Junk Faxes And Your Delaware Business
How often do we all go to our fax machines only to find an advertisement that we crumble up and throw in the trash as we mumble an expletive deleted? Well, you can do more that throw it away. You can actually file a lawsuit against a company that sends you “junk” faxes, and you can collect up to $500 in damages for each violation. In fact, the court may even award you up to $1,500 for each violation if it’s determined that the company knowingly committed the violation.
Under federal law, it’s unlawful for someone to send to your fax machine an unsolicited advertisement without your express prior invitation or permission. On the other hand, it would not be a violation if the sender has an established business relationship with you. And even in those circumstances, if you tell them to stop, they're required by law to stop sending you these junk faxes no later than 30 days after you make your request. If they fail to honor your request, that’s another violation.
In my next articles on this topic, I’ll discuss other options besides filing a lawsuit, and I’ll go into greater detail about the rules concerning established business arrangements (also known as “EBRs.”
