With any type of communication you receive, including text messages, phone calls, emails, and even faxes, there is bound to be some junk mixed in. Even your fax machine is not safe from annoying junk faxes that may be advertising a timeshare or discounted vacation, or various products and services. Junk faxes are not only annoying, but also may be illegal in the United States under the Telephone Consumer Protection Act (TCPA). This means that you can take legal action against the senders of junk faxes that violate the terms of the TCPA.
In this guide, we will discuss what makes junk faxes illegal under the TCPA as well as what you can do to protect yourself against junk faxes. If you have received illegal junk faxes, you can talk to our attorneys at Anderson + Wanca about a class action junk fax lawsuit.
How Does the Telephone Consumer Protection Act (TCPA) Protect Against Junk Faxes?
The Telephone Consumer Protection Act (TCPA) makes it illegal for telemarketers to send unsolicited messages and advertisements without permission from the recipient, including phone calls, faxes, and other types of messages. The TCPA was passed by Congress in 1991 and in 2005, Congress passed the Junk Fax Protection Act (JFPA). The JFPA amended the TCPA to allow faxes to be sent without prior consent if the party sending the fax has an established business relationship with the party receiving the fax provided it complies with the requirements of the TCPA and JFPA.
The TCPA and JFPA explicitly prohibit the following:
- Sending unsolicited advertisements to a fax machine within the U.S.
- Sending any fax advertising property, goods, or services without a direct invitation or permission from the consumer.
To send advertisements via fax, the TCPA and JFPA require that senders do the following:
- Have an established business relationship with the recipient of the fax.
- Include the date, time, sender’s name, and telephone number of the fax machine that sent the fax advertisement.
- Include a clear notice on the first page of the fax for recipients to request the fax advertisements to stop. This notice must include specific information to request to opt-out of future faxes.
- Include an explanation of how the request to opt-out is in compliance with the TCPA and JFPA.
The opt-out information must include a cost-free way to submit the opt-out request to the sender, such as a toll-free number, local phone number, web site address, or email address. These opt-out contact options must be available 24 hours a day, seven days a week. - Senders must honor opt-out requests within the shortest reasonable time, not to exceed 30 days. Putting an opt-out notice on a fax ad does not, by itself, make the fax lawful if the sender doesn’t also satisfy the requirements described above.
Do the TCPA and JFPA Protect Individuals?
Both businesses and individuals may be affected by junk faxes. Under the TCPA and JFPA, residential consumers get the same protection against unsolicited junk fax advertisements as businesses. For individual consumers to protect themselves against junk faxes, they should avoid making their fax number publicly available and opt-out of any faxes received from a business that you are considered to have an established business relationship with. If you continue to receive faxes on your personal fax machine that are illegal according to the terms described above, you can contact an attorney to take legal action.
Junk Fax Class Action Lawsuits with Anderson + Wanca
Both businesses and individual consumers are protected from junk faxes under the TCPA and JFPA and are entitled to compensation through legal action when receiving faxes that violate these laws. Spam faxes are annoying and disruptive, and you can stop them by talking to our attorneys at Anderson + Wanca.
Anderson + Wanca is a leader in the field of TCPA law and we have almost 20 years of experience taking class action against illegal junk faxes. We have collected hundreds of millions of dollars in statutory damages for our clients in junk fax lawsuit settlements.
Our attorneys will work with you to end the annoying junk faxes that are disrupting your life or your business. We will review your case to confirm that the TCPA or JFPA has been violated and bring a class action junk fax lawsuit against the sender to get the settlement you deserve.
Our attorneys are ready to help anyone across the U.S. who has received illegal junk faxes. You can talk to our attorneys at Anderson + Wanca by calling (855) 827-2329 or by filling out our contact form.