Telemarketers are people who are just trying to make a living, just like everyone else. They have an awkward job that requires them to cold call people on a list and try to sell them on a new service or product. It is certainly not a job that most people could or would ever want to do.
However, if you are like pretty much any other person in the country, then you have a story about a telemarketer going too far in their job. At a certain point, calling you to try to make a sale stops becoming an outdated business practice and becomes telemarketer abuse instead.
How to Bring Telemarketer Abuse to an End
The first call you receive from a telemarketer is essentially a freebie for the caller. They can call you during regular business hours and try to make a sale without fear of legal consequences. It is when those calls come outside of business hours, incessantly, or after you tell them not to call you anymore that they become abusive.
When you get a call from a telemarketer, inform them clearly that you must be placed on their Do Not Call list as soon as the call ends. You should also take a screenshot on your smartphone of when the call was placed, in case you have to reference that call specifically later. Also, if it is late at night or early in the morning, you’ll need to be able to show it for certain. A screenshot can also be used to show a call history filled with spam telemarketer calls.
Once you tell them to put you on the Do Not Call list, the telemarketer can only call you at their own risk. Calls, and even text messages, placed after you demand to be blocked off their list can be met with a $500 or $1,500 fine levied against the company. This fine applies to each attempted contact afterwards, meaning a company could risk thousands and thousands of dollars if they keep calling you back, even if it is due to a defective robocalling system they use.
The best part is the fine can be paid to you due to the Telephone Consumer Protection Act (TCPA). Did you get called 10 times after strictly informing the telemarketer to put you on a Do Not Call list and to stop trying to sell you that latest piece of exercise equipment? You could be looking at anywhere from $5,000 to $15,000 in damages rewarded to you for your troubles!
To take on a telemarketing company that has resorted to abusive tactics, you are going to want to enlist the help of a consumer protection attorney. At Atlas Consumer Law in Chicago, for example, we help clients throughout the city and beyond stand up for themselves. We also use contingency fee agreements for telemarketer abuse cases, so you don’t pay us unless we win the award for you. Call us at (312) 313-1613 or contact us online for more information.