How can you stop unwanted text messages?
When a text notification appears on your phone’s screen, you will likely hope you’re receiving a message from a friend or relative. If you discover that it’s an advertisement or promotion, you may wonder how its sender received your number. While you will likely delete the text, you may keep receiving them from the same marketer or from other businesses. Yet, you have protections against receiving unwanted text messages, and it’s important to understand how you can stop them, and to know that you can potentially be compensated for each solicitation message you get.
Understanding your protections
Since 1991, the Telephone Consumer Protection Act (TCPA) has placed restrictions on marketers’ ability to contact consumers. Lawmakers have since revised the TCPA to include restrictions on marketing text messages. This law provides that marketers can only text you if you consent in writing to messages from them. They must provide a disclosure saying they are using an ATDS (Automatic Telephone Dialing System – also known as an “auto-dialer”). Even then, limits exist to the number and frequency of texts they can send you – and the times when they can contact you.
The TCPA also prohibits informational text messages if you have opted out of receiving them or if you never gave consent. The law requires that text messages must include information about how you can stop their future delivery.
Understanding your rights
As a consumer, you have the right to act if a marketer violates the TCPA’s provisions. They may try contacting you at odd hours or with great frequency. Or, you may discover that the marketer’s texts do not contain a “STOP” option – or they do not abide by it. No matter their violation, you may want to contact an attorney about suing or joining a class action lawsuit against the company. While it is often hard (sometimes even impossible) to find the identity of the source sending the texts, it can be financially rewarding to you if they are coming from a legitimate business. Depending on the court ruling, you could receive an award between $500 and $1,500 for each text infraction. You may also receive injunctive relief, which means that the company’s marketing team will stop contacting you.
If you are receiving unwanted marketing texts and are having trouble stopping them, or you never consented to them in the first place, contact USA Employment Lawyers. You can send a screenshot of the text message to our team at screenshots@usaemploymentslawyers.com. We look forward to assisting you with your potential claims.
