LEGAL MATTERS: What You Can (and Can’t) Do About Robo Texts

Wednesday, September 11, 2013

John T. Longo, GoLocalWorcester Legal Contributor

Learn how to combat spam messages and calls the smart way.

Robo calls, junk faxes, spam e-mail and now spam text messages. Most people realize any company desperate enough to market themselves using such sleazy tactics are not worth doing business with. But there are enough suckers out there that the pitches keep coming. You could ignore the come-ons or you could follow this advice and fight to protect your phone’s inbox.

Prohibited Texts

Thanks to a series of lawsuits brought by consumer advocates since 2009, a 1990’s era federal law prohibits businesses from sending you canned text messages without your permission. The law is the Telephone Consumer Protection Act (TCPA). It always restricted robo calls and prerecorded calls but consumer lawyers have successfully argued it also applies to SMS and text messages sent to your mobile phone. The law specifically prohibits unauthorized canned text messages generated by a computer.

Allowed Texts

Individual text messages a person at the business actually types and sends you.
Texts sent by emergency authorities.
Texts protected by the 1st Amendment from political campaigns, pollsters and most not-for-profit organizations.
Texts companies send you with your “expressed consent.”

Expressed Consent

I cannot imagine anyone ever giving their “expressed consent” to receive text messages. But I also cannot imagine why someone would want to hoard cats so maybe there is someone out their pining for more canned text messages. For the rest of us, beware of companies trying to get you to agree to more texts: the “consent” must be to canned messages and, effective October 16, 2013, the consent must be in writing. The ‘writing’ can be electronic – i.e. a response to a text or e-mail – so be especially careful about responding to companies trying to trick you into consenting.

Fighting Back

Never reply; not even with ‘unsubscribe.’ The text may not be from who it claims to be from and replying will just get you more spam.
Sue the bastards. You can recover $500 or more per text plus your attorney fees.
Complain to the Federal Trade Commission. It takes lots of consumer complaints to get them to act but every now and then they crack down on the worst offenders.
Notify your mobile phone service provider by forward the text to 7726 (that spells out SPAM) so they can investigate. You can also block texts from specific numbers but that is a much more involved process that varies depending on your phone and service provider.

More Information

For more information on dealing with unwanted text messages check out this Federal Trade Commission web site or contact a consumer lawyer in your area.

John Longo is a consumer rights attorney practicing law in Rhode Island and Massachusetts. He represents consumers who have disputes with businesses, employees cheated out of their wages or overtime, car buyers stuck with Lemons, and people in need of bankruptcy protection. He is a member of the National Association of Consumer Advocates, the National Association of Consumer Bankruptcy Attorneys, and the Rhode Island Association for Justice.

Enjoy this post? Share it with others.

Email to a friend Permalink