Each of these is a refusal this regime lets a counterparty attempt, paired with the answer to it. Reading them before you write is worth more than any amount of polish on the letter itself.
"It was not us, it was a lead generator"
high likelihoodWe did not place that call. It was made by an independent marketing partner and we are not responsible for their conduct.
What answers it
The TCPA reaches calls made "on behalf of" a seller, and the FCC has long held that a seller can be vicariously liable on ordinary federal agency principles — actual authority, apparent authority, or ratification. Ask, in writing, for the identity of the lead generator, the contract governing the campaign, and the record of the consent they say they obtained for your number. A seller that took the sale but disclaims the call has to explain how it accepted the benefit without ratifying the conduct.
"You gave consent on a website"
high likelihoodOur records show you consented to receive marketing calls when you filled in a form on [some website].
What answers it
Then ask for the record. Prior express written consent has to be a signed agreement, identifying the seller, disclosing that signing authorises automated or prerecorded marketing calls to a designated number, and disclosing that signing is not a condition of purchase. Demand the actual capture: the URL, the timestamp, the IP address, the exact disclosure text shown, and the number entered. Very often the record is a purchased lead with none of this, or a number that is not yours.
"We were trying to reach someone else"
medium likelihoodThis number was previously held by our customer. We had consent; we simply did not know it had been reassigned.
What answers it
Good faith about a reassigned number is not a defence once you have told them. Every call after your first "stop" or "wrong number" is knowingly made to a non-consenting party, and is the strongest part of your claim. Record the date you first told them.
"We have an established business relationship with you"
medium likelihoodYou are an existing customer, so the do-not-call rules do not apply to us.
What answers it
The established-business-relationship exemption to the national registry is time-limited and defeasible: it runs 18 months from your last transaction, or three months from an inquiry, and it evaporates the moment you ask them to stop. It has never been a defence to the separate prohibition on prerecorded marketing calls without prior express written consent.