Federal lawmakers recently introduced legislation intended to provide Americans with relief from unwanted robocalls. With the introduction of the Traced Act and the Stopping Bad Robocalls Act, lawmakers have put telemarketers on notice regarding unwanted robocalls. The Traced Act addresses the use of spoofed calls with fake caller IDs, while the Stopping Bad Robocalls Act requires rules that are intended to prevent abusive and unwanted robocalls.
Understanding the Stopping Bad Robocalls Act
Americans receive more than 4 billion robocalls every month, with the top sources of robocalls being creditors and debt collectors. The Stopping Bad Robocalls Act proposes relief to consumers by amending the Telephone Consumer Protection Act to require telemarketers to obtain consent prior to making calls. In addition, the Act requires telemarketers to cease calling consumers when requested. Under the current Telephone Consumer Protection Act, nonconsensual calls placed to cell phones made using an automated dialing system are prohibited. However, some telemarketers have argued that they are exempt from this law due to an argument over the definition of the term “autodialer,” which is an important part of the law’s language. This recent legislation is intended to address this issue and make clear that nonconsensual robocalls of any kind are unacceptable.
Strongly opposed to these bills are the debt collectors and creditors who stand to benefit from the use of robocalls, some of whom are powerful and influential corporations. These organizations argue that consumers benefit from robocalls from telemarketers and debt collectors and that the proposed legislation is far too burdensome.
By introducing these two strong bills, federal lawmakers have put telemarketers on notice that consumers are fed up with unwanted robocalls. However, it remains to be seen whether this legislation will ultimately be signed into law. In the meantime, all consumers affected by robocalls should take action to address this issue. And the best way to take action is to immediately contact a Florida TCPA attorney.
Contact our experienced Florida TCPA attorney today
If you are a victim of unwanted robocalls, you need a Florida TCPA attorney on your side. With the assistance of an experienced Florida TCPA lawyer, you may be entitled to up to $1500 for each documented violation of the TCPA law. Unsolicited robocalls are not only annoying—they’re against the law. Debt collection calls, advertisements, fraudulent schemes to swindle consumers out of money, identity theft scams, and calls seeking personal information are just a few of the types of unwanted calls with which today’s consumers find themselves bombarded. If you are a victim of telemarketer harassment of any kind, Seth Lehrman is here to help. Attorney Seth Lehrman represents people who have received unwanted robocalls or texts in TCPA cases in Florida and nationwide. If you have received unsolicited calls from telemarketers or have been subjected to other harassing behavior by telemarketers, please contact our law firm for a free consultation.