A TCPA violation occurs when a company contacts your cell phone using an automated system without your express written consent. This federal law is one of your strongest tools as a consumer, giving you the right to stop unwanted marketing robocalls and robotexts. It stands alongside other crucial consumer protection laws like the FDCPA and FCRA, which defend your rights against unfair debt collection and inaccurate credit reporting.

Your Phone’s “No Trespassing” Sign

Think of the Telephone Consumer Protection Act (TCPA) as a federally enforced ‘No Trespassing’ sign for your personal phone. It was designed to give you back your peace and privacy by drawing a clear line in the sand for how businesses can contact you. The law essentially says that your phone is a private space, not a free-for-all billboard for advertisers. This is a core consumer right, protecting you from intrusive marketing tactics.

When a company ignores that sign, they’re not just being a nuisance—they are breaking federal law. At its heart, a TCPA violation comes down to two simple things working together: the tech they used to contact you and the permission you did (or didn’t) give them.

The Two Ingredients of a TCPA Violation

Figuring out if your consumer rights have been violated is usually more straightforward than it seems. You just need to look for two key ingredients:

• Automated Technology: This is the big one. It covers everything from autodialers that can store and dial numbers on their own to prerecorded voice messages and even artificial or AI-generated voices. If it doesn’t sound like a live person manually dialed your number, it’s probably automated tech.
• Lack of Consent: For any kind of marketing message, the company needs your “prior express written consent.” That’s a fancy way of saying you had to agree in writing—which can be as simple as checking a box on a website—to get promotional calls or texts from that specific company.

When a business uses automated tech without getting your clear permission first, they’ve stepped over the legal line. This simple but powerful framework is what gives the TCPA its teeth and provides a clear path for holding violators accountable. You can dive deeper in our complete overview of Telephone Consumer Protection Act violations to see how these rules play out in different scenarios.

This decision tree gives you a quick visual guide for spotting a potential TCPA claim.

As the chart shows, that combination of automated technology plus no consent is the direct path to a violation.

TCPA Violations At a Glance

To make things even easier, this table breaks down what’s likely illegal versus what might be perfectly fine. Use it as a quick reference to spot the red flags of a TCPA violation.

Communication Type	What Is Likely a Violation (Without Your Consent)	What Might Be Legal
Robocalls	Prerecorded marketing messages sent to your cell phone without your prior express written consent.	Informational prerecorded calls you consented to, like flight updates or appointment reminders.
Text Messages	Automated marketing texts (robotexts) sent to your cell without your explicit written permission.	Texts from a company for non-marketing purposes, like a fraud alert from your bank.
Live Agent Calls	Telemarketing calls to any number listed on the National Do Not Call Registry.	Calls from political organizations, certain non-profits, or companies you already do business with.

Ultimately, the law focuses on protecting you from unsolicited marketing communications that use automated technology. Not every unwanted call is a violation, but this guide should help you tell the difference.

Common TCPA Violations You May Be Facing

It’s one thing to understand the rules, but another to recognize when your consumer rights are being violated. A violation of TCPA isn’t just about legal theory; it’s about identifying those dinner-interrupting robocalls and junk texts for what they are: illegal harassment.

Let’s get practical and look at the most common ways companies cross the line.

Many of these violations start with technology, specifically an autodialer or an artificial or prerecorded voice. If you pick up the phone and hear that tell-tale pause followed by a robotic voice or a flawless, pre-recorded sales pitch, you’re almost certainly dealing with an automated system. Without your prior express written consent, those calls are flat-out illegal.

Robocalls and The Do Not Call Registry

Putting your number on the National Do Not Call Registry is a clear exercise of your consumer rights. It’s a direct order to most telemarketers: stay away. When a for-profit company calls you anyway to sell something, they’re breaking the law. Simple as that.

While there are some exceptions for political groups and certain nonprofits, commercial businesses have to respect the registry. Period.

Ignoring a direct request to stop is an even more serious offense. When you tell a caller, “Put me on your do-not-call list,” or reply “STOP” to a text, you are revoking consent. That’s a legally binding command.

Any call or text you receive from that company after you have revoked consent is a new, separate violation. Each one carries the potential for its own statutory damages, highlighting the importance of every single instance of contact.

This is a crucial consumer right many people miss. They think a stream of texts after they’ve replied “STOP” is a single ongoing issue. Legally, it’s not. Each unwanted text is its own violation. If this is happening to you, our guide on what to do when you’ve replied “STOP” but they keep texting has more specific advice.

Disregarding Time Restrictions and Privacy

The TCPA also sets up a “quiet hours” zone to protect your peace and quiet. The rules are straightforward, but companies break them all the time.

• No Calls Before 8 a.m. Your mornings are supposed to be yours.
• No Calls After 9 p.m. Your evenings should be free from sales pitches.

These time limits are based on your local time zone, not the caller’s. And don’t forget, this applies to texts, too. A marketing text that buzzes your phone at 6:30 in the morning is just as illegal as a call waking you up at 10:30 at night.

Violating these quiet hours is one of the most blatant forms of harassment. It’s no surprise that courts and consumer rights attorneys take these claims very seriously. In fact, some law firms have built their entire practice on pursuing these specific violations.

Just look at the numbers. One single law firm was responsible for 159 of these cases—that’s 68% of an entire federal district’s TCPA caseload. Down in Florida, the Southern District saw 175 suits, making up 61% of the state’s filings. This shows just how aggressively these cases are pursued when businesses ignore the clock.

The Problem of Reassigned Phone Numbers

Finally, there’s a tricky situation that catches a lot of people: reassigned numbers. Have you ever gotten endless calls or texts for someone named “Kevin,” even though you’ve had your number for years? This is a classic reassigned number problem, and it’s a direct infringement on your consumer rights.

It usually means a company had permission to contact the previous owner of your number but never bothered to update their contact list.

Even though the calls weren’t meant for you, they are still a violation. You never gave consent. Once you inform them they have the wrong number and the calls or texts keep coming, their liability becomes crystal clear. It’s their job to call the right person, not your job to put up with their mistakes.

What You Can Recover for TCPA Violations

It’s easy to feel helpless when your phone won’t stop ringing. But federal law gives you a powerful way to fight back. The Telephone Consumer Protection Act (TCPA) isn’t just a list of rules; it’s a tool that empowers you to demand justice—and significant financial compensation for the violation of your consumer rights.

When you understand your rights, the whole dynamic shifts. You’re no longer just a victim of harassment; you’re a rights-holder with the law on your side.

The law is refreshingly direct about the penalties for breaking these rules. Congress set what are called statutory damages, which are fixed dollar amounts for each illegal contact. This is key because you don’t have to prove you lost money or suffered a specific financial injury. The violation itself is the harm.

For every single illegal robocall, autodialed text message, or unsolicited fax you receive, you have the right to seek $500 in damages. This isn’t a one-time fine for the company. It applies to each individual violation, so the penalties can stack up incredibly fast if a company is breaking the law over and over again.

When Damages Can Triple for Willful Violations

The TCPA draws a clear line between an honest mistake and a deliberate disregard for the law. If a company’s actions are proven to be willful or knowing, a court can triple the damages.

That takes the penalty from $500 to a massive $1,500 per violation.

So, what does “willful” actually mean here? It doesn’t require a company to be evil or malicious. It simply means they knew they were making the calls or sending the texts, and their conduct wasn’t an accident.

A perfect example of a willful violation is a company that keeps contacting you after you’ve clearly told them to stop. When you reply “STOP” to a text or verbally tell a caller to put you on their do-not-call list, you’ve revoked your consent. Every automated call or text after that point is a knowing and willful violation of your consumer rights.

This provision is there to punish companies that intentionally ignore consumers’ rights. It sends a clear message: ignoring a direct request to stop will cost you dearly.

The Power of Numbers: Class Action Lawsuits

While class action lawsuits are fairly rare for other consumer laws—making up just 2-5% of cases for the FDCPA or FCRA—the TCPA is a completely different story. An incredible 80% of all TCPA litigation now proceeds as class actions.

This gives individual consumers tremendous leverage against even the largest corporations. A class action allows a few people to sue on behalf of a much larger group who all experienced the same illegal behavior from the same company. It’s the ultimate strength-in-numbers strategy. Instead of you alone against a corporate legal department, it’s thousands of consumers standing together.

There are some major advantages to this approach:

• No Upfront Cost: TCPA attorneys almost always handle class actions on a contingency fee basis. That means you pay absolutely nothing unless you win.
• Real Corporate Accountability: A single $500 claim might be written off as a cost of doing business. But a lawsuit representing 10,000 people creates a multi-million dollar problem that gets a company’s full attention.
• Driving Systemic Change: A successful class action doesn’t just compensate the victims. It forces companies to overhaul their illegal marketing practices, which protects countless other people from becoming future victims.

This collective power is one of the most effective tools for enforcing the TCPA. Want to know more? You can learn exactly how to calculate what you can recover for illegal robocalls in our detailed guide.

How to Document Evidence of TCPA Violations

If you want to take a stand against a company violating the TCPA, the strength of your case hinges entirely on your evidence. It’s time to think like a detective. Every unwanted call, text, and voicemail is a crucial clue, and your job is to meticulously gather and preserve each piece of the puzzle.

Good documentation can transform your frustration into a legitimate legal claim. Your smartphone is now your primary evidence locker, and being diligent from this moment on is the most important thing you can do to protect your consumer rights.

Start with Screenshots and Voicemails

When an illegal text message hits your phone, your first instinct might be to delete it. Don’t. Instead, take a clear screenshot.

A good screenshot captures everything an attorney needs to see at a glance:

• The Message Itself: This shows what they were pushing—the product, service, or offer.
• The Sender’s Number: This helps identify who is contacting you.
• The Date and Time Stamp: This proves exactly when the violation happened.

Save these screenshots in a dedicated folder, either on your phone or backed up to a cloud service. The same goes for voicemails. If you get a prerecorded robocall message, save it immediately. Most phone carriers let you export voicemails as audio files—this is rock-solid proof of a company using an autodialer.

Maintain a Detailed Call and Text Log

Your phone’s recent call list is a start, but it’s not enough. You need to maintain a separate, detailed log of every single unwanted contact. Think of it as your case diary, documenting the harassment in real-time.

A well-kept log does more than just list numbers and dates; it tells the story of the harassment. It reveals a clear pattern of illegal contact, which is absolutely vital for proving a violation was willful and therefore subject to higher damages.

This doesn’t have to be complicated. A simple spreadsheet or even a dedicated notebook works just fine. The key is to be consistent and capture the right details for every single call or text. This disciplined approach is what elevates a simple complaint into a powerful legal argument.

Building Your Evidence File

A detailed and organized record is the foundation of a successful TCPA claim. Here’s a simple checklist to follow for gathering the essential evidence you’ll need.

TCPA Violation Evidence Checklist

Evidence Type	What to Collect	Pro Tip
Call Details	The date and time of the call, and the phone number that called you.	Note the call’s duration. Log every attempt, even unanswered calls, as they show a pattern of contact.
Caller Identity	The name of the person you spoke with and the company they claimed to represent.	If they’re cagey, ask directly: “What is the full legal name of your company?” Their response—or lack thereof—is important.
Conversation Notes	A quick summary of the conversation, the product offered, and any key phrases the caller used.	Be sure to write down if you explicitly told them to stop calling or that they had the wrong number. This is crucial for proving a willful violation.
Proof of Revocation	The exact date, time, and method you used to revoke consent (e.g., “Replied ‘STOP’ to text,” “Verbally told agent to add me to their Do Not Call list”).	Screenshot your “STOP” text and the company’s confirmation reply. This is undeniable proof that you revoked consent.

By treating each unwanted contact as a piece of evidence and logging it methodically, you create a comprehensive record that will be invaluable down the road.

The Legal Fine Print: Deadlines, Defenses, and Exemptions

Before you can build a strong case, you need to understand the rules of the game. A critical piece of that is the statute of limitations—think of it as a legal countdown timer for filing a lawsuit for a violation of TCPA.

For TCPA claims, that timer is set to four years from the date of the illegal call or text. And yes, that means the clock resets with every single unwanted message you get. While four years might seem like plenty of time, it’s always smart to move quickly.

Memories fade, call logs get deleted, and companies can disappear or change hands. The sooner you start building your case, the better your odds of holding violators accountable.

Common Defenses You’ll Encounter

Don’t expect a company to just roll over and admit they were wrong. When you file a claim, they’ll pull from a playbook of common legal defenses to try and get the case dismissed. The most popular one by far is claiming they had your “prior express consent.”

They might point to a tiny checkbox you clicked on a form years ago as proof you wanted their calls. But here’s the crucial part: the type of consent they need depends entirely on the message. For marketing robocalls or automated texts, they must have your express written consent.

For purely informational messages—like a fraud alert from your bank or an appointment reminder—the bar for consent is lower. This distinction is often the central battleground in a TCPA lawsuit, so knowing where you stand is essential.

Who Is Exempt from TCPA Rules?

It’s also important to realize that not every annoying robocall is an illegal one. The TCPA carves out specific exemptions for certain types of calls and organizations.

Generally, the following types of calls don’t fall under the TCPA’s strict rules for autodialers and pre-recorded messages:

• Political Calls: Messages from or on behalf of political campaigns are usually exempt.
• Non-Profits: Most tax-exempt charities and non-profit organizations get a pass.
• Informational Alerts: Non-commercial messages like school closing announcements or public safety alerts are also allowed.

Knowing who isn’t covered helps you focus your efforts on the commercial telemarketers who are clearly breaking the law.

The “Wrong Number” Defense

One of the trickiest and most common defenses revolves around reassigned phone numbers. A company might try to argue that they had permission to call the person who had your number before you did, so they shouldn’t be on the hook for calling you.

It sounds like a plausible excuse, but the law is on your side. Courts have repeatedly found that consent is tied to the person, not the phone number. Since you never gave them permission, their automated calls to you are still potential violations.

The moment you tell a company they have the wrong number, you put them on notice. Any automated calls or texts they send after that point become incredibly difficult for them to defend and can serve as powerful evidence that they knowingly broke the law.

This issue of reassigned numbers has become a huge battleground in TCPA litigation. In 2025, it’s a major weak spot for telemarketers and debt collectors who fail to keep their contact lists updated. This trend gives a real advantage to people sick of getting calls for strangers, and you can find more insights on these TCPA lawsuits over at CompliancePoint.com.

Your Options for Stopping TCPA Violations

Knowing your rights is one thing, but actually doing something about it is where the power lies. If you’re fed up with the endless barrage of illegal robocalls and texts, you have real, powerful options to make them stop and hold the violators accountable. You don’t have to just take it—you can flip the script on companies that break the law.

The first move is putting the company on formal notice. This isn’t just a simple “please stop calling me.” It’s about creating a documented paper trail that gives you leverage and solidifies your legal standing. From there, you can bring the issue to federal regulators and, if necessary, take legal action.

Send a Formal Demand Letter

Think of a demand letter as your first official shot across the bow. It’s a formal legal document, best drafted by a consumer rights attorney, that spells out exactly how the company violated the TCPA and what you expect them to do about it—usually, pay up. This is worlds away from a quick phone call or an email; it shows the company you know your rights and you’re not messing around.

A well-crafted demand letter should always include:

• A direct statement that their calls or texts are illegal under the TCPA.
• Specific details from your call logs, text messages, and other evidence.
• A clear demand for statutory damages, which can be $500 to $1,500 per violation.
• A firm deadline for their response before you escalate to a lawsuit.

More often than not, this step is enough to get a company’s undivided attention. Many will opt to settle right then and there to avoid a costly court battle. It’s a smart, efficient first move that proves you mean business.

File a Complaint with the FCC

Another crucial step is to report the company to the Federal Communications Commission (FCC). The FCC is the federal agency in charge of enforcing the TCPA. While they won’t jump into your specific case and negotiate on your behalf, your complaint becomes an official piece of evidence against the company.

Filing a complaint gets the offender on the FCC’s radar. When enough people report the same company, it can trigger a full-blown federal investigation, potentially leading to enormous fines that protect everyone from that company’s illegal practices.

Basically, you’re adding your voice to a growing chorus. Your story helps regulators spot the worst offenders and take them down, which ultimately helps clean up the entire system.

Pursue a TCPA Lawsuit

When you’re ready to bring out the big guns, your most powerful option is filing a lawsuit. This is how you can recover every dollar you’re owed for every single illegal call and text you received. A successful lawsuit doesn’t just put money back in your pocket; it hits the company where it hurts and forces them to stop their illegal behavior for good.

And here’s the best part: you don’t have to go it alone or empty your savings to do it. Consumer protection lawyers who specialize in these cases, like the team at Ginsburg Law Group, typically work on a contingency fee basis.

What does that mean for you? You pay zero upfront fees. The lawyer’s payment is simply a percentage of the money they win for you. If you don’t win, you don’t owe them a dime for their time. This model removes all the financial risk and empowers anyone to take on a massive corporation and demand justice. Working with a skilled lawyer is the single best way to maximize your chances of winning and getting the full compensation you deserve.

Frequently Asked Questions About TCPA Violations

To help clear up any final confusion, let’s tackle a few of the most common questions people have when they suspect their consumer rights have been violated under the TCPA.

Does the TCPA Also Apply to Text Messages?

Yes, absolutely. The law sees no difference between an automated call and an automated text message. They are treated exactly the same.

If you receive unsolicited marketing texts on your cell phone and you never gave the sender explicit, written permission to contact you, that’s a clear-cut TCPA violation. Each one of those illegal texts could be worth $500 to $1,500 in damages, just like a robocall.

What if I Once Gave a Company My Number?

This is a common point of confusion. Maybe you gave a company your number for a specific reason, like a one-time shipping update or an appointment reminder. That does not give them a free pass to add you to their marketing list for life.

You always have the right to take back your consent.

Simply replying “STOP” to a text or telling a live caller “put me on your do-not-call list” is a legally binding command. If they contact you with automated marketing messages after you’ve done that, each new attempt is a fresh violation of the law.

Do I Have to Pay a Lawyer to File a TCPA Lawsuit?

For the vast majority of TCPA cases, the answer is a firm no. Experienced consumer protection attorneys almost always handle these claims on a contingency fee basis.

This is a straightforward arrangement: the lawyer’s fees are simply a percentage of the settlement or court award they win for you. If you don’t win your case for any reason, you owe them nothing. This model levels the playing field, allowing anyone to hold a company accountable without any upfront financial risk.

---

If you’re tired of being harassed by illegal robocalls and spam texts, you don’t have to fight back alone. The experienced consumer protection attorneys at Ginsburg Law Group PC are here to help you understand your rights and hold violators accountable. Contact us today for a free consultation to see how we can help you stop the calls and get the compensation you deserve.