TCPA Lawyer Tampa, FL

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When a TCPA Lawyer Can Help

Robocalling – The Basics

If you have been the recipient of auto generated phone calls, you may be able to take legal steps to protect your privacy with the assistance of an experienced Tampa, Florida TCPA lawyer. Ziegler Diamond Law: Debt Fighters specializes in handling lawsuits on behalf of the recipients of these phone calls, which are known as robocalls.

How Are Robocalls Officially Classified?

A robocall is a phone call that was made without human intervention, through an auto dialer. An auto dialer contacts your phone number, and then either plays a pre-recorded message, or connects you with a live person once you have answered the phone. If you receive this kind of call, contact a Tampa, FL TCPA lawyer in order to protect your privacy rights.

You Will Know That You Have Received a Robocall When:

No two robocalls are the same, but some characteristics of a robocall are:

• A phone call that immediately starts playing an automated message when you pick up.
• A phone call that has a few moments of dead air when you pick up the phone, then you are connected to a live person.
• A phone call that repeatedly hangs up.
• A phone call that doesn’t leave a voice message.

TCPA Protections

The Telephone Consumer Protection Act (TCPA) was created so each phone user can have privacy when on the phone. Under this law, there are strict regulations concerning robocalls and the use of auto dialers is prohibited. When these restrictions are not honored, a Tampa, FL TCPA lawyer may be able to help you obtain financial compensation from the company that initiated the robocall.

For robocalls to be legal, each call must include:

The statement of personal information: the person on the other end of the phone (whether it is automated or not) must accurately state the call recipient’s name, phone number, and state the name of the company they are calling on behalf of.

An opt out solution: every phone call needs to include a feature where the recipient can choose to opt out of any additional phone calls from that specific company. If the telemarketer has to leave a message, they must include a toll-free number where the caller can have their number put on a no call list.

Expressed written consent: the recipient must have a written or an electronic document filed where it states they are open to receiving robocalls. Typical ways of giving consent include updating your phone number on an online form, or even listing your phone number on an application for that company’s services.

If you believe you have received a phone call without these three important factors, a Tampa, FL TCPA lawyer can help file a legal claim for compensation for you.  The guidelines under the TCPA state that the recipients of these calls are able to claim up to $500 per illegal robocall, and up to $1500 for an illegal robocall that was willfully made by a company.

Who Can I Hold Responsible for the Robocall?

The industries who typically use robocallers include:

• Credit card agencies
• Retailers, such as cell phone providers
• Student loan agencies
• Banks and credit institutions
• Debt collectors
• Mortgage loan agencies

When a TCPA Lawyer Can Help

If you feel harassed by repetitive, unwanted phone calls, the TCPA lawyer Tampa, FL trusts may be able to help you. There are laws to protect private citizens from unsolicited phone calls that are disruptive to people’s private time. If this has been happening to you or someone in your family, it may be time to enlist the help of a TCPA lawyer from The Law Office of Michael A. Ziegler, PL to defend your rights and to stop the annoying phone calls.

Contact our Tampa, FL TCPA lawyer for a free case evaluation to see if you may be entitled to compensation for the unwanted phone calls you’ve been receiving.

Robocall and Harassment: What You Need to Know

It is easy to be surprised when a telemarketer calls your phone, as it should be difficult for telemarketers to secure your personal contact information. Unfortunately, telemarketers and companies of all sizes use a term called robocalling to contact a wide array of people despite laws put into place in an effort to ensure that telemarketers can only make calls under a limited set of circumstances. As a result, robocalls are often illegal, as they may be placed despite specific laws designed to ensure your individual privacy on the phone, including legislation commonly referred to as the TCPA. Therefore, if you are experiencing robocalls, you may benefit from speaking with a Tampa, FL TCPA lawyer.

What Exactly Is a Robocall?

A robocall is when a company calls you using an auto dialer and sometimes a prerecorded automatic message. These autodialers make calls without any human intervention and often are selling a specific product or service.

Why Are Robocalls Illegal?

There is a federal law that was put in place called the Telephone Consumer Protection Act (TCPA) that regulates how companies can contact individuals through the phone. Under the TCPA, there are specific rules on how a company can go about calling, texting, and leaving voicemails and on how to properly use auto dialers.

What Are Some of the Regulations Put Forth By the TCPA?

As the TCPA is a federal law, every telemarketer in the country is not allowed to:

• Contact someone via an auto dialer.
• Use an automated voice message.
• Not have an opt-out feature during their call.
• Call anyone who has expressed that they do not want to be contacted. They are only allowed to speak to people who have consented using an e-document that they are open to calls.
• Repeatedly hang up on a single caller without leaving a voicemail.
• Have a phone conversation without saying the recipient’s name, address, and phone number at the beginning of the phone call.
• Send text messages without the ability to opt out.
• Record the phone call without the recipient’s knowledge and consent.
• Continue to record the phone call after the recipient has hung up.

How Do I Know if I Receive a Robocall?

Typically, a telltale sign of a robocall is hearing either:

1.An automated message that starts to speak immediately after the call is taken, before you have a chance to say hello.

2.Dead air on the end of the phone immediately after the call is picked up, then answered by a live person.

3.An opt-in question asked as soon as you answer the phone.

Who Can Be Held Responsible for These Kind of Calls?

While no two telemarketers are the same, those who use robocalls tend to be credit card companies, retailers, mortgage loans, student loan agencies, banks, and other finance and check cashing companies. An experienced Tampa, FL TCPA lawyer can help you determine whether you may be able to hold a robocaller accountable for violating the law.

What Compensation May I Be Entitled To?

Depending on your case and situation, the TCPA states that you can seek up to $500 per illegal robocall and $1,500 for willfully made robocalls. This compensation is meant to be payment for harassment from the companies calling and texting you, so you can bring a different claim on multiple companies if this happens to you. Of course, every case is different, so it is important to speak with a Tampa, FL TCPA lawyer before committing to a plan of action.

You deserve to have complete control over who contacts you. If you have been a victim of a robocall, please do not hesitate to contact a Tampa, Florida TCPA lawyer today for some legal representation. Ziegler Diamond Law: Debt Fighters will work hard to ensure your privacy is protected going forward.

TCPA – Telephone Consumer Protection Act

The TCPA became a federal law in 1991. It is a law that amended the Communications Act of 1934 and governs the conduct of telephone solicitations.

TCPA lawyers in Tampa, FL will explain that the TCPA limits the use of:

– automated phone dialers

– pre-recorded voice messages

– FAX machines for unsolicited advertisements

– SMS text messages for cell phones

It also provides technical requirements for the machines that send these messages that include, how they are supposed to identify their origins and their contact information.

A TCPA lawyer from our Tampa, FL office is qualified to explain TCPA laws in much more detail and how they pertain to your particular situation but some of the basics of the law include:

8 – 9 Time Restrictions The TCPA limits the hours that telephone solicitors are allowed to call a person’s residence. It prohibits these calls from coming in before 8:00 a.m. and after 9:00 p.m.

Do-Not-Call Registry In 2003, the Federal Communications Commission (FCC)and the TCPA established a national Do-Not-Call Registry. This provides a free and easy way for people to limit the number of telemarketing calls they get to their homes. People can register their number on-line or through a free (888) telephone call.

Many people do not realize that debt collection agencies and telemarketers are not supposed to call a person unsolicited by that person more than one time unless they have that person’s permission to do so. If this is happening to you, a Tampa TCPA lawyer may be able to help you seek compensation for calls that were illegally made to you.

Illegal Debt Collecting

Including the above guidelines for automated calls, a TCPA lawyer located in FL may be able to help you if you have been getting calls from debt collectors. Some common illegal practices of debt collecting companies include but are not limited to:

– Calling you at work after being told not to call you

– Agents not identifying themselves as creditors or debt collectors

who are trying to collect a debt

– Calling you multiple times, sometimes in one day, even though

you have asked them not to call you anymore

– Trying to collect more than the amount of a debt

If you have been receiving harassing phone calls from debt collectors or telemarketers, you should call the TCPA lawyer Tampa, FL residents believe in to help stop this disruptive behavior as well as to get you compensation for having had to deal with this for as long as you have.

For highly rated TCPA lawyer, contact Ziegler Diamond Law today.