Even though you are afforded clear rights under the Telephone Consumer Protection Act (“TCPA”) as a consumer, some issues may arise when bringing TCPA violation claims. Under the TCPA, telemarketers, debt collectors, and solicitors are required to:

• Only make calls to a residence between 8 a.m. and 8 p.m.
• Keep for five years a do-not-call list of consumers that have requested not to be called.
• Honor the national do-not-call list.
• Provide their name, the name of the person or entity on whose behalf they are calling for, and a phone number or address where that person or entity can be contacted.
• Not utilize artificial voices and recordings when soliciting residences.
• Not use automated telephone equipment or artificial/prerecorded voices for calls to emergency lines such as a hospital or other health care facility.
• Not use unsolicited commercial faces.

Although the restrictions under the TCPA clearly require telemarketers, debt collectors, and solicitors to abide by certain rules, not all businesses are required to follow those rules. For instance, unsolicited phone calls or text messages from public safety officials, schools and colleges, financial institutions, utility companies, non-profit organizations, and government entities are exempt from the TCPA. This means that they are not required to follow the above rules and cannot be subject to any legal claims as they cannot be in violation of the TCPA.

Additionally, as a consumer, you have the right to place your name on the national and state do-not-call list. Telemarketers, debt collectors, and solicitors are required to honor these lists and not to call you once you have registered your number on a do-not-call database. Unfortunately, oftentimes this request is not honored by some businesses, and consumers are left with very little alternatives in putting a stop to the unsolicited phone calls or text messages to their phones.

To make matters worse, the Federal Trade Commission ("FTC"), unfortunately, is left powerless in enforcing a block on calls to a specific number. Similarly, the Federal Communications Commission is not able to resolve individual unwanted call complaints. Thus, any complaints filed with the agency will essentially only provide valuable information that the FCC can use in implementing new policies and regulations. However, the FCC may share your complaint with other agencies, such as with the FTC, if shared jurisdiction exists over the alleged violation.

Jurisdiction issues may also arise when attempting to seek some sort of relief against a business. Unfortunately, many robocalls are conducted by employees that work overseas, leaving them far from reach from United States authorities. The FTC is aware that there is a tremendous issue with scammers calling numbers and acting as if they are trying to resolve a debt of some kind or that they are legitimate businesses requiring your cooperation. But there is little that the FTC can do within its power to rid consumers of these scammers.

Lastly, and likely the biggest hurdle faced by a consumer seeking to file a lawsuit against a telemarketer, debt collector, or solicitor is the issue of proving the harassment. Oftentimes, these companies use different numbers to make phones calls and other methods to hide their identity, which then makes it difficult for a consumer to establish a pattern in the consistency of the calls or messages.

Therefore, it is important to talk to an experienced attorney who can consult with you on taking the proper steps to establish your claim to ensure that you are afforded all the compensation you are entitled to under the TCPA.

New York TCPA Attorneys

Telephone Consumer Protection Act violations can really interfere with your life. If someone is violating your rights under TCPA, an attorney may be able to help. Law Office of Simon Goldenberg is dedicated to protecting consumers' rights. We will work hard to help you obtain the remedies that you deserve for falling victim to TCPA violations. For a free consultation, call (888) 301-0584 or contact us online.