That's been the problem with making businesses responsible for consumer cell changes, right? Where the heck
The problem with reassigned number altercations is they're usually combined with other charges like express consent proof, written permissions and where that lead came from in the first place. Tracking the original prospect source has become the #1 issue with TCPA defense attorneys today: "Lead verifications that will hold up in court are like chasing rabbits down a rabbit hole!" they say. And reassigns are right there in the middle.
Companies continue to underestimate their liability exposure under the TCPA. Smart firms like Dun & Bradstreet settling a 10.5 million TCPA Class Action in California - accused of sending inappropriate texts to plaintiffs without permission. Or Auto-Owners Insurance Company not covering their client’s 2 million dollar TCPA lawsuit for sending unsolicited faxes. And B2B companies continuing to insist they are exempt from everything.
If you’re in the debt collection game, you’ve watched as your competitors slowly consolidate or go out of business altogether. You’ve seen Capitol One’s outsourced collectors get hit with a 75 million dollar suit for lack of Express Consent. You’ve witnessed the CFPB’s initial request when auditing your competitors: “Where are your cell phone records.” And maybe you know first-hand how previous TCPA, FDCPA, FCPA and CFPB complainants are one big happy family – in a kind of crazy way. Not to mention the class action penalties for calling the wrong person, now called "Reassigned Numbers Scrubs."
It happened again to JP Morgan Chase. Another bank with reassigned number problems. Although they had Express Consent from their customers to call Chase deposit accounts, several of the parties reached were different from those Chase had permission to call – because the wireless numbers had been reissued to new owners. One new owner said she received over 50 calls from after purchasing a new cell phone and number.
You may have seen the testimony of Snapping Shoals Electrical Cooperative in front of the House Committee TCPA meeting last week. Snapping was named in a reassigned number lawsuit over pay-as-you-go billing confirmations through automatically generated cell calls and text messages. Apparently, several non-profit Electrical Cooperatives offer similar billing conveniences, allowing customers to make small $5 to $10 deposits. So LOTS of illegal calls can be generated to clients in a very short period here if the number has changed. In the case of Snapping Shoals, over 500 illegal reassigned number calls.
“Please excuse the call. I have the wrong number. You’re definitely not the person that gave our company permission to call.” Seems like a simple thing, right? Not so fast. As a company serious about keeping up with customer permissions, you need to know about Reassigned Numbers. You may be surprised to learn that transferred cell numbers to new owners are your responsibility. About 20% of owners change each year. And as your call volumes go up – the chances of making a mistake go up too. And can cause you a world of financial hurt.
With the FCC's order last year re-interpreting an already confusing Telephone Consumer Protection Act, we thought they might take back the Reassigned Numbers statute - as it was difficult for businesses to keep track of number changes on consent calls. We also felt it would be tough to make a class action out of something that wasn’t. Meaning Reassigns are a “not that” number. But neither has happened. Looking back – what could the FCC have done but declare companies placing the calls responsible for reassigns. So reassigned suits and class actions have doubled down lately - with no further relief in sight.
Four witnesses testified at last Friday's House meeting on modernizing the Telephone Consumer Protection Act. The issue: New phone legislations continue to miss the "bad actors" only to end up challenging legitimate companies trying to follow the laws. The best and latest thoughts here? New technology catching spammers via call "signatures" on both ends of a call seems to hold the most promise. Much like email spam filtering, you're catching them in the act, rather than chasing after the fact!
It’s easy for businesses to get confused on these two critical compliance issues.
Both procedures are important when reaching out to existing customers and prospects. Both exist because of the FCC’s attempts to clarify enforcement of the Telephone Consumer Protection Act. And both can be confusing to businesses and call center managers. So let’s take a peek together. Before some hotshot attorney or Government Authority does it for you!
