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Negotiation prep sheet for a TCPA demand letter
Can you negotiate a TCPA demand letter? Usually, yes. The demand is an opening figure, and the terms around it are as negotiable as the number. This sheet is what you fill in before the first conversation about money, whether you or your lawyer is having it. If you cannot complete the first five fields, you are not ready for that conversation.
How to use the figures
The sender's demand sits somewhere between the $500 floor for the listed calls and the trebled figure. Your walk-away sits somewhere between the demand and your defence cost. The space between your walk-away and the demand is the negotiation. If there is no space, because the demand is already below what defending would cost and your weakest point is bad, the negotiation is about terms and timing, not the number. In that position settling is the answer, and the rest of this sheet is about getting the release right.
The whole-campaign figure is on the sheet so that you know it. It never leaves the sheet. A sender who does not yet know your campaign size has priced the demand on the listed calls. Nothing you say in a negotiation should change that.
What to say first
Not a number. The first conversation is about facts and terms. What do they hold: recordings, logs, registry evidence? What would the release cover: the listed numbers only, or all calls in the period, and which of your entities? Is there a payment schedule? Only once you know what you would be buying do you talk about what it costs.
Terms that matter more than the figure
| Term | What to look for |
|---|---|
| Release scope | All claims arising from calls or texts to the listed numbers, and ideally to any number, for a defined period, for every named entity and its owners and staff. |
| No admission | Express wording that payment is not an admission of liability or of any fact. |
| Confidentiality | Both ways. No public statement, no docket entry if nothing is filed. |
| Payment terms | A schedule if you need one. What happens on a missed instalment, in writing. |
| Dismissal | If a case was filed, dismissal with prejudice on payment. |
| Future conduct | Avoid open-ended promises about your marketing that you cannot monitor. Agree not to contact the listed numbers; that you can keep. |
After the conversation
Write down what was offered, what was asked, and what was agreed, the same day. Nothing is settled until it is in a signed agreement. Add every date to the timeline sheet.
Short answers
Can a TCPA demand be negotiated down?
Often. The demand is usually a discount on the statutory figure for the listed calls, and the sender has priced in certainty and speed. The number moves most when you can show a documented defence for some of the listed calls, or when terms such as scope and schedule are traded for figure.
Should I offer a lower amount in my first reply?
No. The first reply asks what they hold and what a release would cover. A figure from you before that sets the floor for the negotiation at whatever you said.
What should the release cover?
At least all claims from calls or texts to the listed numbers for the period, for every entity, owner and employee involved. Where your campaign is larger than the letter, ask for a release that covers the practice, not just the listed numbers, and expect to pay for that breadth.
Can I pay in instalments?
It is common to ask and often agreed. Get the schedule, the consequence of a missed payment, and the timing of the release in writing. Some agreements release on final payment, some on signing.
Do I have to stop all outbound marketing as part of a settlement?
Not as a matter of law. Avoid promising conduct you cannot monitor. Agreeing not to contact the listed numbers is normal; agreeing to never run outbound again is not, and a settlement is not the place to redesign your marketing. The fix list is.