Wrong-number debt collection calls can be a frustrating nuisance, and sometimes debt collectors do not listen to you when you tell them that they’re calling a wrong number.
Some debt collectors do not even provide you with a way to inform them that they’re calling a wrong number, leading to a frustrating barrage of calls. Fortunately, the Telephone Consumer Protection Act (“TCPA”), and even the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act (“FDCPA”), can put a stop to these frustrating calls.
If you are receiving wrong number debt collection calls, and those calls qualify as “robocalls,” the TCPA provides for $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 wrong number debt collection calls 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).
The FDCPA is a consumer protection statute that applies specifically to debt collectors and governs how they may interact with consumers. The FDCPA prohibits a series of specific bad actions, such as making false or misleading statements, harassing consumers, or engaging in a number of unfair practices. A debt collector may violate the FDCPA by calling you excessively, at odd hours, or if it repeatedly calls you after you have told the debt collector to stop calling, or that it reached a wrong number.
The FDCPA provides for up-to $1,000 in damages—in total, rather than per call/text/voicemail—as well as for the payment of your attorney’s fees and costs in a successful case.
If you have received wrong number debt collection calls, text messages, 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.