Debt Harassment

Telephone Consumer Protection Act

The Telephone Consumer Protection Act protects consumers from unsolicited telephone calls placed to a cell phone using any automatic dialing system or prerecorded voice.

You may be entitled to $500 to $1500 PER CALL for all calls made to your cell phone without your prior express consent. Damages up to $1500 may be recovered if it can be shown that the caller "willfully or knowingly" violated the statute.

The statute also prohibits the sending of unsolicited text messages to a cell phone, without the owner's prior express consent.

For more information on the Telephone Consumer Protection Act, and your rights as a consumer, please refer to the attached TCPA Statute.

(a) DEFINITIONS.—As used in this section—

(1) The term “automatic telephone dialing system” means equipment which has the capacity—

(A) to store or produce telephone numbers to be called, using a random or sequential number generator; and

(B) to dial such numbers.

(2) The term “established business relationship”, for purposes only of subsection  (b)(1)(C)(i), shall have the meaning given the term in section 64.1200 of title 47, Code of Federal Regulations, as in effect on January 1, 2003, except that — 

(A) such term shall include a relationship between a person or entity and a business subscriber subject to the same terms applicable under such section to a relationship between a person or entity and a residential subscriber; and 

B) an established business relationship shall be subject to any time limitation established pursuant to paragraph (2)(G)).

(3) The term “telephone facsimile machine” means equipment which has the capacity (A) to transcribe text or images, or both, from paper into an electronic signal and to transmit that signal over a regular telephone line, or (B) to transcribe text or images (or both) from an electronic signal received over a regular telephone line onto paper.

(4) The term “telephone solicitation” means the initiation of a telephone call or message for the purpose of encouraging the purchase or rental of, or investment in, property, goods, or services, which is transmitted to any person, but such term does not include a call or message (A) to any person with that person's prior express invitation or permission, (B) to any person with whom the caller has an established business relationship, or (C) by a tax exempt nonprofit organization.

(5) The term “unsolicited advertisement” means any material advertising the commercial availability or quality of any property, goods, or services which is transmitted to any person without that person's prior express invitation or permission, in writing or otherwise.

Read More of The TCPA.