TCPA Demand Letter - Alabama

ALABAMA TCPA DEMAND LETTER

Quick-Reference Summary

Sender Letterhead

[SENDER NAME OR LAW FIRM]
[Street Address]
[City, State ZIP]
Telephone: [____________]
Email: [____________]
[AL Bar No. / File No., if applicable]

Date and Recipient

Date: [__/__/____]

Via Certified Mail, Return Receipt Requested, No. [____________]
And Via Email to: [____________]

[RECIPIENT NAME / REGISTERED AGENT]
[BUSINESS NAME]
[Street Address]
[City, State ZIP]

Subject Line / Re: Block

RE: DEMAND TO CEASE UNLAWFUL TELEPHONE COMMUNICATIONS AND TO SETTLE CLAIMS — Telephone Consumer Protection Act, 47 U.S.C. § 227; Alabama Telephone Solicitations Act, Ala. Code §§ 8-19C-1 et seq.
Claimant: [CLAIMANT FULL NAME]
Claimant Telephone Number(s) Called: [____________]
Date Range of Violations: [__/__/____] through [__/__/____]
Number of Offending Calls/Texts/Faxes: [____]

I. Parties

Claimant: [CLAIMANT FULL NAME], an Alabama resident residing at [ADDRESS], County of [____________], State of Alabama, who is the subscriber and/or customary user of the telephone number(s) [____________]. Claimant ☐ registered the number(s) on the National Do-Not-Call Registry on [__/__/____] / ☐ registered on the Alabama Do Not Call Register on [__/__/____] / ☐ revoked any prior consent on [__/__/____].

Respondent: [BUSINESS NAME], a [STATE OF INCORPORATION] [entity type], whose principal place of business is at [ADDRESS] and whose registered agent is [AGENT NAME] at [AGENT ADDRESS]. Respondent ☐ placed the calls/texts directly / ☐ caused them to be placed by an agent, lead generator, or third-party dialer acting on its behalf, for which Respondent is vicariously liable.

II. The Offending Communications (Call Log)

Respondent and/or its agents placed the following calls, text messages, and/or facsimile transmissions to Claimant's telephone number(s) without prior express consent (or after consent was revoked / after a do-not-call request / while the number was on a Do-Not-Call registry):

Total documented violations: [____]

III. Legal Framework — Overlapping Federal and Alabama Liability

A. Federal TCPA — 47 U.S.C. § 227

The federal TCPA is the primary vehicle for individual statutory-damages claims arising from unlawful calls, texts, and faxes:

• ATDS / artificial- or prerecorded-voice calls to cell phones — § 227(b)(1)(A): subject to the statute and rule's stated exceptions, prohibits calls using an ATDS or an artificial or prerecorded voice to a cellular telephone number without prior express consent. For advertising or telemarketing calls covered by 47 C.F.R. § 64.1200(a)(2), prior express written consent generally is required, subject to the rule's stated nonprofit and health-care exceptions. Under Facebook, Inc. v. Duguid, 141 S. Ct. 1163 (2021), equipment is an ATDS only if it has the capacity either to store a telephone number using a random or sequential number generator or to produce a telephone number using such a generator.
• Artificial or prerecorded calls to residential lines — § 227(b)(1)(B): the statute prohibits these calls without prior express consent unless the call is for an emergency purpose, concerns specified federal debt, or falls within an FCC exemption. Current 47 C.F.R. § 64.1200(a)(3) contains consent rules, numerical limits, and opt-out conditions that must be applied to the call type.
• National Do-Not-Call Registry — § 227(c) and 47 C.F.R. § 64.1200(c): prohibits telephone solicitations to numbers on the National Do-Not-Call Registry; a caller invoking the safe-harbor standards must use a Registry version obtained no more than 31 days before the call (47 C.F.R. § 64.1200(c)(2)).
• Internal do-not-call / company-specific request — 47 C.F.R. § 64.1200(d): prohibits further solicitation after the called party requests no further calls.
• Unsolicited fax advertisements — § 227(b)(1)(C): generally prohibits sending unsolicited advertisements to a telephone facsimile machine unless the statutory established-business-relationship, number-acquisition, and notice conditions are satisfied; a compliant opt-out request ends the exception.

Damages: Section 227(b)(3) permits actual monetary loss or $500 per violation, whichever is greater, with a discretionary increase to no more than three times that amount for a willful or knowing violation. Section 227(c)(5) separately requires more than one call within 12 months by or on behalf of the same entity in violation of subsection (c) regulations; it permits actual loss or up to $500 per qualifying violation, whichever is greater, includes a reasonable-practices affirmative defense, and allows a discretionary increase to no more than three times the otherwise available amount for a willful or knowing violation. Classify each call, text, or fax under the exact branch before calculating relief.
Statute of limitations: generally 4 years after accrual — 28 U.S.C. § 1658(a).
Private right of action: expressly provided — § 227(b)(3), (c)(5).

B. Alabama Telephone Solicitations Act — Ala. Code §§ 8-19C-1 et seq.

Alabama maintains its own telephone-solicitation statute, separate from and in addition to the federal TCPA:

• Alabama Do Not Call Register — § 8-19C-2: the Alabama Public Service Commission maintains a state Do Not Call Register; it is a violation to knowingly make telephone solicitations to a number appearing on a copy of the Register in effect at least 60 days before the solicitation.
• Caller-identification and identification requirements — § 8-19C-5: a telephone solicitor must identify itself, the entity on whose behalf the call is made, and the purpose of the call, and must not block or interfere with caller-ID.
• Private right of action — § 8-19C-7: a person who receives more than one telephone solicitation within a 12-month period from or on behalf of the same person or entity in violation of the Act may bring an action to enjoin the violation and may recover actual monetary damages or up to $2,000 per knowing violation, whichever is greater. This remedy is in addition to federal TCPA damages.
• Statute of limitations: 2 years — Ala. Code § 8-19C-9.

C. Alabama Telemarketing Act and ADTPA

Respondent's conduct may also violate the Alabama Telemarketing Act, Ala. Code §§ 8-19A-1 et seq. (licensing and disclosure requirements for telephone solicitors), and may constitute an unconscionable, false, misleading, or deceptive act or practice actionable under the Alabama Deceptive Trade Practices Act, Ala. Code § 8-19-5(27). A separate ADTPA claim is subject to the MANDATORY 15-day pre-suit written demand of § 8-19-10(e) and the ADTPA's 1-year limitations period under § 8-19-14; consult counsel before relying on the ADTPA.

IV. Statement of Violations

Based on the call log in Section II, Respondent committed at least the following violations as to Claimant:

☐ Calls/texts to a cellular number using an ATDS without prior express consent — 47 U.S.C. § 227(b)(1)(A)
☐ Calls/texts to a cellular number using an artificial or prerecorded voice without consent — 47 U.S.C. § 227(b)(1)(A)
☐ Prerecorded calls to a residential line without consent — 47 U.S.C. § 227(b)(1)(B)
☐ Telemarketing without prior express written consent — 47 C.F.R. § 64.1200(a)(2)
☐ Calls to a number on the National Do-Not-Call Registry — 47 U.S.C. § 227(c); 47 C.F.R. § 64.1200(c)
☐ Calls after an internal do-not-call request — 47 C.F.R. § 64.1200(d)
☐ Unsolicited fax advertisement(s) — 47 U.S.C. § 227(b)(1)(C)
☐ Telephone solicitation(s) to a number on the Alabama Do Not Call Register — Ala. Code § 8-19C-2
☐ Failure to identify / caller-ID violation — Ala. Code § 8-19C-5
☐ More than one solicitation within 12 months in violation of the ATSA — Ala. Code § 8-19C-7
☐ Other — [_________________________________]

V. Damages Calculation

VI. Demand

Pursuant to the authorities above, Claimant demands that Respondent, within [____] days (no later than [__/__/____]):

1. Immediately cease and desist all telephone calls, text messages, and facsimile transmissions to Claimant's number(s) and direct all further communications to the undersigned;
2. Place Claimant's number(s) on Respondent's internal do-not-call list and confirm the same in writing;
3. Preserve all evidence identified in Section VII below;
4. Tender settlement of Claimant's claims in the amount of $[__________] in full and final resolution; and
5. Identify every entity, lead generator, dialer vendor, and client on whose behalf the calls/texts were placed.

If Respondent contends it had Claimant's prior express (written) consent, Respondent must produce a copy of that consent, including the date, method, and signed writing, within the response period.

VII. Litigation Hold / Evidence Preservation Notice

Respondent is on formal notice of its duty to preserve all documents, electronically stored information (ESI), and tangible evidence relevant to the claims, and must immediately suspend any routine destruction or overwriting as applied to:

☐ Outbound and inbound call detail records (CDRs) and dialer logs for Claimant's number(s)
☐ Records identifying the dialing equipment used and its capacity (ATDS analysis)
☐ Prerecorded/artificial-voice audio files and text/SMS message content and templates
☐ Consent records, lead-source data, opt-in records, and any signed consent writings
☐ Internal and National Do-Not-Call scrubbing records and policies (31-day scrub logs)
☐ Internal do-not-call lists and honoring of opt-out requests
☐ Contracts, agency agreements, and indemnity terms with dialer vendors and lead generators
☐ Caller-ID configuration and any spoofing/blocking records (Ala. Code § 8-19C-5)
☐ Alabama Do Not Call Register subscription/scrub records (Ala. Code § 8-19C-2)
☐ Backup tapes, cloud-backed copies, audit logs, version histories, and metadata for the foregoing

Spoliation may result in sanctions and adverse-inference instructions.

VIII. Response Deadline and Method

Respondent's written response must be received no later than [__/__/____].

Silence, a boilerplate denial, or continued calling will be treated as a refusal to resolve this matter and will result in the filing of a civil action under the TCPA (47 U.S.C. § 227(b)(3), (c)(5)) and the Alabama Telephone Solicitations Act (Ala. Code § 8-19C-7), and may include a complaint to the Federal Communications Commission, the Federal Trade Commission, the Alabama Public Service Commission, and the Alabama Attorney General's Consumer Interest Division.

This letter is sent without prejudice to all of Claimant's rights and remedies, which are expressly reserved.

Signature Block

Respectfully submitted,

[________________________________]
[ATTORNEY NAME] (or Claimant pro se)
Alabama State Bar No. [__________] (if attorney)
[Firm Name]
[Street Address]
[City, AL ZIP]
Telephone: [____________]
Email: [____________]
Counsel for Claimant [CLAIMANT NAME] (if represented)

cc: ☐ Claimant
☐ File

Pre-Send Checklist

☐ Verified Respondent's legal name and registered agent via Alabama Secretary of State (https://arc-sos.state.al.us/cgi/corpname.mbr/input)
☐ Confirmed each call/text/fax is documented with date, time, and calling number in the Section II log
☐ Confirmed whether Claimant's number was on the National and/or Alabama Do-Not-Call registries and the registration dates
☐ Confirmed the federal claim is within the 4-year SOL (28 U.S.C. § 1658) and any state claim within the 2-year ATSA SOL (Ala. Code § 8-19C-9)
☐ Assessed whether ATSA's "more than one solicitation within 12 months" threshold is met (§ 8-19C-7)
☐ If pursuing an ADTPA claim, complied with the MANDATORY 15-day demand (§ 8-19-10(e)) and 1-year SOL (§ 8-19-14)
☐ Preserved Claimant-side evidence (screenshots, voicemails, carrier records)
☐ Removed all `` comments
☐ Sent via certified mail, return receipt requested, and retained delivery confirmation
☐ Reviewed by Alabama-licensed counsel before transmission

Sources and References

• Telephone Consumer Protection Act, 47 U.S.C. § 227: https://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/text/47/227
• FCC TCPA implementing rules, 47 C.F.R. § 64.1200: https://www.ecfr.gov/current/title-47/chapter-I/subchapter-B/part-64/subpart-L/section-64.1200
• 28 U.S.C. § 1658 (4-year SOL): https://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/text/28/1658
• Alabama Telephone Solicitations Act, Ala. Code § 8-19C-1: https://law.justia.com/codes/alabama/title-8/chapter-19c/
• Ala. Code § 8-19C-7 (private right of action): https://law.justia.com/codes/alabama/title-8/chapter-19c/section-8-19c-7/
• Alabama Telemarketing Act, Ala. Code §§ 8-19A-1 et seq.: https://www.alabamaag.gov/licensing-registration/alabama-telemarketing-act/
• Alabama Deceptive Trade Practices Act, Ala. Code §§ 8-19-1 et seq.: https://law.justia.com/codes/alabama/title-8/chapter-19/
• Ala. Admin. Code r. 770-X-5-.31 (Telephone Solicitation Regulations / Do Not Call Register): https://admincode.legislature.state.al.us/administrative-code/770-X-5-.31
• Alabama Public Service Commission Do Not Call: https://psc.alabama.gov/
• Facebook, Inc. v. Duguid, 141 S. Ct. 1163 (2021) (ATDS definition)