Telemarketing FAQ
Federal Trade Commission - The Do Not Call Registry
Unwanted Telephone Marketing Calls
Robocalls
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Are you frustrated by the amount of telemarketing calls made to your home and cell phone? If so, you’re not alone. Congress first passed the Telephone Consumer Protection Act (TCPA) in 1991 in response to consumer concerns about the growing number of unsolicited telephone marketing calls to their homes and the increasing use of prerecorded messages (“Robocalls”). The TCPA prohibits advertising via Robocalls to cell and residential phone lines, without a consumer’s consent.
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Junk Faxes
The TCPA also prohibits advertising via unsolicited facsimile without a consumer’s consent.
Text Ads
The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) has interpreted the TCPA to also extend to advertising via text message to cell and residential phone lines. Such a form of telemarketing is illegal without a consumer’s prior express written consent.
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The Do Not Call Registry
In 2003, Congress enacted the Do Not Call Registry (the “Registry”), allowing consumers to add their residential and cell phone numbers to the Registry so as to avoid receiving all forms of telemarketing calls- including live calls. The TCPA now requires telemarketers to purchase a database from the FCC that includes the phone numbers of all consumers listed on the Registry. Telemarketers then must then “scrub” their telemarketing campaigns against the numbers on the Registry to ensure that consumers listed are not called. A telemarketer can still contact a consumer listed on the Registry but must first obtain their prior express consent in writing to be so contacted. If a company contacts a consumer more than once within twelve months, a consumer may prosecute a claim for violation of the TCPA. Consumers interested in adding their phone numbers to the Registry may do so at www.donotcall.gov.
Statutory Damages
A consumer who prevails on a TCPA claim is entitled to statutory damages of a minimum of $500 up to $1,500 for each violation of the TCPA that a court finds knowing and willful.
