Texas man sues advertising companies for $75 over annoying automated calls

Texas resident Austin accountant Dan Graham sued $75 after he filed lawsuits against telemarketers over constant daily and illegal automated calls. Chron.

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Every month, Americans are bombarded with billions of anonymous advertising calls, some of which violate federal laws against contacting people who have registered their phone numbers in National Call Barring Registry.

According to a new report from KXAN's Arezow Doost, one Austin man took advantage of the law to fight back against telemarketers in court.

Dan Graham, a financial accountant based in Dallas and Austin, said he has won $75 in court rulings since he began a lengthy job of finding and prosecuting the companies behind the intrusive phone calls.

“I probably get 10 calls a day on average,” Graham told Dost. “Somehow I even counted: in one day I received 24 calls.”

Hoping to reduce unwanted calls, Graham entered his number on the National Denial Call Registry. When they continued, Graham contacted the Better Business Bureau, as well as the Federal Trade Commission, and filed a complaint.

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According to the FTC, "Companies that illegally call numbers on the National Do Not Call Registry or make illegal automated calls can currently be fined up to $43 per call." Knowing this, Graham began to identify firms and file lawsuits against their telemarketing. Marketers "must obtain prior written consent before making automated calls" to potential customers.

Doust said Graham has filed 50 lawsuits in small business court seeking damages for illegal automated calls to his number. Many of his first attempts failed, but he eventually began to win court cases that resulted in fines for the offending companies.

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“If people knew how to resist and started doing it, we could get rid of the endless spam,” Graham told Dost. “I hope there are enough of us who will stand up and start resisting. It is likely that companies will pay dearly for their careless attitude to telemarketing.

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