The 5 Most Common TCPA Violations (And Why Companies Keep Making Them)

Despite decades of enforcement, massive settlements, and clear legal precedent, companies continue to violate the Telephone Consumer Protection Act at an alarming rate. The FCC receives hundreds of thousands of TCPA complaints every year. So what keeps going wrong?

Here are the five most common types of TCPA violations, why they happen, and what they mean for consumers.

1. Texting Without Prior Express Written Consent

This is the most common TCPA violation by far. Companies send marketing or promotional text messages to consumers who never gave written permission to be contacted. This often happens when companies purchase lists of phone numbers from third-party data brokers, when lead generators share or sell consumer information to multiple companies, or when companies assume that having a customer relationship automatically means they have consent to send marketing texts.

The TCPA requires prior express written consent for marketing texts sent using automated technology. Having someone's phone number is not the same as having their consent.

2. Ignoring Opt-Out Requests

A consumer replies STOP. The company sends a confirmation. Then the messages start again days or weeks later. This happens because many companies use multiple messaging platforms or phone numbers that do not share a unified opt-out list. The result is that a consumer's STOP request only removes them from one system while other systems continue to send messages.

Once consent is revoked, every subsequent message is a separate violation that can carry enhanced damages of up to $1,500.

3. Robocalling Cell Phones Without Consent

Automated calls with pre-recorded messages to cell phones require prior express consent. Yet robocalls remain one of the top consumer complaints. Companies continue to use autodialers and pre-recorded messages to reach cell phones at scale, often arguing that their technology does not technically qualify as an autodialer under recent court interpretations.

The legal landscape around autodialer definitions has shifted in recent years, but pre-recorded voice messages to cell phones without consent remain clearly prohibited.

4. Calling Numbers on the Do Not Call Registry

Telemarketers are required to check the National Do Not Call Registry before making calls. Companies that fail to scrub their call lists against the DNC Registry, or that call registered numbers more than once in a 12-month period, are in violation. This often happens with smaller companies or those using outdated contact lists that have not been refreshed against the registry.

5. Contacting the Wrong Person (Recycled Numbers)

Phone numbers get recycled. When you get a new number, it may have previously belonged to someone who consented to receive messages from certain companies. Those companies may continue to send messages to the number without knowing it has changed hands.

Under the TCPA, consent is tied to the person, not the phone number. If you are receiving messages intended for someone else, the sender does not have your consent, and each message may be a violation.

Why Companies Keep Violating the TCPA

The short answer is economics. Automated outreach is cheap, and the response rate, even from illegal messages, can be profitable enough to outweigh the occasional fine or settlement. Many companies also underestimate their exposure, assuming that a few unwanted texts will not result in meaningful liability.

They are wrong. When enough consumers file claims, the damages add up fast. And that is exactly how the TCPA is designed to work: by making violations expensive enough to change behavior.

What You Can Do

If you have experienced any of these violations, you have the right to pursue compensation. Filing a claim with Hammerhead Legal is free, takes less than five minutes, and could be worth $500 to $1,500 per violation.