Think you don’t use an ATDS? Think again…or it could cost you thousands

Automatic Telephone Dialing Systems, or ATDS, violate the TCPA if used to contact consumers without express consent. These systems are able to dial numbers without human intervention and often randomly generate numbers to call. In a recent court case, Lamkin v. Portfolio Recovery Assocs., Lamkin claimed that PRA violated the TCPA by calling her 199 times using an ATDS without express consent. PRA decided to counter by asserting that they did not use an ATDS, trying to evoke a precedent set by Satterfield v. Simon & Schuster, Inc. PRA claimed that under Satterfield, an ATDS must be able to generate random numbers to call, which their machine could not do. However, the Court rejected this claim and awarded Lamkin nearly $300,000 in damages.

There are a few keys to avoiding expensive lawsuits like these. Getting a TCPA compliance provider and critically assessing your marketing strategies can help you steer clear.