TCPA class actions can be incredibly scary and pose a massive risk to callers of all sorts.
While the statute has generally been enforced against marketers as of late, servicers and collectors or debts may also find themselves in TCPA hot water, particularly if they are using prerecorded calls or ringless voicemail.
This is true even when a calling party originally has consent–that consent can burst like a bubble anytime a consumer asks for calls to stop. And it can be VERY difficult to prove a negative unless every call is recorded.
For instance in Cannon v. Castle Credit, 2025 WL 975805 (N.D. Ill April 1, 2025) a Defendant’s motion for summary judgment was denied–i.e. the collector must face trial–because the plaintiff claims he revoked his consent.
In Cannon Castle allegedly called Plaintif hundreds of times, including through the use of a ringless voicemail system (VoApps.)
Plaintiff claimed that he asked not to be called on several of those calls. However the Defendant’s records did not reflect the do not call request and calls continued.
Defendant moved for summary judgment arguing the Plaintiff’s inability to provide the specifics around his revocation coupled with the numerous call recordings of calls in which Plaintiff did not revoke consent demonstrated he never actually revoked as he claimed.
But the Court sided with Plaintiff finding his testimony that he revoked consent was sufficient admissible evidence to require a jury to figure out what really happened.
Making matters worse, although Defendant argued it had not used an ATDS the Court determined that did not matter– Castle’s concession it had used VoApps (a prerecorded RVM) meant it was potentially liable under 227(b) regardless of whether an ATDS was ued.
This last point is an important one to drive home. Even if calls are placed manually leaving a prerecorded voicemail will automatically trigger the TCPA. So be careful!
Also worth noting, this case arises out of a REVOCATION that allegedly went unheeded. Will in just 9 days the scope of revocation rules is about to EXPLODE. If you’re not ready for this you need to be! (The FCC has taken no action to stay the rule as of yet, although many are hoping it will.)