Can I Get Statutory Damages Under The TCPA When I Can’t Prove Actual Damages?


Can I Get Statutory Damages Under The TCPA When I Can’t Prove Actual Damages?

You can get damages under the TCPAYes! That is the whole point of statutory damages actually. They are for you when you can’t prove actual damages. In other words you can’t prove you lost your job, or lost a mortgage loan, or have emotional distress.

The law, in this case the Telephone Consumer Protection Act (TCPA), says that violations of the law are a serious matter but sometimes you won’t be able to show it actually harmed you.

Why Does The Law Allow Statutory Damages Even When You Can’t Prove Harm?

If you couldn’t sue because you weren’t harmed, then the law breakers would be able to get off with no penalty. They would have an incentive to attack people who couldn’t prove actual damages.

But the law is smarter than these crooks. It says we have to have a way to motivate people to bring suits or else these credit card companies, finance companies, and collection agencies will continue to break the law.

What Are The Statutory Damages Under The TCPA For Illegal Calls To My Cell Phone?

The way to do this is to award statutory damages. Under the TCPA, statutory damages are very significant. Every violation that we can sue on and prove carries a $500 statutory damage award. Or a $1500 per violation statutory damage award if the violation was intentional.

When you consider that credit card companies, mortgage companies, car finance companies, and debt collectors will sometimes illegally call our cell phones several times a day . . . you can see how powerful the statutory damage awards can be.

As we discuss elsewhere, when a company calls your cell phone with an “auto dialer” or a “pre-recorded message” and they don’t have permission to do this, the TCPA is normally violated. If you ever gave permission to call your cell phone, then you can revoke that permission.

The bottom line is that you don’t have to have actual damages in order to sue and make these law breakers pay you money for each violation. That’s the beauty of statutory damages.

Feel free to contact us.

If you live in Alabama and you have any questions about what we’ve covered in this article, call us.

You can reach us by phone at 1-205-879-2447, or you can fill out a contact form and we will get in touch with you as soon as possible.

I look forward to chatting with you!

Have a great day.

-John G. Watts

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