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To learn more about the TCPA and their services, visit www.tcpadefenseforce.com/tatango-partnership
As you may be aware, the Telephone Consumer Protection Act (TCPA) is the federal law that regulates what can and can’t be sent to consumers via phone call or text message marketing. In this blog post, we talk more about the penalties for violating the TCPA. As you might imagine, the consequences are pretty steep.
Penalties for Violating the TCPA
When a business violates the TCPA, whether by ignoring the Do Not Call List or text messaging consumers without clear and conspicuous consent, the business is suddenly liable for a list of penalties. Private citizens who have grievances against a business can sue for damages based on the unwanted contact. The law dictates a fine of $500 per unwanted call or text, per person. If the business is proven to have knowingly violated the TCPA, those fines triple to $1,500 per unwanted call or text, per person.
Now, it’s not just the business sending the messages that gets sued. Any entity that is involved in the offending text message marketing campaign is a valid target for these lawsuits and fines. This could include the brand behind the text message marketing, the text message marketing software provider sending the messages, and the marketing agency handling the campaign. Each one of these parties can face those fines.
Remember, the fines are $500 to $1,500 per text, per person. These fines can easily snowball into millions of dollars of legal costs, which can really devastate a company. These fines were initially developed with individual plaintiffs in mind, but there has been a rise in class-action lawsuits, allowing multiple plaintiffs to sue simultaneously. This makes TCPA compliance of the utmost importance.
How to Be TCPA Complaint
There are a lot of things that can go wrong with TCPA compliance, and that’s why it’s important to take the necessary steps to protect your brand and your text message marketing campaigns.
Working with a good software provider and a good attorney is crucial, as is making sure that everyone managing the campaign is aware of TCPA guidelines. Being familiar with TCPA compliance can be the difference between making money off of text message marketing or going out of business due to legal fees. This is especially true when differences in interpretation occur in different courts or locations of the country. Keep your regulatory compliance as airtight as possible.
We hope our breakdown on TCPA compliance violations was helpful to you. If you’re interested in learning more about text message marketing and the TCPA, check out our free TCPA Survival Guide.
