Have you received an unsolicited “junk” fax on your fax machine?
What is a “Junk” Fax?
Unsolicited advertisements sent to your fax machine are sometimes called “junk faxes.” In most cases, FCC rules under the Telephone Consumer Protection Act (“TCPA”) and Junk Fax Prevention Act prohibit sending junk faxes.
When are companies allowed to send advertisements to my fax machine?
Businesses may send a fax advertisement to you if you gave them permission.
In all other instances, there must be both an established business relationship between you and the fax sender (based on an inquiry, application, purchase or transaction) and the sender must have obtained your fax number in one of the following ways:
- Directly from you within the context of the established business relationship – for example, as part of an application, contact information form or membership renewal form.
- From a directory, advertisement or website to which you voluntarily agreed to make the number available for public distribution, and the sender has taken reasonable steps to verify that you consented to have the number listed.
- From your own directory, advertisement or website, unless you have noted on such materials that you do
not accept unsolicited fax advertisements.
Fax advertisements sent as part of an established business relationship must include a notice informing you of your right to avoid future faxes and instructions for making an opt-out request.
A fax sender may not send fax ads based on obtaining your fax number in the ways described above without also having an established business relationship with you.
How do I stop companies from sending me faxes?
If the fax you received includes a notice about opting out of future faxes, follow those instructions. The opt-out information must include a cost-free way to submit the opt-out request to the sender, such as a toll-free number, local phone number, website address, or email address. These opt-out contact options must be available 24 hours a day, seven days a week.
When you send an opt-out request, be sure to identify the telephone number of your fax machine.
Senders must honor opt-out requests within the shortest reasonable time, not to exceed 30 days.
Putting an opt-out notice on a fax ad does not, by itself, make the fax lawful if the sender doesn’t also satisfy the requirements described above.
Have You Been a Victim of Illegal, Unsolicited “Junk” Faxes?
Depending on the facts and circumstances of your case, you may be able to bring a private suit against the violator and possibly recover the actual monetary loss that resulted from the TCPA violation, or receive up to $500 in damages for each violation, whichever is greater. Additionally, the court may triple the damages to $1,500 for each violation, if it finds that the defendant willfully or knowingly committed the violation.
To help evaluate your potential legal claims under the Telephone Consumer Protection Act, please contact Michael Yarnoff, Esq., [email protected], [email protected], (215) 792-6676, Ext. 804, for a free, no-obligation evaluation of your potential legal rights.
Source: FCC.gov
