It was one text. Can someone really sue over one text?
Yes. Under 47 U.S.C. § 227(b) a single unconsented automated marketing text is a complete violation worth $500 to $1,500. And the one text to this person is rarely the only text the campaign sent.
Yes. One marketing text sent with an automated system to a cell phone without prior express written consent is a complete violation of 47 U.S.C. § 227(b), worth $500, or up to $1,500 if willful or knowing. There is no minimum count under that section. The Do Not Call rule in § 227(c) is different, and needs more than one message in a twelve-month period, but most demand letters about texts cite both or rely on § 227(b) alone.
Why "one text" is rarely one text
The message was sent by a platform to a list. The platform logged it. The letter you received lists one person's messages because the letter is written for one person, but the campaign reached everyone on the list, each of whom has their own four-year claim under 28 U.S.C. § 1658(a). A business that argues "nobody sues over one text" is right about the economics of one text and wrong about the economics of discovery, which reveals the rest. Each message carries the same figure as a call; see what are TCPA damages per text message.
What makes a single text expensive
- It followed a STOP. Every message after a revocation is knowing.
- The number was on the National Do Not Call Registry and this was not the first message.
- The recipient is in Florida, where the state act adds its own figure once a STOP has gone unhonoured for fifteen days.
- It was sent outside 8 a.m. to 9 p.m. in the recipient's time zone, which is a separate rule breach.
What to do
Treat the one text as a sample of the campaign, because that is how the other side treats it. Suppress the number, pull the platform export for the whole send, find the consent record for the list, and decide on the evidence. See could one letter become a class action.
People also ask
Does the Do Not Call rule need more than one text?
Yes. The claim under § 227(c)(5) arises once a person has received more than one call or text in a twelve-month period from the same business. Section 227(b) has no such threshold.
Would anyone really file a lawsuit for $500?
For one text, perhaps not. For the campaign that sent it, yes. Discovery in one person’s case reveals every other recipient, which is how a $500 claim becomes a class claim.
What if the text was a wrong number?
Consent attaches to the number. If the number was reassigned and you checked the FCC’s Reassigned Numbers Database before sending, there is a safe harbour. If you did not check, the text to the new subscriber is a violation.