ROBOCALLS
Collectors frequently use automatic telephone dialing systems (“autodialers”) to dial thousands of numbers in a short period of time without human intervention. Some estimates show that 44% of the collection industry use robocalls in their collection operations. Auto-dialer technology allows debt collectors to greatly increase their number of outgoing calls per day. Collectors using auto-dialer technology or prerecorded messages, must comply with the Telephone Consumer Protection Act (TCPA), but often don’t.
The TCPA prohibits any calls to cell phones that use a recorded or artificial voice made without the consumer’s consent. Subscribers can place their name on the national do-not call list, which telemarketers must honor.
A consumer who prevails under the TCPA is entitled to the greater of his or her actual damages or $500 per phone call, whichever is greater. These damages can be tripled if the consumer proves the violation was knowing or willful.
