Robocall Lawyer in Iowa: $500 to $1,500 Per Illegal Call

The federal Telephone Consumer Protection Act (TCPA) is the whole engine of an Iowa robocall case. It makes it illegal to call or text a cell phone with an autodialer or a prerecorded voice without your consent, and it makes it illegal to keep telemarketing a number on the Do Not Call Registry. Each call or text is a separate violation worth $500, and up to $1,500 when the caller acted willfully or knowingly. The Iowa cases we see most are wrong-number robocalls from lenders and collectors, and prerecorded calls to a cell phone from marketers who never had permission.

Iowa itself adds less than many states. The Iowa Code once had section 476.57, which limited the use of automatic dialing-announcing equipment, but the legislature repealed it in 2018 and did not replace it with a telemarketing act. Iowa also does not keep its own no-call list. The Iowa Utilities Commission directs residents to the national registry, notes that registrations do not expire, and explains that telemarketers must refresh the list every three months. That means an Iowa number in the 515, 319, or 563 area code is protected by the national registry and the TCPA, and by the Attorney General’s authority to prosecute unfair or deceptive practices under Iowa Code section 714.16, the state consumer fraud law. There is no Iowa-specific calling-hour rule, so the federal 8 a.m. to 9 p.m. window governs.

The Attorney General’s Consumer Protection Division in Des Moines takes complaints and can take action against a company, but it does not collect money for you. That is what a private TCPA suit is for. Iowa has two federal districts: the Northern District of Iowa, with courthouses in Cedar Rapids and Sioux City, and the Southern District of Iowa, sitting in Des Moines, Davenport, and Council Bluffs. The case is filed in the district where you live or were called. Because Iowa has no state telemarketing statute with a private right of action, an Iowa complaint is usually a clean federal TCPA case, and the state-law question rarely changes the outcome.

Max Morgan, Esq. of The Weitz Firm reviews call records for Iowa residents at no charge. Cases are handled nationwide under the federal TCPA. Local counsel is associated where Iowa rules require it. You pay no fee unless you recover. The federal TCPA limitations period is generally four years, but older calls drop out of a claim as time passes, so talk to us before assuming there is time.