It is not uncommon for people to be afraid to pick up calls from unfamiliar numbers. There has been a spate of robocalls or automated telephone calls being made to just about any person who owns a cell phone number. Another common feature is that of persons who use applications on their cellphones in order to identify robocalls, automated telephone calls or spam calls in order to avoid having to speak or listen to the recordings or individuals.

According to an article posted by the Mercury News on July 8, 2018, “In May (2018) alone swindlers and legitimate businesses bombarded Americans with a record 130-million intrusive automated messages -  per day - according to YouMail, a robocall blocking service that collects and analyzes data. That is 12.5 calls per person per month, though many people put up with far more unwanted calls.”

The article went on to state that, “The explosion in robocalls is driven by technological advances that allow anyone using an internet-powered phone system to make virtually untraceable calls from anywhere in the world for a penny or less apiece. In one case a single operation based in a Miami apartment with links to a Mexican call center was able to reach nearly 97 million people during a three-month period ending in 2016 before the federal government shut it down and fined the owner a record $120 million. On top of defrauding people by claiming to represent major companies such as TripAdvisor and Marriott, the operation disrupted a medical paging services’ emergency communications by inundating it with calls.”

As a result, it is not surprising that the Telephone Consumer Protection Act (TCPA) was introduced. The sole purpose of the Act is to prohibit anyone from calling or texting you using an automated dialing system unless they have your prior permission. In addition, the Act prohibits anyone from calling you using a pre-recorded or synthetic voice, without your prior consent. And no one can send you unwanted robocalls or automated texts with very few exceptions.

One attorney noted that “Lawsuits associated with the TCPA result when companies won’t stop sending calls or texts to consumers so much so that it rises to the point of harassment. It is illegal for a telemarketer to call or text someone’s cell phone or landline if their number is registered on the National Do Not Call Registry.”

There are three exceptions to the Act for certain types of organizations or individuals depending on their relationship with you. These exceptions are (1) established business relationship - this is whereby a company that you have an established business relationship with is allowed to send you automated messages. For example, your internet provider may send you automated reminders once a month for you to pay your bill. However, unsolicited calls or texts only fall within the exception if the call is related to the established business relationship, not an entirely new, unrelated product. (2) Charitable organizations - any non-profit and tax-exempt organization is excluded from the strict requirements of the Act as they depend on donations and may suffer from being unable to place calls to potential donors, (3) political campaigns - these can robocall residential lines with messages about a candidate or ballot initiative or solicit donations; however they cannot send automated texts or auto-dialed calls to a cell phone without the mobile phone subscriber’s prior consent.

For representation and advice on a lawsuit for unwanted robocalls contact a law firm of renowned professionals.