TCPA Demand Letter or Class Action? Defense for Businesses That Text and Call Customers

The Telephone Consumer Protection Act lets consumers sue over marketing texts and calls sent without consent, to numbers on the Do Not Call list, or outside 8 a.m. to 9 p.m. A small group of plaintiff's firms files most of these cases as class actions, so one text campaign can create a large number on paper. Jonathan Phillips defends TCPA demands and class actions nationwide and audits messaging programs to prevent the next claim.

At a glace

  • Frequent plaintiff’s firms: Law Offices of Jibrael S. Hindi; Anthony Paronich; Avi Kaufman (Kaufman P.A.); Greenwald Davidson Radbil; Scott Edelsberg

  • Common claims: Quiet-hours texts (before 8 a.m. or after 9 p.m.), autodialed or prerecorded messages without consent, texts to Do Not Call numbers

  • Damages: $500 per violation; up to $1,500 if willful or knowing (47 U.S.C. § 227)

  • Why the numbers get large: Class claims multiply the per-message amount across every recipient

What defenses work

  • Consent. Prior express written consent defeats many claims. Whether general consent covers quiet-hours messages is still being litigated and may change with FCC action.

  • Standing. Courts have dismissed claims by plaintiffs who keep multiple phones and file suits as a business, finding no real privacy interest at stake. Researching who is suing you, and how often they have sued, is essential.

  • Safe harbor. For Do Not Call claims, written compliance procedures, trained staff, and an internal do-not-call list can protect a business from liability for a good-faith error.

  • Class certification. Individual questions about consent, location, and phone type often defeat certification, and defeating certification often ends the case.

Settle or fight?

Your situation — Usual path

Recipient opted in through your website or checkout — Lead with consent

Plaintiff has filed many prior TCPA suits — Investigate standing and how the number was signed up

Class complaint over a single campaign — Attack certification early

Few messages, individual claim, clear violation — Negotiate and fix the problem

What to do in the first week

  1. Do not contact the plaintiff or the plaintiff's firm.

  2. Preserve your messaging platform logs, consent records, and opt-in pages.

  3. Pause the campaign at issue if it is still running.

  4. Identify every vendor that sent messages for you.

  5. Talk to counsel before the response deadline.

Frequently asked questions

We only sent one text. How can this be a class action? If the same text went to many people, each recipient is a potential class member.

Does an opt-out button solve the problem? It helps, but consent before the first message is what usually matters most.

Can you help us avoid this? Yes. Jonathan audits websites and messaging programs for consent language, timing rules, and opt-out handling.

Jonathan L.A. Phillips, Brown, Hay & Stephens, LLP. Part of the Serial Plaintiff Tracker. Last reviewed October 2026.