Case studies

What non-compliance actually costs.

A running record of publicly reported TCPA and telemarketing outcomes — verdicts, settlements, and FCC enforcement — from Fortune 500 down to the mid-market operators. Every one began with ordinary outbound campaigns.

44 cases catalogued   $2.1B+ in reported outcomes

$925M

Jury verdict

ViSalus, Inc.

2019 · Direct sales

Jury found 1.8 million robocalls placed to former customers without valid prior express consent. The largest TCPA judgment on record, per public court filings.

Preventable by: consent-record inventory and pre-campaign screening.

$300M

FCC forfeiture

Auto-warranty robocall network

2023 · Auto warranties

The FCC’s largest robocall forfeiture, against an operation behind billions of auto-warranty calls, per the agency’s public release.

Preventable by: not being anywhere near unconsented prerecorded traffic.

$225M

FCC forfeiture

Rising Eagle / JSquared

2021 · Health insurance leads

FCC forfeiture over roughly one billion spoofed robocalls pitching short-term health plans. Lead buyers downstream faced their own scrutiny.

Preventable by: vetting where purchased leads and transfers originate.

$120M

FCC forfeiture

Adrian Abramovich operation

2018 · Travel robocalls

FCC forfeiture over nearly 100 million spoofed “vacation deal” robocalls, per the agency’s public release.

Preventable by: caller-ID integrity and consent-based dialing.

$82M

FCC forfeiture

Insurance robocall operation

2018 · Insurance leads

FCC forfeiture over more than 21 million health-insurance robocalls placed with spoofed caller ID.

Preventable by: refusing lead sources built on illegal traffic.

$76M

Settlement

Caribbean Cruise Line

2017 · Travel

Reported settlement over prerecorded “free cruise” survey calls to millions. Liability extended to marketing partners who never placed a call.

Preventable by: vendor-traffic monitoring and documented consent chains.

$75.5M

Settlement

Capital One

2014 · Financial services

Reported settlement over autodialed collection calls to cell phones, including reassigned numbers. At the time, the largest TCPA settlement reached.

Preventable by: reassigned-number screening before each campaign.

$61M

Court judgment

Dish Network

2017 · Telecom / retail

Court trebled damages over calls by an authorized dealer to DNC-registry numbers — with liability imputed to Dish for its vendor’s conduct.

Preventable by: continuous DNC scrubbing across vendor traffic.

$49.9M

Court judgment

US Coachways

2016 · Transportation

Reported judgment over marketing texts sent without the consent the statute requires. Texts carry the same per-message damages as calls.

Preventable by: SMS consent verification before each send.

$47M

Settlement

Jiffy Lube franchisee

2013 · Auto services

Reported settlement over promotional texts sent to customers without documented consent — one of the earliest large SMS class outcomes.

Preventable by: documented opt-in records for every SMS list.

$40M

Settlement

Keller Williams

2023 · Real estate

Reported settlement over agent calls to National DNC Registry numbers. Claims reached the franchisor despite decentralized, agent-led operations.

Preventable by: centralized scrubbing and per-agent compliance documentation.

$40M

Settlement

HSBC

2014 · Banking

Reported settlement over autodialed and prerecorded account calls to cell phones without the required consent.

Preventable by: consent capture tied to each phone number on file.

$32M

Settlement

Bank of America

2013 · Banking

Reported settlement over autodialed mortgage and credit-card servicing calls to cell phones alleged to lack prior express consent.

Preventable by: screening servicing campaigns, not just marketing.

$30M

Settlement

Wells Fargo

2017 · Banking

Reported settlement over autodialed collection calls to cell phones, including numbers reassigned to new owners.

Preventable by: reassigned-number screening on every dial list.

$28M

Settlement

Monitronics

2018 · Home security

Reported settlement over telemarketing calls placed by authorized dealers — another case where dealer conduct produced liability upstream.

Preventable by: monitoring dealer and affiliate call traffic.

$24M

Settlement

Sallie Mae

2012 · Student lending

Reported settlement over autodialed loan-servicing calls to cell phones without prior express consent.

Preventable by: consent verification at the account level.

$18M

Settlement

Portfolio Recovery Associates

2016 · Debt collection

Reported settlement over high-volume autodialed collection calls to cell phones alleged to lack consent.

Preventable by: pre-dial screening of purchased account portfolios.

$16.5M

Settlement

Papa John’s franchisees

2013 · Restaurant franchise

Reported settlement over promotional texts sent by franchisees through a third-party vendor. The brand absorbed the headline either way.

Preventable by: franchise-wide SMS consent standards and audits.

$15M

Settlement

Life Time Fitness

2015 · Fitness

Reported settlement over marketing texts sent to members and former members without the consent the statute requires.

Preventable by: opt-in records and suppression of former-customer lists.

$12.5M

Settlement

Resort Marketing Group

2017 · Travel marketing

Reported settlement over cruise-line robocalls placed by a marketing vendor — the cruise brands were named alongside it.

Preventable by: auditing what vendors do in your name.

$12M

Settlement

Gallup

2015 · Research

Reported settlement over autodialed survey calls to cell phones. Even non-sales calls can carry statutory exposure without consent.

Preventable by: screening research and survey traffic like marketing.

$11M

Settlement

Walgreens

2014 · Pharmacy

Reported settlement over prerecorded prescription and flu-shot reminder calls alleged to exceed the scope of customer consent.

Preventable by: matching call content to the consent actually given.

$10M

Settlement

Steve Madden

2014 · Retail

Reported settlement over promotional texts sent to customers without documented prior express consent.

Preventable by: SMS opt-in capture at the point of sale.

$9.75M

Settlement

Domino’s franchisees

2013 · Restaurant franchise

Reported settlement over franchisee promotional texts. Decentralized marketing without centralized compliance is a recurring pattern.

Preventable by: one compliance standard across every location.

$8.5M

Settlement

Western Union

2014 · Financial services

Reported settlement over marketing texts sent after consumers completed transactions, allegedly without valid consent.

Preventable by: separating transactional and marketing consent.

$3.2M

Settlement

Multi-state solar sales network

2023 · Solar · name withheld

Solar dealer network sued over prerecorded “utility savings” calls placed by commissioned setters using shared lead lists. Figures rounded; public dockets.

Preventable by: screening and documenting every setter’s dial traffic.

$2.1M

Settlement

Home-warranty marketer

2023 · Home warranties · name withheld

Multi-state telemarketer sued over outbound calls to DNC-registered numbers from purchased lists. Figures rounded; public dockets.

Preventable by: DNC scrubbing on every purchased list, every time.

$1.9M

Settlement

Residential solar installer

2024 · Solar · name withheld

Installer sued over calls transferred in from an offshore call center it had never audited — pre-dialed and unconsented. Figures rounded; public dockets.

Preventable by: auditing upstream call centers before accepting transfers.

$1.7M

Settlement

Regional solar installer

2024 · Solar · name withheld

Installer sued over aged internet leads dialed without verifiable consent records. The lead vendor’s paperwork did not survive discovery. Figures rounded.

Preventable by: consent verification before aged leads are ever dialed.

$1.4M

Settlement

Debt-relief marketer

2023 · Financial services · name withheld

Marketer sued over autodialed calls to consumers who had revoked consent — revocations were never propagated to the dialer. Figures rounded.

Preventable by: syncing opt-outs across every system within days.

$1.2M

Settlement

Regional mortgage lender

2024 · Lending · name withheld

Lender sued over refinance campaigns to DNC-registered numbers sourced from a data broker. Figures rounded; public dockets.

Preventable by: screening broker data before it reaches loan officers.

$1.1M

Settlement

Solar lead generator

2023 · Solar · name withheld

Lead generator sued over SMS to consumers whose “consent” came from an unrelated sweepstakes site. Its installer clients were named alongside it.

Preventable by: one-to-one consent verification before any text is sent.

$975K

Settlement

Regional HVAC company

2024 · HVAC · name withheld

HVAC operator sued over seasonal tune-up campaigns dialed to past customers on the DNC registry whose service consent had lapsed. Figures rounded.

Preventable by: refreshing consent status on customer lists before campaigns.

$950K

Settlement

Auto dealership group

2023 · Automotive · name withheld

Dealership group sued over service-reminder and promotional texts sent without documented opt-in. Figures rounded; public dockets.

Preventable by: opt-in records tied to every number texted.

$850K

Settlement

Home-security dealer

2022 · Home security · name withheld

Dealer sued over outbound calls on transferred leads it believed a vendor had qualified. The consent chain broke one hop upstream. Figures rounded.

Preventable by: auditing the full consent chain, not the vendor’s word.

$675K

Settlement

Real estate brokerage

2024 · Real estate · name withheld

Brokerage sued over agent cold-calling of expired listings and FSBO numbers on the DNC registry. Figures rounded; public dockets.

Preventable by: agent-level scrubbing before prospecting sessions.

$620K

Settlement

HVAC & plumbing franchise

2023 · HVAC · name withheld

Franchise sued after a location’s vendor dialed purchased homeowner lists without scrubbing — liability reached the franchisor. Figures rounded.

Preventable by: one scrubbing standard across all locations and vendors.

$500K

Settlement

Fitness studio chain

2023 · Fitness · name withheld

Chain sued over win-back texts to lapsed members who had cancelled — and with cancellation, their consent. Figures rounded; public dockets.

Preventable by: suppressing former customers from SMS campaigns.

$425K

Settlement

Pest-control franchise

2024 · Home services · name withheld

Franchise sued over seasonal promotion calls to prior customers whose consent had lapsed or was never recorded. Figures rounded.

Preventable by: treating past customers as unconsented until proven otherwise.

$390K

Settlement

HVAC maintenance-plan marketer

2024 · HVAC · name withheld

Marketer sued over renewal robocalls to lapsed maintenance-plan members — prerecorded voice without separate consent. Figures rounded.

Preventable by: treating prerecorded campaigns as their own consent tier.

$300K

Settlement

Medspa group

2024 · Health & beauty · name withheld

Medspa sued over appointment and promotion texts blended into one stream — marketing content under transactional consent. Figures rounded.

Preventable by: separating marketing and transactional messaging.

$250K

Settlement

Regional roofing contractor

2024 · Home services · name withheld

Contractor sued over unscrubbed storm-lead lists. A mid-market operator with modest volumes — six figures plus defense costs. Figures rounded.

Preventable by: a monthly scrub costing less than one defense hour.

$180K

Settlement

Moving & storage company

2023 · Home services · name withheld

Mover sued over quote follow-up calls that continued after consumers asked to stop — no internal DNC list existed. Figures rounded.

Preventable by: an internal do-not-call list honored within days.

About this data: Outcomes are compiled from public court records, regulatory press releases, and news reporting; figures are as publicly reported and may be approximate. A settlement is not an admission of liability or wrongdoing. Entries marked “name withheld” are drawn from public dockets involving small and mid-size companies, with identifying details removed and figures rounded. Comply iV is a data and compliance operations company, not a law firm — nothing on this page is legal advice or a prediction of any outcome.

Read the pattern

The headlines are Fortune 500. The dockets are mid-market.

Nine-figure verdicts make the news, but most TCPA actions target companies with 50–500 employees — home services, insurance, real estate, solar, lending. Plaintiff firms run data operations that surface violators automatically. Size is not a defense; documentation is.

TCPA class actions filed, 2025

2,788

Year-over-year growth in filings

+112%

Average class settlement

$6.5M

Statutory damages, per call or text

$500–1,500

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