Tell FCC: Don't let debt collectors harass you on your cell phone, burning up your $$ cell phone minutes

With Your Help, NCLC is Fighting Robocalls to Cell Phones

Key Consumer Protection Law is Under Siege

Consumer Protection at Risk

NCLC is fighting attempts by big business to take away protections afforded consumers by the Telephone Consumer Protection Act (TCPA). The TCPA currently prohibits robocalls and texts to cell phones without the consent of the owner.
 
The debt collection and banking industries, among others, are lobbying the FCC to gut the important consumer and privacy protection and allow wrong number calls to cell phones with impunity. This will subject consumers to intrusive calls and texts meant for the person who previously used the cell phone number. Industry groups also want to limit consumers' ability to stop harassing calls by debt collectors to their cell phones.
 
NCLC has urged the FCC to require the development of new methodologies - and to use existing technology - to stop these unwanted robodialed calls to cell phones.
 
Congress passed the TCPA more than 20 years ago to protect consumers from receiving annoying robocalls to cell phones. Such calls invade privacy, disrupt lives, and use up expensive minute and text allowances on cell phones.
 
Consumers' Rights
Millions of consumers have registered their phone numbers with the National Do Not Call Registry, signifying their desire to avoid unwanted calls and protect their privacy. Nevertheless, more than 3.7 million Americans reported telemarketing complaints to the FTC in 2013, and more than 2 million of the complaints reported the use of robocalls.
 
Since consumers are already bombarded with unwanted texts and calls, NCLC fears that weakening the TCPA would only increase the problem.
 
NCLC Impact

NCLC is the lead advocate in a coalition of national and state civil rights, community and consumer groups which sent a letter urging the FCC to protect important consumer and privacy protections. NCLC, with the assistance of attorneys from the National Association of Consumer Advocates (NACA), has also filed numerous comments with the FCC in response to industry attempts to weaken the law.
 
We at NCLC are particularly concerned about the potential impact of weakening the TCPA on our low-income clients, many of whom rely on their cell phones as their primary means of communication, and cannot afford to purchase unlimited minutes.
 
The National Consumer Law Center (NCLC) and The National Association of Consumer Advocates (NACA) circulated a petition for consumers to send a message to the FCC: More than 25,000 people have signed the petition. Click here to add your name!
    
No Robocalls to Cell Phones without our Consent

Add your name to the petition