Real estate investment firms and house flippers are frequently using robocalls and robotexts to spam homeowners with messages to sell their home. The TCPA provides tools to fight back against this annoying harassment.
Some real estate investors and house flippers are using robocall and robotexting telemarketing campaigns to harass homeowners, and entire neighborhoods, regarding offers to buy your home, regardless of whether you own a home, or whether you have any interest in selling your home. Fortunately, the Telephone Consumer Protection Act (“TCPA”), can put a stop to these frustrating calls.
If you are receiving real estate telemarketing calls or texts, and you did not consent to these communications prior to receiving them, the TCPA provides for damages of $500 per call, and a potential to treble (triple) the award, up-to $1,500 per violation, in certain extreme cases.
To qualify as an actionable robocall under the TCPA, the real estate calls must be qualify as either a “robocall” or a “telemarketing” message. A “robocall” must 1) be delivered to a cellular telephone number; and 2) play an artificial or prerecorded voice message, including the use of an IVR (pushing a number to speak to a live representative). On the other hand, a “telemarketing” message must 1) be delivered to a residential telephone number (a landline or cellular telephone you use for your home, and not a business); 2) be delivered to a phone number you have registered on the National Do Not Call Registry (https://www.donotcall.gov/); and 3) you must have received at least two of these messages.
If you have received similar real estate-related robocalls and robotexts, or voicemails, do not hesitate to contact us at info@pkglegal.com or at (561) 726-8444 for a free evaluation of your claim.
In the meantime, be sure to save and separately screenshot each of the communications at issue—they will be very important to evaluating your potential case.