Rarely are calls from telemarketers welcomed or appreciated. If you are being bombarded by spam calls, texts, or both, however, the matter is far more serious. Fortunately, there are effective laws in place that are intended to protect consumers from illegal phone practices, and one of the most important is the Telephone Consumer Protection Act (TCPA). If you have questions or concerns about the calls and texts you are receiving, retain the professional legal counsel of an experienced consumer rights attorney at The Law Offices of Jibrael S Hindi today.
Originally, the TCPA was enacted to curb rampant telemarketing practices on landlines. An early goal was minimizing robocalls, which are those prerecorded consumer come-ons that are generated by automated dialer systems. These automated messages can be extremely invasive, and the TCPA is intent on minimizing their impact. Over the years, the TCPA has expanded its scope to include calls and texts to cell phones.
The TCPA offers consumers several means of protecting themselves from illegal call and text practices.
To begin, you can simply tell a company that is harassing or otherwise hounding you to stop calling. Once you do, they are bound by the law to comply with your request within 31 days.
Those who do not want to be contacted for telemarketing purposes can include their names on the Do Not Call Registry. Before sending out calls or texts, most businesses must subscribe to this list. Nonprofit companies, however, are generally exempt.
Often, companies offer incentives for joining their text subscription lists. A common example is a discount for an initial order. These companies have the legal right to send a reasonable number of messages to all their subscribers.
If you make it your practice to avoid subscribing, you will be in a better position to avoid nuisance calls and texts, and to hold companies accountable if they cross the line. It is also important to note that if you have subscribed, the company is required to offer a clear means of unsubscribing.
It is not against the law to make unsolicited calls to potential customers as long as they are not on the Do Not Call Registry. Robocalling a consumer with whom a company does not already have a business relationship, however, is illegal. To text or call you as part of a company’s subscription blast, they need your written permission.
The formidable consumer rights attorneys at The Law Offices of Jibrael S Hindi have earned an imposing reputation for successfully championing our clients’ rights, and we are on your side. Learn more about what we can do to help you by reaching out and contacting us online or giving our firm a call at 844-542-7235 today.