Pay, dispute or ignore: the three ways a TCPA demand letter ends
A TCPA demand letter ends one of three ways. You pay a negotiated amount and get a release. You dispute it in writing and make the sender prove the calls. Or you ignore it and wait to see whether a lawsuit follows. Each path has a cost, a timeline and a worst case. This page sets the three side by side so you can pick with the numbers in front of you.
What the letter is asking you to decide
The letter lists calls or texts to specific numbers, cites 47 U.S.C. § 227 (and often Fla. Stat. § 501.059 where Florida numbers are involved), puts a dollar figure on them, and gives a date. The date is the sender's deadline, not a court's. Nothing has been filed. The question in front of you is what you do before that date.
The statute gives a person who received the calls a private right of action: $500 per violation, up to $1,500 if a court finds the violation willful or knowing. The letter's figure is usually a fraction of that arithmetic applied to the documented calls. That gap is what the three paths are really about.
The three paths side by side
| Pay | Dispute | Ignore | |
|---|---|---|---|
| What you do | Negotiate a figure and sign a release | Reply in writing with evidence | Nothing |
| Timeline | Days to a few weeks | Weeks, longer if it is litigated | Until the sender refers it or files |
| Money out | The settled amount | Your time, maybe a lawyer's fee, then zero or a settlement | Zero today |
| Worst case | You pay for calls you might have beaten | A lawsuit where discovery finds more calls than the letter listed | A filed complaint, a default judgment, statutory damages on every call found |
| Fits when | The calls happened and you cannot produce consent | You hold consent records, the calls were not yours, or the claim is out of time | The letter is a genuine fraud |
Path one: pay
Paying means you negotiate a figure, sign a settlement agreement, and send the money. In return you get a release covering the listed numbers for the period. There is no admission. Nothing is filed. The cost is fixed the day you sign. What paying involves, step by step.
Path two: dispute
Disputing means a written response that says why the claim fails, with the documents to back it. Consent records per number. Proof the calls came from someone else's account. Dates showing the calls are more than four years old (28 U.S.C. § 1658). A real dispute changes the number or ends the claim. A dispute with no evidence behind it is a delay, and the sender knows the difference. What a dispute has to contain.
Path three: ignore
Ignoring means the deadline passes. What happens next depends on the sender. An enforcement firm with documented calls refers the matter to litigation counsel, and the next document is a complaint. A court deciding whether later conduct was willful can also take the ignored letter into account. What follows the deadline.
How to choose in one afternoon
- Check the calls. Pull your dialer or SMS platform logs for the numbers and dates in the letter. If the calls are there, the letter is not a bluff.
- Check consent. For each number, can you produce prior express written consent that names your business? Not the vendor's word that the list was clean. The actual record.
- Do the arithmetic. Documented calls times $500 is the floor. Times $1,500 is the ceiling. Add the Florida figure if the FTSA applies. Compare that range with the demand.
- Price a lawyer. A flat-fee review is worth it when the demand is high or you think you have a real defence. The signals.
- Pick the path and start the clock. Whichever path, reply before the deadline or ask for an extension in writing.
If your letter came from LAC Litigation & Enforcement Group, its response page is at lacadvocacy.com/received.
Questions people ask at this point
Is there a fourth option, like just stopping the calls?
Stopping prevents new violations. It does not resolve the calls already made, which are what the letter is about. It is a good first move on any path, not a path in itself.
Can I combine paths?
Yes, and most resolutions do. A dispute that produces partial consent records usually ends with a smaller settlement. Disputing first and paying second is the ordinary sequence when you have some evidence but not all of it.
How long do I have?
The letter’s deadline. It is the sender’s date, not a court’s, and senders usually grant a short written extension if you ask before it passes.
Does the choice change if a vendor made the calls?
Not much. The FCC and the courts hold a seller liable for calls a vendor makes on its behalf. The vendor’s share is a separate claim between you and the vendor.