Aug 3, 2017 | Blog
Robocalls – FTC Releasing Daily Data on Consumer Complaints
On August 1, 2017, the FTC issued a press release, FTC Escalates the Fight against Illegal Robocalls Using Consumer Complaints to Aid Industry Call-Blocking Solutions, stating, among other things, that:
[e]very day American consumers report tens of thousands of illegal robocalls to the Federal Trade Commission, and now the FTC is helping put that information to work boosting industry efforts to stop unwanted calls before they reach consumers.
Under a new initiative announced by the FTC, when consumers report Do Not Call or robocall violations to the agency, the robocaller phone numbers consumers provide will be released each day to telecommunications carriers and other industry partners that are implementing call-blocking solutions.
. . .
Unwanted and illegal robocalls are the FTC’s number-one complaint category, with more than 1.9 million complaints filed in the first five months of 2017 alone. By reporting illegal robocalls, consumers help law enforcement efforts to stop the violators behind these calls. In addition, under the initiative announced today, the FTC is now taking steps to provide more data, more often to help power the industry solutions that block illegal calls.
The consumer complaint data is crucial because many of today’s call-blocking solutions rely on “blacklists” — databases of telephone numbers that have received significant consumer complaints — as one way to determine which calls should be blocked or flagged before they reach consumers’ phones.
The new data that FTC is making available also will include the date and time the unwanted call was received, the general subject matter of the call (such as debt reduction, energy, warranties, home security, etc.), and whether the call was a robocall.
Have You Received Unwanted, Unsolicited or Harassing Telephone, Telemarketing, Autodial or Robocalls and/or Text Messages?
If you have received unwanted, unsolicited or harassing telephone, telemarketing, autodial or robocalls and/or text messages and would like to speak privately with an attorney to learn more about your potential legal rights, please complete the form to the right or contact Michael Yarnoff, Esq., (215) 792-6676, Ext. 804, [email protected]; John Kehoe, Esq., (215) 792-6676, Ext. 801, [email protected]; or send an e-mail to [email protected].
The Kehoe Law Firm, P.C. is a multidisciplinary, plaintiff–side law firm dedicated to protecting investors and consumers from corporate fraud, negligence, and other wrongdoing. Driven by a strong and principled sense of social responsibility and obtaining justice for the aggrieved, Kehoe Law Firm, P.C. represents plaintiffs seeking to recover investment losses resulting from securities fraud, breaches of fiduciary duty, corporate wrongdoing or malfeasance, those harmed by anticompetitive practices, and consumers victimized by fraud, negligence, false claims, deception, data breaches or whose rights to minimum wage and overtime compensation under the federal Fair Labor Standards Act and state wage and hour laws have been violated.
Jun 19, 2017 | Blog
The FTC, in a June 16, 2017 post by Rosario Méndez, Attorney, Division of Consumer and Business Education, FTC, provided information for consumers about the “signs of a debt relief scam.”
According to the FTC’s post:
. . . a call from someone who says they can reduce or eliminate your debts might sound like the answer to your problems. But in many cases, unscrupulous people are behind these calls. They don’t have any intention of helping you, but are very interested in taking your money. How can you tell if you’re dealing with a debt relief scammer? Because they ask you to pay them before they do anything for you.
That’s what the FTC and the Florida Attorney General said happened in a massive debt relief scam they were able to stop last month. The defendants told people they would pay, settle, or get rid of their debts. But they didn’t. Instead, they just took people’s money. Over time, people found out that their debts were not paid, their accounts were in default, and their credit scores were severely damaged. Some people even got sued by their creditors, or were forced into bankruptcy.
According to the posting, . . . scammers try to take advantage of those dealing with debt – but there’s legitimate help . . .. [Individuals] can talk to [their] creditors directly to negotiate a modified payment plan. [Individuals] also can look for credit counseling.
The FTC posting also recommends that [t]o find reputable help, start with a credit union, local college, military base, or the U.S. Cooperative Extension Service.
Importantly, the FTC posting states that if a person decides to work with a debt relief service to remember the following:
- A legitimate debt relief company won’t make you pay up front. That’s illegal.
- No one can guarantee that your creditors will forgive your debts.
Kehoe Law Firm, P.C. is a multidisciplinary, plaintiff–side law firm dedicated to protecting investors and consumers from corporate fraud, negligence, and other wrongdoing. Driven by a strong and principled sense of social responsibility and obtaining justice for the aggrieved, Kehoe Law Firm, P.C. represents plaintiffs seeking to recover investment losses resulting from securities fraud, breaches of fiduciary duty, corporate wrongdoing or malfeasance, those harmed by anticompetitive practices, and consumers victimized by fraud, false claims, deception or data breaches. Together, the partners of the Kehoe Law Firm, P.C. have spent more than 30 years prosecuting precedent-setting securities and financial fraud cases in federal and state courts on behalf of institutional and individual clients.
May 3, 2017 | Blog
Have You Received Unwanted, Unsolicited or Harassing Telephone, Telemarketing, Autodial or Robocalls and/or Text Messages?
Recently, a number of class action lawsuits have been filed against companies alleging telemarketing and debt collection calls and practices that violate the Telephone Consumer Protection Act, 47 U.S.C. § 227 (“TCPA”). Enacted in 1991, the TCPA places restrictions on making telemarketing calls and the use of automatic telephone dialing systems or prerecorded or artificial voice messages. It also provides for statutory damages.
Federal Communications Commission & TCPA
According to the Federal Communications Commission, the TCPA requires the following:
For telemarketing calls:
- Requires anyone making a telephone solicitation call to your home to provide his or her name, the name of the person or entity on whose behalf the call is being made, and a telephone number or address at which that person or entity can be contacted.
- Prohibits telephone solicitation calls to homes before 8 a.m. or after 9 p.m.
- Requires telemarketers to comply immediately with any do-not-call request made during a call.
For robocalls/texts:
- Requires a consumer’s permission, regardless of any existing relationship, before a robocall/text can be made to a wireless phone. These calls can include political, polling, and other non-telemarketing robocalls.
- Allows consumers to take back their permission to be called or texted in any reasonable way.
- Consent to be called or texted cannot be a condition of a sale or other commercial transaction.
- Requires callers to update their lists after dialing a wrong number the first time.
TCPA & The National Do-Not-Call Registry
The TCPA also established the National Do-Not-Call Registry that covers all telemarketers (with the exception of certain non-profit organizations), applies to both landline and wireless phones, as well as interstate and intrastate calls.
What Can I Do If I Believe My Rights Have Been Violated?
If you have received unwanted, unsolicited or harassing telephone, telemarketing, autodial or robocalls and/or text messages and would like to speak privately with an attorney to learn more about your potential legal rights, please complete the form to the right or contact Michael Yarnoff, Esq., (215) 792-6676, Ext. 804, [email protected]; John Kehoe, Esq., (215) 792-6676, Ext. 801, [email protected]; or send an e-mail to [email protected].
Kehoe Law Firm, P.C. is a multidisciplinary, plaintiff–side law firm dedicated to protecting investors and consumers from corporate fraud, negligence, and other wrongdoing. Driven by a strong and principled sense of social responsibility and obtaining justice for the aggrieved, Kehoe Law Firm, P.C. represents plaintiffs seeking to recover investment losses resulting from securities fraud, breaches of fiduciary duty, corporate wrongdoing or malfeasance, those harmed by anticompetitive practices, and consumers victimized by fraud, false claims, deception or data breaches. Together, the partners of the Kehoe Law Firm, P.C. have spent more than 30 years prosecuting precedent-setting securities and financial fraud cases in federal and state courts on behalf of institutional and individual clients.
