The Telephone Consumer Protection Act (TCPA)
Stop Harassing and Annoying Phone Calls | Stop Robocalls and Robotexts
The Telephone Consumer Protection Act (“the TCPA”) was designed to protect people from harassing phone calls. Unfortunately, many of the day-to-day phone calls people receive are the product of scam companies that do not operate under the law and are nearly impossible to track. However, if a legitimate company is using telephones that are programmed to autodial phone numbers or if they are using prerecorded messages and texts to contact an individual that has not “opted in” to receive these phone calls, then that company may be sued under the TCPA. The TCPA provides that you may be entitled to $500 per phone call or text. Since most of our clients receive a large number of harassing phone calls, these damages can add up quickly.
Contacting the FCC
The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) is the government agency responsible for government enforcement of the TCPA. In cases where we cannot determine who is calling you or if the number that is calling you does not belong to a legitimate company, the best course of action is to file a complaint with the FCC. You can visit the FCC website to submit a complaint. You can also file a complaint by:
- Phone: 1-888-CALL-FCC (1-888-225-5322); TTY: 1-888-TELL-FCC (1-888-835-5322); ASL Videophone: 1-844-432-2275
- Mail:
Federal Communications Commission
Consumer and Governmental Affairs Bureau
Consumer Inquiries and Complaints Division
445 12th Street, S.W.
Washington, DC 20554
Consumer Rights
Stop Unwanted Phone Calls
If you are like millions of other Americans that receive unwanted phone calls from marketing companies and other corporations, your best solution to stopping these calls is to contact your Telephone Service Provider (like AT&T or Verizon). The TCPA allows your Telephone Service Provider to stop robocalls before your phone receives them, but you need to request this from the Telephone Service Provider. The FCC has the ability to make it a requirement to stop these unwanted phone calls by default, but they have not yet done so. It is also important to let the FCC and our legislators in state and federal government know that the American public is tired of these phone calls.
The Do Not Call Registry
The TCPA also created the National Do Not Call Registry. You can add yourself to the registry or check your status here. Solicitors are supposed to check this list before calling, however this list is often ignored. If you receive phone calls despite being on the do not call registry, you may have a claim under the TCPA. Contact us to schedule an appointment with one of our TCPA lawyers regarding your rights under the law.
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