Posted on 07/06/2020 12:14:57 PM PDT by upchuck
The Supreme Court on Monday upheld a 1991 law that bars robocalls to cellphones.
The case, argued by telephone in May because of the coronavirus pandemic, only arose after Congress in 2015 created an exception in the law that allowed the automated calls for collection of government debt.
Political consultants and pollsters were among those who asked the Supreme Court to strike down the entire 1991 law that bars them from making robocalls to cellphones as a violation of their free speech rights under the Constitution. The issue was whether, by allowing one kind of speech but not others, the exception made the whole law unconstitutional.
(Excerpt) Read more at aikenstandard.com ...
The GOP-e will be very sad.
They were the ones who tried to block this in ‘91 before cell phones were common.
This is a big win for Americans everywhere in both parties.
no robocalls to cell phones period.
I bet every judge there has been pestered with theses calls. I would like to bring back gibbets for the people behind these calls.
Any country that maintains call farms that robocall U.S. cellphone owners should be on the sanctions list.
This is actually also used against legitimate businesses that are trying to collect on debts owed. Unless you specifically opt-in collectors can’t call cell phones.
Deadbeats definitely use this to their advantage.
Then send them a summons via certified mail.
I think you misunderstand. There is no law against collection agents calling debtors.
The collection agency can not have a robot call.
I wonder now about my doctor, my dentist, my hospital and etc that have a robot call a day in advance to remind me of my appointment and sometimes leave a voice mail.
If you want to have fun with them, provide your doctor with the phone number of your dentist, and vice-versa.
Back in the 70’s there was a Unitarian church here who had a “dial-a-prayer” line. I gave that out to folks I didn't want to hear from. I also used it as my call forwarding when needed.
There have been three times I’ve had debt collectors call me for debts I did not owe and tell me the call is being recorded. I tell them I don’t owe the debt.
Shortly after they violate the Fair Debt Collection Act. I ask them to confirm what they just said. They always do.
I then inform them that they are violating the FDCA and that I am also recording the phone call; to never contact me again; warn them the are at legal peril if they damage my credit rating; and, I will sue them if they do any of the above.
In some states violating the FDCA in that state cancels the entire debt.
They can't call you at work or contact your employer. They are only allowed to call after a certain period after the previous call. If they violate the Fair Debt Collection Act, you can file a lawsuit against them and have the entire debt canceled. That's why it is wise to have an automatic call recorder on your phone, and a number of other reasons.
There’s an opt-in exception. This ruling is meaningful but not meaningful because companies do everything they can to maximize their freedom to share your contact information via fine print.
I moved from California to NH in 2015, but retained my (818) cell phone number....
Unfortunately - like clockwork every day starting about 2 PM Eastern for at least a few hours - I get regular robocalls from assorted (818) vendors, probably because I did a few house renovations before selling and moving out of San Fernando Valley.
F all those contractors who sold my ph #, guess time to get a (603) local number....
I had a bunch of calls a couple of years ago from people claiming that they would ‘protect’ me from losing my home due to liens (I think it was mortgage debt). But, like most people here who pay off their house, rather than ‘buy that boat’, I wasn’t in play for them.
...but they did sound legit (relatively speaking), and they were. I finally found the culprit babe in another part of the city - for whatever ever reason she had put down my cell phone number on her paper...and she was about to lose HER house (not mine)...and I suspect it ended that way.
I’m sure the spammer criminals will immediately reform and find legitimate work.
Collectors can make physical calls to people.
They just cant set up a machine to make a hundred calls a day.
We never answer the land line. All sales calls. It’s for emergencies.
Word for the day “gibbet.”
One gold star for Nateman.
“no robocalls to cell phones period.”
Except that Verizon, AT&T, T-Mobile, Sprint, etc all sell their “subscriber list” of active cell phone numbers to telemarketers.
I get an average of 10 telemarketer calls per day (despite my number being on the do not call registry). All of them get reported thru the do not call website as well as place the number on my phones reject call list. It’s futile because these telemarketers just switch to a different number and call again.
IMO telemarketing in general ought to be outlawed. There are already plenty of outlets out there for companies to use to market their wares. There is TV, radio, internet, billboards, mail, ads in the phone book, ads in magazines, newspapers, movies, everywhere.
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