Take a Telemarketer to San Diego Small Claims Court

enforcing small claims court judgments

In 1991 the government initiated the Telephone Consumer Protection Act. This was established to protect consumers from getting calls they didn’t want. Most telemarketers aren’t very good at taking NO for an answer but with this legislation in place they were obligated to comply with consumer wishes.

Not all of them are following the laws though. Do you ever get a call and no one is on the other end? Then a few minutes later a person calls back who is a telemarketer? You can be positive that it was their computer system calling you the first time. This is a way that they check to see if there is anyone home. Once they get an answer this sends a signal to a human to call you and try to sell you something.

You do have the legal right to tell them to stop calling you. Some of them will oblige and others don’t. You will likely find some stop calling you for a while but then they start the process all over again. If you feel you are being targeted by harassing telemarketers then you may want to take action in the California small claims court (SCC).

You definitely want to document all of the calls that come in. Write down what time the calls come in, who the caller represents, and what is said during the conversation. Make sure you express during the call that you want to be removed from their list. You can even go as far as to tell them you will file a case with the California SCC if they contact you again.

Under California law, consumers can sue for damages of up to $500 if such telemarketing phone calls continue. Should the same company call you again and again you may be eligible for $500 per incident. There are certain scenarios that may occur when you definitely have a case you may want to pursue. All of the ordinances that apply can be found online.

It is important to understand that there are some instances when you can’t legally sue the telemarketer. If it is the first time they have contacted you then you must tell them you don’t want to be contacted any further. You can’t file a case upon that initial call. You also can’t file a complaint if they are calling a business. The California law only covers residential phone numbers.

Non profit organizations can contact people to solicit for donations of various kinds. You can’t file a case against a non profit organization with the California SCC due to telemarketing violations. You also can’t file against a business that tells you they are conducting a survey and would like to ask you a few questions.

A great website to check out if you are considering suing a telemarketer in California SCC is http://www.ucan.org/telecommunications/landline/how_to_sue_telemarketers. Here you will information to help you find out if it is a good option for you or not. Should you decide to pursue it, the site offers step by step instructions. This will guide you through the entire process to get your case filed in the California SCC.

If you’ve already sued and won and are having trouble enforcing your court-ordered small claims court judgment, please get in touch. We buy uncollected small claims court judgments for cash. Submit your case information for a prompt review today.