Spectrum customers who received unsolicited automated telemarketing calls may be entitled to compensation under federal law. Two active lawsuits—Hicks v. Charter Communications and Anderson v. Charter Communications—allege that Charter Communications, which operates Spectrum, violated the Telephone Consumer Protection Act (TCPA) by placing unauthorized sales calls using automated equipment.
Under TCPA law, eligible class members can claim between $500 and $1,500 per unwanted robocall, though the final per-person payout depends on how many total claims are filed in the settlement. For context, if you received five unsolicited Spectrum promotional calls without prior written consent, you could potentially claim damages ranging from $2,500 to $7,500 once a settlement is finalized and approved. We’ll also explain the TCPA violations at the heart of these cases and compare them to past Spectrum settlements that have already paid out millions to customers.
Table of Contents
- What Are the Active Spectrum Telemarketing Lawsuits?
- How Much Can You Claim Under TCPA Law?
- Understanding TCPA Violations and Consent Requirements
- Who Is Eligible to File a Claim?
- Why Settlement Amounts Vary and What to Expect
- Past Spectrum Settlements and What They Paid Out
- Current Status and Timeline for Settlement
What Are the Active Spectrum Telemarketing Lawsuits?
Two pending lawsuits are the primary focus for Spectrum customers seeking compensation for unwanted calls. Hicks v. Charter Communications alleges that Spectrum uses third-party vendors to place unsolicited automated sales calls without obtaining prior express written consent from customers—a direct violation of federal TCPA rules. The case was initially moving through the court system but was moved to arbitration in September 2025, meaning the dispute is now being resolved outside of public court proceedings rather than in front of a judge or jury.
Anderson v. Charter Communications follows a similar pattern, claiming that Spectrum used automated telemarketing equipment to place unwanted marketing calls beginning in 2015 and continuing for years. Unlike Hicks, the specific status of Anderson regarding arbitration or settlement hasn’t been finalized, but both cases address the same core issue: customers receiving robocalls for Spectrum services without having authorized the calls in writing. The key difference between these two lawsuits is their current procedural status—Hicks is further along in the arbitration process, while Anderson may still be in earlier settlement discussions.
How Much Can You Claim Under TCPA Law?
The Telephone Consumer Protection Act sets statutory damages of $500 to $1,500 per violation—meaning per unwanted call. This is a federal floor that courts apply consistently across all TCPA cases, and Spectrum customers are entitled to claim within this range for each qualifying call they received. So if you can document receiving 10 unsolicited Spectrum promotional calls, your theoretical claim could range from $5,000 to $15,000 before any settlement adjustment. However, there’s an important limitation: the final per-person payout is divided among all class members who submit valid claims.
If 100,000 Spectrum customers file claims in a $50 million settlement, the available payout pool shrinks significantly for each person. This is why past Spectrum settlements have resulted in varying payouts. For example, Charter/Spectrum previously paid $62.5 million in bill credits and free services to New York customers over service quality issues, and $18.8 million (with $16.9 million in direct restitution) to customers for misleading advertising claims about predecessor Time Warner Cable. In both cases, customers’ individual payouts depended entirely on claim volume and eligibility verification.
Understanding TCPA Violations and Consent Requirements
The TCPA violations alleged in both the Hicks and Anderson lawsuits hinge on a specific legal requirement: Charter/Spectrum allegedly placed automated sales calls without obtaining prior express written consent from customers. This doesn’t mean a casual phone call—it specifically refers to calls made using automated equipment (robocalls) or prerecorded messages for telemarketing purposes. The law explicitly prohibits such calls unless the customer has signed a written agreement authorizing them.
Spectrum customers may qualify for claims if they received promotional calls about internet, TV, mobile, or other Spectrum services via automated systems without having signed a document consenting to those calls. For example, if Spectrum’s vendor called you multiple times with a recorded message about switching to Spectrum internet, and you had never authorized those calls in writing, each of those calls would constitute a violation. Importantly, simply being a Spectrum customer doesn’t mean you consented to marketing calls—consent must be documented in writing and must be specific to automated calls, not just a general service agreement.
Who Is Eligible to File a Claim?
Eligibility for the Spectrum telemarketing settlements generally includes individuals who received unsolicited automated sales calls from Charter Communications (operating as Spectrum) without prior express written consent. You do not need to currently be a Spectrum customer to qualify—the claims apply to anyone who was contacted by automated systems promoting Spectrum services, regardless of whether they ever became customers. The critical evidence for eligibility is documentation of the unwanted calls.
This can include phone records showing the calls, voicemails left by Spectrum vendors, dates and times of the calls, and details about what the calls were promoting. When a settlement is approved, the claims process will typically allow customers to submit affidavits or sworn statements describing the calls if they don’t have detailed phone records. However, the more specific your documentation (call dates, number of times called, type of service being promoted), the stronger your claim and the more likely it is to be approved without requiring additional verification.
Why Settlement Amounts Vary and What to Expect
The reason Spectrum settlement payouts are unpredictable has to do with the structure of class action settlements. The defendant (Charter/Spectrum) and the plaintiffs’ attorneys negotiate a total settlement fund—say, $40 million. From that fund, a portion goes to lawyers’ fees, administration costs, and potentially a settlement-approved claims administrator. What remains is divided among all class members who submit valid claims.
If 50,000 claims are approved, each person gets a larger share; if 500,000 claims are approved, each person gets less. This means you could see anything from a few hundred dollars to several thousand dollars per claim, depending on how many of your fellow Spectrum customers also file. Additionally, if a settlement requires proof of claims (submitting documentation of the specific calls you received), some claims may be rejected if customers can’t provide sufficient evidence, which further affects the available payout pool. Because the Hicks case is now in arbitration, the final settlement structure and payout mechanism haven’t been publicly announced yet—those details will be disclosed once a settlement agreement is reached.
Past Spectrum Settlements and What They Paid Out
Spectrum has faced telemarketing and consumer protection litigation before, offering insight into what current settlements might look like. In one settlement, New York customers received $62.5 million in bill credits and free services related to service quality and broadband speed misrepresentations. In another, Charter/Spectrum settled a case involving misleading advertising for $18.8 million, with $16.9 million going directly to customers in restitution.
In both cases, individual payouts ranged from under $100 to several thousand dollars depending on the claims filed. These past settlements show that Spectrum is willing to settle consumer protection claims with meaningful compensation, though the payouts are heavily dependent on claim volume. They also illustrate that settlements often include non-cash remedies like service credits alongside direct cash payments. If the current telemarketing cases settle similarly, customers might see a combination of bill credits (applied automatically) and optional cash payments (requiring a claim).
Current Status and Timeline for Settlement
As of March 2026, the Hicks v. Charter Communications case is proceeding through arbitration after being stayed (paused) in court in September 2025. Arbitration typically moves faster than court litigation, so a settlement or arbitration award could potentially be finalized within the next 6–18 months, though exact timelines are difficult to predict. The Anderson v.
Charter Communications case status is less certain publicly, but both cases are actively progressing toward resolution. Once a settlement is approved, customers will be notified through mail, email, or a dedicated settlement website with instructions for filing claims. The notice will specify the deadline for submitting claims, which is typically 60–120 days from the notice date. Missing the deadline usually means forfeiting your right to compensation, so it’s critical to monitor for official settlement notifications and act quickly once claims open.
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