Are you getting robocalls or robotexts that you did not initiate? These are known as autodialer calls and are almost certainly unlawful. Telemarketers often require your clear written authorization before placing an automated telephone conversation on your phone, and if they do not refrain, they will risk severe civil fines.
You may launch a private lawsuit seeking up to $1,500 in damages for each unwelcome call or text.
Are You Eligible to File Autodialer Damages?
Almost everyone has been the recipient of a telephone conversation that was called autonomously. That is a computer or software program that is capable of automatically storing and calling phone numbers without human involvement. They are used by the majority of telemarketers, along with several debt collection organizations, credit card firms, and insurance companies.
How Are Autodialer Calls Regulated?
Scammers, too, take advantage of autodialers. Have you ever received a call from “Cardholder Services” claiming to be able to assist you in lowering your credit debt or interest rates? That was a fraud—an extremely frequent one that was also unlawful. And it is unlawful in large part because scammers conduct such calls without your express authorization using autodialer systems.
Thus, you are acquainted with autodialers, despite the fact that you are unaware of them. You’re also probably acquainted with robocalls, a word that refers to automated calls, including sales calls, that employ prepared audio messages. You’re likely to receive a few robocalls each week. What you may not realize is that autodialers, as well as prerecorded voice messages, are highly regulated under federal and state law. Indeed, robocall regulations are so strict that the majority of auto-dialed calls you get are almost certainly unlawful.
What Is An Automated Telephone Dialer?
An autodialer is any piece of hardware or software that is capable of storing and dialing numbers without human interaction. This means that it is being known by law as equipment that is capable of storing or getting phone numbers contacted through a randomized or consecutive generator and also dialing such numbers. As implied by that description, the numbers called can be drawn at random from a large list or in chronological order.
Federal Laws & Regulations Governing Autodialers
Since the late 1980s, autodialers have made it simple for businesses to contact huge numbers of people in order to promote their products. Whenever anyone picks up the phone, they may chat with a live agent or hear a recorded message.
Although this could have been advantageous for businesses, there were no rules limiting telemarketing or the use of autodialers at the time. Citizens of the United States were flooded with calls at any hour, giving them severe anguish. The TCPA was thereafter established in 1991.
What to Know About Telephone Consumer Protection Act?
The Telephone Consumer Protection Act, abbreviated TPCA, is a federal law that benefited Americans by imposing limits on the use of autodialers as well as telemarketers. Additionally, it resulted in the establishment and operation of the National Do Not Call Registry in 2003.
How Does the Telephone Consumer Protection Act (TCPA) Regulate Autodialers?
Unless the individual being contacted expressly consents in writing, autodialers and prepared messages are not permitted to be utilized while contacting a cell phone. The same is true for text messages; according to federal laws, text messages and voice communications are handled identically.
Residential telephone calls are controlled differently. It is allowed to make auto-dialed calls to a landline, with or without the user’s agreement. Not so with recorded voice messages. Whether you’re on a mobile phone or a landline, telemarketing calls with a prerecorded message are nearly always unlawful, unless you specifically consented to the firm calling you with a recorded message.
How Do I Determine Whether or Not an Autodialer Is Used?
That is an excellent question, but one that is difficult to answer. Although it might be extremely difficult, if not impossible, for the user being contacted to verify whether an autodialer was used, there are a few telltale indicators. If you hear a loud “click” immediately after answering the phone and before a human agent answers, the call was most likely placed using an autodialer. Another excellent sign is silence. If a lengthy pause occurs before a live agent answers, this is typically a solid sign that the call was made using an autodialer.
The easiest approach to establishing whether a business bothering you with phone calls is employing an autodialer is to consult an expert attorney, who can then conduct an investigation into the business’s activities.
Am I Entitled To Sue Telemarketers Under The TCPA?
The majority of us are annoyed by robocalls. We overhear a computer’s voice or a real representative’s spiel for a split second before hanging up. That is an excellent practice. Make sure that you hang up after instructing a robocaller to stop calling, a request that federal law requires them to honor. Never provide any personal information to them.
However, once you hang up, jot down some notes about the call. Note the date and time you received it, the phone number that contacted you, if the message was prerecorded, and whether you believe it was created using an autodialer. Because, aside from being inconvenient, robocalls may be really valuable.
The Telephone Consumer Protection Act of 1991, the primary federal statute prohibiting robocalls, also provides you with the right to sue telemarketers. That is correct. You may help by implementing the Telephone Consumer Protection Act.
What Types of Compensation Are Available?
If it is proven that a phone call violates the TCPA, the call’s receivers may be awarded between $500 and $1,500. That’s money you’re keeping in your pocket. If you can establish that someone violated federal law by using an autodialer, you can recover up to $1,500 for each call or text.
Does My State Get Its Own Autodialer Laws?
The federal law that regulates autodialers is the Telephone Consumer Protection Act. Certain states have opted to enact their own legislation, further restricting telemarketers’ operations.
The majority of states that have enacted their own robocall regulations closely adhere to the Telephone Consumer Protection Act’s requirements. In certain situations, the sole distinction between state and federal law is the amount that can be recovered in a civil lawsuit. Several states have increased the penalty for violating the law by telemarketers, allowing private persons to seek even greater damages.
