Robocalls and spam texts can pay you $500 to $1,500 each (TCPA): how to collect
The Telephone Consumer Protection Act gives you a private right to sue for every illegal robocall, prerecorded message, or marketing text sent without your consent, and for calls to a number on the Do Not Call Registry: $500 per violation, tripled to $1,500 if willful. How to identify the caller, what to log, sending a demand, and when a lawyer takes the case for free.
- The TCPA bans autodialed or prerecorded calls and marketing texts to cell phones without your prior express (written, for marketing) consent, and telemarketing calls to numbers on the National Do Not Call Registry (after 31 days on it, more than one call in 12 months).
- Statutory damages: $500 per call or text, up to $1,500 each if the violation was willful or knowing. No proof of actual harm required. Ten illegal texts can be worth $5,000–$15,000.
- The catch: you have to identify a real, solvent company. Spoofed scam calls from overseas are unrecoverable; legitimate businesses (lead generators, car warranty sellers, solar, debt relief, real estate agents, cable companies) are the ones that pay.
- Register at donotcall.gov, revoke consent in writing or by replying STOP, and log every call with date, time, number, and content. Then send a demand or contact a TCPA attorney (contingency, free to you).
- Also report to the FTC and FCC; it doesn't pay you but builds the record.
What's illegal (and worth money)
- Robocalls or prerecorded messages to your cell phone without prior express consent (any purpose, including informational, unless it's an emergency or a specific exemption like fraud alerts from your bank).
- Marketing texts or calls to your cell using an autodialer without prior express written consent (a clear checkbox you ticked).
- Telemarketing calls to a number on the Do Not Call Registry (registered 31+ days) more than once in a 12-month period, unless you have an existing business relationship or gave written consent.
- Calls after you told them to stop (company-specific do-not-call request), even if you had consented before. Since 2025, revocation by any reasonable means (STOP, "don't call me") must be honored within 10 business days.
- Prerecorded telemarketing to landlines without written consent.
- Calls before 8 a.m. or after 9 p.m. local time, or without identifying the caller.
Not covered: manually dialed calls from a real person (unless on the DNC list and telemarketing), political and charity calls with some limits, calls you consented to, calls from companies you're a customer of (informational), and debt collection calls (those fall under the FDCPA, although autodialed collection calls to a cell without consent are also TCPA violations).
Build the case
- Register your number at donotcall.gov today (it starts the 31-day clock).
- Log: date, time, caller ID number, whether it was recorded/robotic, what was offered, the company name if given, and any callback number. Screenshot texts with timestamps.
- Answer occasionally and get the company's real name: ask "which company are you calling for?" and "what's your address?" or let them transfer you to a "specialist." Lead generators pass calls to real businesses; the business that pays for the lead can be liable.
- Revoke consent clearly: reply STOP to texts; on calls say "put me on your do-not-call list" and note the date. Every contact afterward is a separate, willful violation.
- Save voicemails. Prerecorded voicemail is strong evidence.
- Don't press "1" to buy anything; if you need to identify the company, a short fake interest until they name themselves is common practice.
Collect
- Demand letter to the company's legal department (find it via its website, Secretary of State business search, or the number's carrier): list the calls/texts, state the violations (47 U.S.C. §227(b) for autodialed/prerecorded to cell; §227(c) and 47 CFR 64.1200(c) for DNC), and demand $500 per violation ($1,500 if after your revocation), payable in 30 days. Many companies settle for a few thousand dollars to avoid litigation.
- Small claims court for amounts under your state's limit (typically $5,000–$12,500). No lawyer needed; bring your log and screenshots.
- TCPA attorney for 10+ violations or a large company. They take cases on contingency; search "TCPA attorney" plus your state, or the NACA directory. Class actions over texts routinely settle for millions.
- Complaints: FTC (donotcall.gov/report), FCC (consumercomplaints.fcc.gov), state AG. Not money for you, but the complaint record helps prove willfulness.
FAQ
The calls are spoofed and the number is fake
If you can't identify a real business, there's nobody to sue. Focus on the calls that transfer you to a real company or leave a callback number that leads to a real business.
I gave my number on a website years ago
Consent can be valid, but it must be clear and, for marketing texts, written. Revoke it now; calls after revocation are violations.
Do Not Call Registry: does it make all calls illegal?
Only telemarketing calls (sales pitches). Surveys, political calls, charities, and companies you've done business with in the last 18 months are exempt.
How long do I have?
Four years from each call.