Do Not Call Violations

Many consumers who have tired of receiving repeated telemarketing calls, register their residential and cellular telephone numbers on the national Do Not Call Registry (https://www NULL.donotcall NULL.gov/). Despite taking this step, many consumers continue to receive telemarketing calls from businesses with whom they have done business in the past and other businesses. It is generally illegal under federal law for a business to place telemarketing calls to residential and cellular telephone numbers when the telephone subscribers have registered those numbers on the national Do Not Call registry. There is an exception for subscribers who have an “established business relationship” with the business in question but, once the consumer requests that the business stop calling, that request trumps the established business relationship for purposes of the application of federal Do Not Call law.

In addition, it is generally illegal under Washington law for a business or not-for-profit organization to place telemarketing calls to a subscriber who advises the caller during a telephone contact that the subscriber no longer wishes to receive calls from the company. There are exceptions to the Do Not Call laws, such as an exception under Washington law for not-for-profit calls to its own list of bonafide or active members of the organization, but the thrust of both state and federal law is to protect consumers from unwanted telemarketing calls to their personal telephones. Federal law, for example, prohibits autodialer calls to cellular telephones even from organizations that would otherwise be exempt from the application of law because cellular phone customers typically pay, directly or indirectly, for calls received on their cell phones.

Our firm has brought class action cases which include Do Not Call claims against businesses that did not honor the Do Not Call requests of their customers and/or other telephone subscribers to whom they placed telemarketing calls. As mentioned, it is not necessary that a subscriber be registered on the national Do Not Call registry for him or her to have a viable Do Not Call claim so long as a verbal request was made that the calls stop and yet they continued.

We are glad to provide a free telephone consultation to recipients of repeat telemarketing and other calls involving potential Do Not Call violations or respond to emails regarding the possible illegality of particular calls received and the legal remedies that are available for Do Not Call violations.