Law / United States / 
Texas
Prohibited Telephonic and Facsimile Communications for Solicitation
In force since .
A telephone contact rule binding public and private bodies.
- Obligation class
- Consent, Prohibition
As of .
What it requires
- Do not make, or use an automatic dial announcing device to make, a telephone call for the purpose of making a sale to a number you know or should know is a mobile telephone the called person will be charged for that specific call, unless that person has consented to receiving it from you or from the business you are calling for.
- Do not make or cause a facsimile transmission for the purpose of a solicitation or sale to a device the recipient will be charged for, unless the recipient consented before the transmission, and do not make or cause a solicitation facsimile transmission between 11 p.m. and 7 a.m.
If you get it wrong
Criminal exposureYes
Private right of actionYes
Criminal exposure note
A violation of Subchapter A (sections 305.001, 305.002, or 305.003) is a Class C misdemeanor.
Statutory damages
The greater of $500 for each violation or actual damages, which a court may increase for a knowing or intentional violation to not more than the greater of $1,500 for each violation or three times actual damages; this civil action reaches a violation of the federal Telephone Consumer Protection Act and its regulations as well as this chapter's own Subchapter A prohibitions.
- As of
- Currency
- USD
- Per person minimum
- 500
Who enforces it
Enforcement body
The county or district attorney where the called person resides (criminal investigation and prosecution under sections 305.051-.052); a private civil action under section 305.053; and, since , the Deceptive Trade Practices Act's public and private remedies.
What this law does
A person may not make, or use an automatic dial announcing device to make, a telephone call for the purpose of making a sale if the person knows or should have known that the called number is a mobile telephone for which the called person will be charged for that call, and the called person has not consented to the call to the caller or the business it calls for.
A person may not make or cause a facsimile transmission for the purpose of a solicitation or sale to a device the recipient will be charged for without the recipient's prior consent, or to a facsimile device after 11 p.m. and before 7 a.m. A violation is a Class C misdemeanor, which the county or district attorney where the called person resides investigates on complaint.
A person who receives a communication that violates the federal Telephone Consumer Protection Act or its regulations, or these prohibitions, may sue the person who originated it for an injunction, damages of the greater of $500 for each violation or actual damages, or both, which a court may increase for a knowing or intentional violation to not more than the greater of $1,500 for each violation or three times actual damages.
Senate Bill 140, effective , made a violation of this chapter a deceptive act under the Deceptive Trade Practices Act, whose public and private remedies may enforce it. A companion clause added the same session provides that a claimant who has recovered more than once under a private action arising from a violation of the chapter is not limited in a future recovery.
When LexLint raises it
When your app profile says your app sends automated outreach.