Had Enough? We Can Help.
Is your phone ringing off the hook? Are solicitors sending you text messages? Are you receiving robocalls? There are strict regulations that prohibit these tactics by solicitors, and an experienced consumer rights attorney can protect your rights and hold them accountable for these illegal actions.
At the Law Offices of Todd M. Friedman in Woodland Hills, California, we provide consumers nationwide with attentive service and aggressive legal representation. We will assert your rights under the Telephone Consumer Protection Act to the fullest extent to maximize compensation for what you have been put through.
Your Rights And Protections Under The Telephone Consumer Protection Act
The Telephone Consumer Protection Act protects consumers from unwanted contact from creditors, businesses and their affiliates.
Violations of the Telephone Consumer Protection Act include:
- Using auto dialers
- Sending text messages without permission
- Sending fax messages
- Using prerecorded calls to solicit
If a company or individual has violated your rights, you may be able to obtain compensation in the range of $500 to $1,500 for each violation of the Telephone Consumer Protection Act. We have the strong negotiation and trial skills necessary to maximize compensation for our clients and can even pursue these matters on a class action basis.
Contact us today to speak directly with a nationwide lawyer about your Telephone Consumer Protection Act case in a free initial consultation.
TCPA Attorney – Telephone Consumer Protection Act
The Communications Act of 1934 was a United States federal law signed by President Franklin D. Roosevelt that created the Federal Communications Commission (FCC), and the Telephone Consumer Protection Act of 1991 (TCPA) was a law amending the Communications Act of 1934 and signed into law by President George H. W. Bush.
When you are receiving unwanted phone calls, text messages, or faxes, you might have a TCPA case and should contact a TCPA attorney at the Law Offices of Todd M. Friedman, P.C. serving Chicago, Cleveland, Los Angeles, and Pennsylvania.
Codified under Title 47 U.S. Code § 227, the TCPA prohibits businesses from advertising through unsolicited text messages or unwanted phone calls. When this practice relates to text messages, the offending contacts are also known as “robocalls,” “spam text messages,” “spam text,” “wireless spam,” “mobile spam,” “mspam,” “nuisance calls,” or “unsolicited calls.”
TCPA Provisions
Title 47 U.S. Code § 227 simply refers to the law as restrictions on use of telephone equipment. Phrases in the law are defined as follows:
- Automatic telephone dialing system (ATDS) — Equipment with a capacity to store or produce telephone numbers to be called using a number generator to dial these numbers.
- Established business relationship — For purposes of telephone solicitations, a prior or existing relationship that was formed through a voluntary two-way communication between a person or some entity and a residential subscriber with or without some exchange of consideration, based on a subscriber’s purchase or transaction with an entity within the 18 months immediately prior to the date of a telephone call or on the basis of a subscriber’s inquiry or application regarding products or services offered by an entity within the three months immediately prior to the date of the call.
- Telephone facsimile machine — Equipment that has a capacity to transcribe text or images from paper into an electronic signal and transmit such signal over a regular telephone line, or transcribe text or images from a signal received over the standard telephone line onto paper.
- Telephone solicitation — Initiating a telephone call or message to encourage the purchase or rental of, or investment in, property, goods, or services, transmitted to any person. The term does not include phone calls or text messages to a person with their prior express invitation or permission, to a person with whom the caller has an established business relationship, or by a tax exempt nonprofit organization.
- Unsolicited advertisement — Any kind of material that advertises the commercial availability or quality of any property, goods, or services and is transmitted to a person without their prior express invitation or permission, in writing or otherwise.
Restrictions on the use of automated telephone equipment under this law include:
- It is illegal to make any call (not including a call made for emergency purposes or made with the prior express consent of a called party) using any ATDS or a prerecorded or artificial voice to any emergency telephone line; to the telephone line of a guest room or patient room of a elderly home, health care facility, hospital, or similar establishment; or to any telephone number assigned to a specialized mobile radio service, cellular telephone service, paging service, or some other radio common carrier service, or any other service for which a called party will be charged for a call, unless the party makes such a call exclusively to collect a debt;
- It is illegal for a person to initiate a telephone call to any residential telephone line using a prerecorded or artificial voice when delivering a message without the prior express consent of a called party, unless the party initiates such call for emergency purposes, made exclusively to collect a debt, or exempted by rule or order by the FCC under Title 47 U.S. Code § 227(2)(B);
- It is illegal to use any telephone facsimile machine (fax machine), computer, or other device to send, to a fax machine, an unsolicited advertisement, unless the advertisement is from a sender who has an established business relationship with a recipient; the sender obtained the number of the telephone fax machine through the voluntary communication of such number, within the context of an established business relationship, from the recipient of an unsolicited advertisement, or a directory, advertisement, or website on the internet in which the recipient voluntarily agreed to make available its fax number for public distribution; and the unsolicited advertisement contains a notice meeting the requirements under Title 47 U.S. Code § 227(2)(D), except that the exceptions under clauses (i) and (ii) do not apply in regards to unsolicited advertisements sent to fax machines by senders to whom requests were made not to send unsolicited advertisements to such fax machines that comply with the requirements under Title 47 U.S. Code § 227(2)(E); or to use an ATDS in a way in which two or more telephone lines for a multi-line business engage simultaneously.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) About the TCPA
When do parties have to obtain consent from a recipient in order to make a phone call to a landline such as a residential or business line?
When a call to a landline uses an artificial or prerecorded voice and is a telemarketing message, the party will need to have a recipient’s prior express written consent. When a call to a landline is not using an artificial or prerecorded voice in whole or in part, then consent will not be required. When a phone call to a landline does not involve a telemarketing message in whole or in part, no consent will be required.
When does a party need consent from a recipient to make a phone call to a mobile or cellular phone?
It will depend on whether the phone call is for a telemarketing or informational purpose. When a phone call to a mobile or cellular phone contains a telemarketing message and uses an artificial or prerecorded voice, the party needs to have a recipient’s prior express written consent. This is also true when a phone call is a telemarketing message and an ATDS is used to place the call.
When a phone call to a mobile or cellular phone does not contain a telemarketing message, but still uses an artificial or prerecorded voice or uses an ATDS to place the call, a recipient’s prior express consent will again be required.
When does a party need consent from a recipient to send a text or SMS message to a mobile or cellular phone?
Text messages will be subject to the same requirements as prerecorded voice calls or phone calls placed to mobile phones with an ATDS. When a text message constitutes telemarketing, a recipient needs to provide prior express written consent. When a text message does not constitute telemarketing, the text can still be subject to prior express consent.
Call Us Today to Schedule a Free Consultation with a TCPA Attorney
If you are dealing with harassing phone calls, then your TCPA claim could be the basis for a class-action lawsuit. The Law Offices of Todd M. Friedman, P.C. handles TCPA cases in California, Ohio, Pennsylvania, and Illinois.
Our firm can investigate your case and make sure the offending party is held fully accountable. You can call (818) 646-5690 or contact us online to schedule a free consultation so we can review your case and answer all of your legal questions.
