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TCPA claims: could your calls or texts qualify?

You get a recorded sales pitch or a marketing text you didn't ask for. Could it support a legal claim? The Telephone Consumer Protection Act (TCPA) sets limits on certain calls and texts, but a claim depends on what happened.

What does the TCPA cover?

The TCPA restricts certain calls made with an automatic telephone dialing system or an artificial or prerecorded voice. It also includes protections against some telephone solicitations. Text messages can fall under these rules.

Consent matters. So do the purpose of the contact, the number called, the technology used, and any exceptions that apply, which is why a spam label or an unfamiliar number alone doesn't establish a violation.

Where do the $500 and $1,500 amounts come from?

For a qualifying violation under the automated-call provisions, the TCPA allows a private claim for $500 in statutory damages or actual monetary loss, whichever is greater. A court can increase the award to as much as $1,500 if it finds that the violation was willful or knowing.

Recovery isn't guaranteed. These figures describe potential damages under the law. They don't tell you what your case is worth or mean that every call or text qualifies.

What should you keep?

Save the original call, voicemail, or text with its date and time. Keep any business name mentioned, along with the caller's number. If you signed up for something, made a purchase, or agreed to receive messages, keep that information too.

Asked the business to stop? Preserve that request and any contact that followed. Those details help explain the history rather than leaving a lawyer to work from one isolated message.

How do you send records to Landmark?

Landmark considers cases submitted through Speechbolt. Use the app to organize your available records and choose what to share with Landmark, which determines whether the facts support a case it can take.

Sending records does not hire the firm or pause a legal deadline. Read the submission guide before getting started.

For more specific questions, see the guides to robocall claims and spam text claims.

Legal source: 47 U.S.C. § 227, Telephone Consumer Protection Act. Whether the law applies depends on the facts and current rules.