TCPA Demand Letter - California

CALIFORNIA TCPA DEMAND LETTER

Quick-Reference Summary

Sender Letterhead

[SENDER NAME OR LAW FIRM]
[Street Address]
[City, State ZIP]
Telephone: [____________]
Email: [____________]
[CA 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; California Unfair Competition Law, Bus. & Prof. Code §§ 17200 et seq.; Bus. & Prof. Code § 17538.41 and §§ 17590-17595; Pub. Util. Code §§ 2871-2876
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], a California resident residing at [ADDRESS], County of [____________], State of California, 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 [__/__/____] / ☐ previously requested no further calls from Respondent 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and/or facsimile transmissions to Claimant's telephone number(s) without prior express consent (or after consent was revoked / after a do-not-call request / while the number was on a Do-Not-Call registry):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 California 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): restricts 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)). A consumer private action under § 227(c)(5) requires more than one call within a 12-month period by or on behalf of the same entity.
• Internal do-not-call / company-specific request — 47 C.F.R. § 64.1200(d)(3): requires the caller to record the request when made and honor it within a reasonable time not exceeding ten business days.
• 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 loss or $500 per violation, 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 a 12-month period by or on behalf of the same entity and permits actual loss or up to $500 per qualifying violation, with the same discretionary trebling ceiling. Match each call, text, or fax to the specific claim before calculating damages.
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. California Robocall and Telephone-Solicitation Statutes

• Automated/recorded calls — Cal. Bus. & Prof. Code § 17538.41: restricts the use of automated, prerecorded, or artificial-voice telephone calls in California and imposes disclosure and consent requirements.
• "Do not call" list — Cal. Bus. & Prof. Code §§ 17590-17595 (Article 8, Unsolicited and Unwanted Telephone Solicitations): § 17592 defines a "telephone solicitor" and the operative duties, and § 17591 makes it unlawful to misuse, sell, or lease the California "do not call" list, to interfere with a subscriber's right to be listed, or to charge a fee to be listed.
• Public Utilities Code §§ 2871-2876: regulates telephone solicitations and California's own do-not-call rules administered through the California Public Utilities Commission.

C. California Unfair Competition Law — Cal. Bus. & Prof. Code §§ 17200 et seq. [UCL — FLAGGED]

The UCL prohibits "any unlawful, unfair or fraudulent business act or practice." Its "unlawful" prong "borrows" violations of other laws — including the federal TCPA, § 17538.41, §§ 17590-17595, and Pub. Util. Code §§ 2871-2876 — and makes them independently actionable. A private plaintiff must show an "injury in fact" and that he or she "lost money or property" as a result of the unfair competition (Prop. 64; Cal. Bus. & Prof. Code § 17204).

IMPORTANT — UCL REMEDY LIMITATION: A private UCL claim entitles the plaintiff only to restitution and injunctive relief; it does NOT authorize compensatory or punitive damages. The federal TCPA remedy under § 227(b)(3) is the greater of actual loss or $500 per violation, with any willful-or-knowing increase discretionary and capped at three times that amount. The UCL is pleaded here principally to obtain an injunction against further unlawful calling and to anchor the state-law dimension of this dispute. The UCL carries a 4-year limitations period (§ 17208).

D. Consumers Legal Remedies Act — Cal. Civ. Code §§ 1750 et seq.

If the calls involved deceptive telemarketing tied to a consumer "transaction" for goods or services, the CLRA may provide actual, statutory, and punitive damages and attorney fees. A CLRA damages claim requires a 30-day pre-suit notice under Cal. Civ. Code § 1782; an injunction-only CLRA claim does not. This letter may serve as that § 1782 notice where the CLRA applies.

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)
☐ More than one call within 12 months by/on behalf of the same entity to a number on the National Do-Not-Call Registry — 47 U.S.C. § 227(c)(5); 47 C.F.R. § 64.1200(c)
☐ Calls continued more than 10 business days after an internal do-not-call request — 47 C.F.R. § 64.1200(d)(3)
☐ Unsolicited fax advertisement(s) — 47 U.S.C. § 227(b)(1)(C)
☐ Unlawful automated/recorded call(s) — Cal. Bus. & Prof. Code § 17538.41
☐ Telephone-solicitation / "do not call" list violation — Cal. Bus. & Prof. Code §§ 17590-17595
☐ Violation of California PUC telephone-solicitation rules — Cal. Pub. Util. Code §§ 2871-2876
☐ Unlawful business practice (UCL "unlawful" prong) — Cal. Bus. & Prof. Code § 17200
☐ Deceptive consumer transaction — Cal. Civ. Code § 1770 (CLRA), if applicable
☐ Other — [_________________________________]

V. Damages and Remedies 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 content and templates
☐ Consent records, lead-source data, opt-in records, and any signed consent writings
☐ Internal, National, and California Do-Not-Call scrubbing records and policies (31-day scrub logs)
☐ Internal do-not-call lists and records of honoring opt-out requests
☐ Compliance records under Cal. Bus. & Prof. Code § 17538.41 and §§ 17590-17595
☐ Caller-ID configuration and any spoofing/blocking records
☐ Contracts, agency agreements, and indemnity terms with dialer vendors and lead generators
☐ 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 California law (Bus. & Prof. Code §§ 17200 et seq., § 17538.41, §§ 17590-17595; Pub. Util. Code §§ 2871-2876; and, where applicable, the CLRA), and may include a complaint to the Federal Communications Commission, the Federal Trade Commission, the California Public Utilities Commission, and the California Attorney General.

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)
California State Bar No. [__________] (if attorney)
[Firm Name]
[Street Address]
[City, CA 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 California Secretary of State (https://bizfileonline.sos.ca.gov/search/business)
☐ 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 Do-Not-Call Registry and the registration date
☐ Confirmed the federal claim is within the 4-year SOL (28 U.S.C. § 1658) and any UCL claim within the 4-year SOL (Cal. Bus. & Prof. Code § 17208)
☐ Confirmed the UCL claim seeks restitution/injunction only — damages come from the TCPA (not the UCL)
☐ If invoking the CLRA for damages, served this as the 30-day § 1782 notice and calendared the 30 days
☐ Preserved Claimant-side evidence (screenshots, voicemails, carrier records)
☐ Removed all `` comments
☐ Sent via certified mail, return receipt requested, and retained delivery confirmation
☐ Reviewed by California-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
• Cal. Bus. & Prof. Code § 17200 (Unfair Competition Law): https://codes.findlaw.com/ca/business-and-professions-code/bpc-sect-17200/
• Cal. Bus. & Prof. Code § 17591 (unlawful "do not call" list acts): https://law.justia.com/codes/california/code-bpc/division-7/part-3/chapter-1/article-8/section-17591/
• Cal. Bus. & Prof. Code § 17592 (telephone solicitor definition): https://law.justia.com/codes/california/code-bpc/division-7/part-3/chapter-1/article-8/section-17592/
• Cal. Bus. & Prof. Code § 17538.41 (automated calls): https://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/codes_displaySection.xhtml?sectionNum=17538.41.&lawCode=BPC
• Cal. Pub. Util. Code §§ 2871-2876 (telephone solicitation): https://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/codes_displayexpandedbranch.xhtml?tocCode=PUC&division=1.&title=&part=2.&chapter=8.5.
• Consumers Legal Remedies Act, Cal. Civ. Code §§ 1750 et seq.: https://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/codes_displayText.xhtml?lawCode=CIV&division=3.&title=1.5.&part=4.
• California Public Utilities Commission, Do Not Call: https://www.cpuc.ca.gov/
• Facebook, Inc. v. Duguid, 141 S. Ct. 1163 (2021) (ATDS definition)
• Cel-Tech Communications, Inc. v. Los Angeles Cellular Telephone Co., 20 Cal. 4th 163 (1999) (UCL "unfair" standard)