Short answers to the questions businesses ask after a demand arrives. For the step-by-step guide, see I received a letter. Now what? This page is general information about the law and LAC’s process. It is not legal advice.
1.The letter
Is a demand letter from LAC Litigation & Enforcement Group real, or is it a scam?
It is real. LAC Litigation & Enforcement Group LLC, also known as LAC Advocacy, issues written pre-litigation demands under the Telephone Consumer Protection Act, 47 U.S.C. § 227. Every call and text the letter lists was recorded, timestamped and attributed to your business before the letter was sent. A genuine LAC demand carries a reference, lists specific calls or texts, and is sent from the lacadvocacy.com domain.
What is LAC Advocacy?
LAC Advocacy is the common name of LAC Litigation & Enforcement Group LLC, a United States limited liability company. LAC documents unlawful telemarketing calls and text messages, issues pre-litigation demands to the businesses responsible, and refers unresolved matters to partner TCPA law firms. Its only website is lacadvocacy.com.
Is LAC a law firm?
No. LAC Litigation & Enforcement Group LLC is not a law firm and does not give legal advice. LAC builds the evidentiary record and issues the demand. Where a matter is not resolved, it may be referred to one of the TCPA law firms LAC partners with, and any legal services are provided by that firm.
Where is LAC located, and which states does it cover?
LAC is a United States company and pursues matters across the USA. The Telephone Consumer Protection Act is federal law, so it applies in every state. A large share of LAC matters involve calls and texts to Florida numbers, where the Florida Telephone Solicitation Act applies alongside the federal Act. Texas, Oklahoma and Washington have comparable state statutes.
Why did my business receive a letter from LAC?
Because a number LAC documents received one or more calls or texts from your business, or from someone calling on its behalf, that breach the TCPA, the FCC’s rules at 47 C.F.R. § 64.1200, or a state telemarketing statute. The letter lists each contact, the provision it breaches and the statutory damages that attach to it.
How did LAC identify my business?
From the call or text itself. Callers identify the business they are calling for, the number they call from, the product or service offered, and the callback number or link in the message. That is matched against carrier records and public business records before a demand is issued. If a listed contact was not made by or for your business, say so in writing and send the records that show it.
How do I verify that a letter actually came from LAC?
Write to info@lacadvocacy.com and quote the reference printed on the letter. LAC confirms the matter and its deadline in writing. LAC corresponds only from the lacadvocacy.com domain and never asks for payment by gift card, cryptocurrency or transfer to an individual. A letter that threatens without listing specific calls or texts is not from LAC.
2.The law
What is the TCPA?
The Telephone Consumer Protection Act of 1991, 47 U.S.C. § 227, is the federal law that restricts telemarketing calls, automated and prerecorded calls, and unsolicited text messages in the United States. It gives the person who received the call or text a private right of action: $500 in statutory damages per violation, which a court may increase to $1,500 where the violation was willful or knowing.
What is the National Do Not Call Registry, and why does it matter?
The National Do Not Call Registry is the federal list of telephone numbers whose owners have asked not to receive telemarketing calls. Under the FCC’s rules, a business may not make a telephone solicitation to a number that has been on the registry for 31 days or more. Two or more such calls or texts within twelve months from the same business give the recipient a claim.
How much is a TCPA violation worth?
$500 per violation under 47 U.S.C. § 227, up to $1,500 per violation where a court finds the conduct was willful or knowing. The Act sets no ceiling. Twenty unlawful calls are twenty violations, and a single call can breach more than one provision. State statutes such as the Florida Telephone Solicitation Act add their own damages on top.
Can a single text message be a TCPA violation?
Yes. The FCC and the courts treat a text message as a call under the Act. An unsolicited marketing text to a number on the Do Not Call Registry, a text sent with an autodialer without prior express written consent, or any text sent after the recipient replied STOP can each be a violation carrying $500 to $1,500 in statutory damages.
What is the Florida Telephone Solicitation Act?
The Florida Telephone Solicitation Act, Fla. Stat. § 501.059, is Florida’s own telemarketing law. It requires prior express written consent for automated sales calls and texts, limits calls to 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. local time, caps calls on the same subject at three in any 24-hour period, and gives the recipient a private right of action for $500 per violation, trebled for willful or knowing violations. A call to a Florida number can breach both the TCPA and the FTSA.
What are the legal telemarketing hours in the United States and in Florida?
Under federal law, telephone solicitations may only be made between 8 a.m. and 9 p.m. in the recipient’s local time zone. Florida is stricter: the Florida Telephone Solicitation Act limits calls to 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. The recipient’s clock governs, not the caller’s. A call from a different time zone that arrives at 8:30 p.m. in Florida is outside the Florida window.
Does the TCPA apply if a vendor, call center or lead generator made the calls for us?
Yes. A business can be liable for calls and texts made on its behalf by a vendor, call center, affiliate or lead generator. The FCC confirmed this in its 2013 Dish Network ruling, and courts apply ordinary agency principles. Outsourcing the calls does not outsource the liability, and the vendor contract is usually among the first records sought in litigation.
We had consent to call. Does that end the matter?
Only if the consent meets the legal standard and covers the calls listed. Telemarketing robocalls and automated texts require prior express written consent: a signed, written agreement that clearly authorises marketing calls or texts to that specific number. A website visit, a purchase or a lead bought from a third party is not, on its own, written consent. Send the consent record with your written response and it will be reviewed.
The number we called was a mobile number. Does the Do Not Call Registry cover it?
Yes. The registry accepts wireless numbers, and the FCC presumes a wireless number registered on it is residential. The rules against prerecorded and autodialed calls apply to wireless numbers regardless of registration. If you believe a listed number was a business line, say so in writing and send the records that show it.
3.Responding
What should I do first after receiving a TCPA demand letter?
Read the whole letter, note the deadline, and preserve your records. Then identify who made each listed call or text: your own staff, a call center, an affiliate or a lead generator. That tells you whether to resolve or dispute. Reply in writing to info@lacadvocacy.com before the deadline, quoting the reference. A step-by-step guide is at /received.
Do I have to reply by the deadline? Can I get an extension?
Yes, reply before the deadline stated in the letter. It does not move on its own. A request for an extension or for records should be raised in writing before the deadline, quoting the reference. Requests raised after the deadline has passed are considered on the record as it stands, and the offer of resolution on the demand’s terms may already have been withdrawn.
How do I dispute a demand from LAC?
In writing, before the deadline. Say which calls or texts you dispute and why, and send the records that support your position: call detail records, dialer logs, consent records, or evidence that the number was not yours. Every written response is reviewed against the record. A response that disputes nothing specific and asks only for a lower figure is not treated as a dispute.
Should I hire a lawyer to respond?
That is your decision. Many businesses respond through counsel, and a reply from counsel is handled in exactly the same way as a reply from the business. What matters is that the response is in writing, quotes the reference, addresses the listed calls or texts, and arrives before the deadline.
Can I call LAC to discuss the letter?
No. LAC corresponds in writing only, so that everything is on the record for both sides. Write to info@lacadvocacy.com and quote the reference. Written replies are reviewed and answered in writing.
What records should I preserve, and why?
Call and text logs, dialer and messaging-platform data, lead sources and the consent records attached to them, vendor and call-center contracts, your internal do-not-call list, and your do-not-call policy and training records. The letter gives notice that litigation is possible, and once it does, destroying or altering those records can have serious consequences in court.
We have already stopped calling the number. Does that resolve it?
Stopping is the right thing to do, and it prevents new violations. It does not undo the calls or texts already made. Each one listed in the demand was a complete violation at the time it was made, and the statutory damages attached then. The matter resolves on the terms in the letter, or through a written dispute that is upheld.
Is the amount in the demand negotiable?
The demand states the terms on which the matter resolves without escalation. It is calculated from the violations listed and the statutory damages the law attaches to each one. If you believe specific items are wrong, dispute them in writing with records, and the figure is reviewed against what the record supports.
4.If it is not resolved
What happens if I ignore a letter from LAC?
The deadline passes, the offer of resolution on the demand’s terms is withdrawn, and the matter may be referred to a partner TCPA law firm with the full record. That firm may file suit in federal or state court. In litigation, discovery can reach dialer data, messaging-platform logs, lead sources, vendor contracts and the internal do-not-call list, and willful violations can be trebled.
Will LAC sue my business?
LAC does not file suits. Unresolved matters may be referred to one of the TCPA law firms LAC partners with, which decides independently whether to file. The record LAC has preserved, including every call, text and timestamp, goes with the referral.
What does discovery in a TCPA case involve?
Once a suit is filed, the business can be required to produce its call and text records, dialer and platform logs, lead sources and consent records, vendor and call-center contracts, its internal do-not-call list, and its do-not-call policy and training. Discovery often shows calls to other numbers beyond the ones in the original demand.
Can a business owner be personally liable under the TCPA?
Courts have held that an officer or owner who personally authorised, directed or participated in the unlawful calls can be individually liable, separately from the company. Whether that applies in a given matter is for the partner law firm and the court. It is one reason to read the letter and respond rather than let the deadline pass.
5.For people receiving calls
I am receiving unlawful calls or texts. Can LAC help?
Write to info@lacadvocacy.com and describe the calls or texts: the numbers they came from, the dates and times, what was said or sent, and the business if it identified itself. LAC documents the evidence. Consumer claims are referred to and handled by LAC’s partner TCPA law firms.
What should I keep if I want to report unlawful calls?
Everything. Call logs, screenshots of texts, voicemails, the date you registered the number on the National Do Not Call Registry, and the date and wording of any request to stop. Do not delete anything. A record kept at the time is what turns a complaint into a claim.
6.Not answered here?
Write to info@lacadvocacy.com, quoting the reference on your letter. The statutes, rules and decisions cited in every demand are collected under Authorities.