The Telephone Consumer Protection Act (TCPA) protects you against collectors that are making unwanted phone calls to you. If a creditor calls you in violation of the TCPA, you may be entitled to $500 for each illegal phone call made after the proper notice is given by you or your attorney. The TCPA applies to almost any type of creditor, including first party and third party creditors. First party creditors include, for example, your credit card company, your TV provider, phone company, and more. Third party creditors include a debt collection company working for a credit card company or bank to collect a past-due debt.
You may be wondering what constitutes a TCPA violation. The short answer is, “it depends.” For the most part, the TCPA comes into play when debt collectors make collection calls to a consumer’s cell phone through the use of automatic dialers or automated messages.
While it is fairly easy to ascertain whether an automated system was being used and whether the call was to a person’s cell phone, there are many other factors to consider such as whether you previously “consented” to allowing the calls. You know those disclosures on the bottom of a website that say, “by clicking here, you agree to the above terms and conditions” and the terms and conditions are about 20 pages long that you probably didn’t read? Yes, that’s what we’re talking about. These types of issues require the expertise of an experienced TCPA attorney.
In addition, recent cases have come out that affect the TCPA. Notably, in 2014 in Osorio v. State Farm, F.S.B., No. 13-10951 (11th Cir. March 28, 2014) the Eleventh Circuit Court of Appeals confirmed that a person can verbally revoke consent for collectors to call them. In other words, when a creditor or debt collector calls you, you can tell them to "stop calling" and that you "revoke consent to call you" and they must abide by this request. This is the same advice that Davis Law Firm has been giving our clients since we began this practice.
While the TCPA protects you from unwanted phone calls, you must take the proper steps to protect your rights. As discussed above, the calls may not be considered illegal until the proper notice is given to the collector. If notice is given properly, the TCPA provides that you could be entitled to $500 for every illegal phone call made after the notice. Call us today to begin the process of putting the creditors on notice of your TCPA rights and demand that they stop contacting you immediately. If you let us know about TCPA violations that are occurring to you, we take TCPA claims on a contingent fee basis, meaning you owe us nothing unless we recover on your behalf. If you are receiving unwanted calls, call Davis Law Firm to secure your rights under the TCPA immediately. |