Voicemail Drop

A voicemail drop is a sales and marketing technique in which a business sends a prerecorded message straight into people's voicemail boxes. Some systems place a brief call and leave the recording when voicemail answers; "ringless" versions deposit the message through the carrier's voicemail server without the phone ringing at all. Vendors sell these services to call centers, real estate agents, lenders, solar companies, and political campaigns.

The legal question was whether a message that never rings the phone is a "call." The FCC answered it. In a declaratory ruling released November 21, 2022, the FCC concluded that ringless voicemails are calls made using an artificial or prerecorded voice under the Telephone Consumer Protection Act, so they require the consumer's prior express consent, and written consent when the message is telemarketing.

For consumers, that means a marketing voicemail drop sent without your written consent can support a TCPA claim worth $500 per message, or up to $1,500 if willful. Because drops are usually sent in bulk to lists of numbers, one campaign can support a class action. Businesses that hire a vendor to run the campaign can still be responsible for the messages sent on their behalf.

Signs of a voicemail drop include a voicemail notification with no missed call, identical messages from rotating numbers, and a recorded sales pitch. Save the voicemails and screenshot the details. See our TCPA explainer, the robocall lawsuit page, and the Momentum Solar TCPA settlement for an example of a telemarketing case.