You need to personally place your phone number on the FTC do-not-call list even if someone else already did it for you

You need to personally place your phone number on the FTC do-not-call list even if someone else already did it for you

We noted in our how to gather evidence against telemarketers for court post that it is important that you personally place your phone number on the FTC's National Do Not Call registry even if someone else already put it on the list.

Court case Klassen v Solid Quote illustrates why. Technically, the regulations that govern the TCPA 47 CFR § 64.1200(c)(2) says

"A residential telephone subscriber who has registered his or her telephone number on the national do-not-call registry . . ."

A smart defense attorney saw Klassen failed to limit the class action lawsuit to people who registered his or her own number and pounced.

Some courts say that being on the list is the important part, not how your number got on the list. And some courts are letter of the law types who will dismiss your claim if you don't dot your i's and cross your t's.

The Klassen court went above and beyond to help the plaintiff:

"The Court modifies subdivision (1) of the proposed class definition to instead state “the person's telephone number was registered by the person on the National Do-Not-Call Registry 30 or more days.” Rather than strike the offending pleading and require amendment, I exercise my discretion to slightly amend the proposed definition . . ."

Which is rare as hen's teeth. A defense friendly judge would simple fail the plaintiff on this claim. And more, if this lawsuit results in damages, only those people who registered their own number will get a check in the mail. So it may seem like a small detail but it can be the difference between winning and losing in court.

Would you like a free case review? Do you have a question or a telemarketing, debt collection, or bankruptcy case that would make a great blog article? We might even review your pro-se complaint or motion in a blog post. Email peter@nwdebtresolution.com and/or nathen@nwdebtresolution.com and we may answer it for everyone!

Are telemarketers harassing you in Washington, Oregon, or Montana? My Washington State TCPA plaintiff law practice can help, just give us a call at 206-800-6000 or email peter@nwdebtresolution.com.

The thoughts, opinions and musings of this blog are those of Peter Schneider, a consumer advocate and Washington State plaintiff's TCPA attorney at Northwest Debt Resolution, LLC. They are just that, his thoughts, opinions and musings and should be treated as such. They are not legal advice. If you are looking to file a lawsuit for TCPA violations and unwanted calls please contact me for a consultation.