spot trends in robocalls and respond with proper legal action. Indeed, the FTC has sued both companies and individuals for the illegal placement of telemarketing calls. The FTC also pursue technological solutions, both for helping to stop robocalls and to track down scammers.

To stop car dealers from calling, some consumers have had to go further than simply putting their name on the Do Not Call registry or blocking phone calls. Some consumers who have been repeatedly hit with TCPA violations may choose to turn to litigation to stop these calls, hold companies accountable, and pursue litigation.

What Are the Statutory Fines Associated with Breaking the TCPA?

According to an article posted by Simple Texting.com, each call made in violation of the TCPA can be penalized at the rate of $500 each. If it can be proven in a court of law that the telemarketer willfully and deliberately acted in defiance of the law, that penalty can be tripled to $1,500 each. Given the sheer numbers of calls that each consumer gets on an annual basis, this adds up to potentially significant awards for those willing to take the leap and file a TCPA lawsuit.

Do Litigants Actually Win TCPA Lawsuits?

Yes, recent cases have resulted in big wins through awards or settlements and ultimately punished companies for failing to recognize the parameters of the TCPA. These include TCPA lawsuits against Wells Fargo and Dish Network.

Wells Fargo settled a class action lawsuit for $14.8 million last year over attempts to peddle car loans via telemarketing to mobile lines. Additionally, Dish Network lost a case in federal court based out of North Carolina. The judge required them to pay $61.5 million to citizens whose phone numbers were registered on the Do Not Call List.

Can I File a TCPA Lawsuit?

If you have been affected by spam calls, voicemails, or spam text messages from a car dealership, you may be able to file a lawsuit and pursue compensation. Oftentimes, when one consumer has been affected by spam calls and texts by a business, this is a good indicator that many others may have been affected as well, leaving room for class action litigation.

Under the TCPA, you may be eligible for a $500 to $1,500 award per violation, depending on whether the violation was made negligently or willfully.

Filing a lawsuit can be a daunting prospect, so Top Class Actions has laid the groundwork for you by connecting you with an experienced attorney. Consulting an attorney can help you determine if you have a claim, navigate the complexities of litigation, and maximize your potential compensation.

Join a Free Car Dealership TCPA Violations Class Action Lawsuit Investigation

You may be eligible to join this lawsuit investigation into car dealership TCPA violations under the following circumstances:

  • You did NOT provide express permission in writing to the car dealership to receive the calls or messages.
    You did NOT purchase a vehicle from the dealership that is contacting you.

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