Nine Calls, $50,000: The TCPA Lawsuit That Should Scare Every Small Business

Can nine phone calls really cost a business nearly $50,000?
If you’re in real estate, law, collections, or any profession that cold calls, this story should make you stop in your tracks.

📞 A Small Business Makes a Big Mistake

In 2024, a Texas telemarketing outfit called Live Transfers, Inc. picked up the phone and dialed a man named Joshua Cacho. Like many call centers, their job was to connect potential customers to paying clients. They weren’t selling services themselves, just making calls on behalf of others.

But there was a problem:

Cacho’s number was on the National Do Not Call Registry (DNC).
He had never given consent to be contacted.
Despite this, Live Transfers kept calling.

Nine calls later, Cacho had had enough, and he sued.

⚖️ The Law Comes Down Hard

Under the Telephone Consumer Protection Act (TCPA), unwanted calls to numbers on the DNC list can cost:

$500 per call for basic violations
Up to $1,500 per call if the court decides the calls were knowing or willful

Because this case took place in Texas, state law added even more bite. Texas allows $5,000 per call in additional penalties.

The math added up fast:

$4,500 in federal TCPA damages
$45,000 under Texas law
Plus court costs

👉 Total judgment: $49,902 for just nine calls.

😨 Why This Should Scare Realtors, Lawyers, and Small Businesses

Here’s the part too many professionals miss:

This wasn’t a Fortune 500 company.
It wasn’t a massive robocaller blasting out millions of calls.
It was a small shop making calls on behalf of others.

And still, the fines nearly hit $50K.

If you cold call prospects, send text blasts, or buy lead lists, the exact same thing could happen to you. All it takes is one person on the DNC list to pick up, say “I never signed up for this,” and you’re exposed.

🛡️ How This Could Have Been Avoided

Here’s the kicker: This lawsuit was completely preventable.

If Live Transfers had scrubbed their call list against the Do Not Call Registry, Joshua’s number never would have been dialed. Nine calls would have been zero calls, and there would be no lawsuit to write about.

That’s where DNC SafeScrub comes in.

Our service protects telemarketers, realtors, and professionals who rely on outreach by:

Scrubbing your call list against the national and state DNC registries.
Flagging and removing restricted numbers before you ever dial.
Providing compliance reports so if you’re ever challenged, you can prove you took the right steps.
Keeping you safe from TCPA fines that could bankrupt a small business.

✅ The Takeaway

Nine phone calls. $50,000 in damages. A small business crippled by one lawsuit.

This isn’t just about Live Transfers. It’s about anyone who picks up the phone without checking the rules first. Realtors, lawyers, contractors, debt collectors: you are all at risk if you’re not scrubbing your lists.

The good news? Protection is simple.
👉 DNC SafeScrub makes sure the numbers you call are compliant so you can focus on business, not lawsuits.

TCPA Lawsuit Shows How 9 Calls Cost a Small Telemarketing Firm $50K