TCPA Express Consent Can Be Revoked At Any Time

The Telephone Consumer Protection Act¹ outlaws calls to a cell phone² using any automatic dialing system or an artificial or prerecorded voice made without the prior express consent of the called party.³ In the recent Gager v. Dell Financial Services LLC decision, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit ruled express consent to be called can be revoked at any time. In so deciding, the court rejected a defense many creditors and debt collectors often assert: Once a debtor provides his cell phone number to you, you may call him at that number using an autodialer or prerecorded messaging for as long as the debt is owing.

The Gager facts are these. Gager gave Dell Computer her cell phone number when she applied for online credit to buy a new computer. When she got behind on payments Dell used an autodialer to call her to see when she would bring the account current. Gager eventually sent a letter to Dell saying stop calling. Dell disregarded the letter and