I often wonder when companies call me about eliminating TCPA court filers from their call lists - "Why did you wait so long?" It's not whether businesses are going to be threatened with call violations - but how many times they've been. A B2B small loan magazine publisher tells me most of his advertisers are in call compliance court. A major call platform provider, for the first time, was sued for $2.88 million - the FCC saying, "You're so close to your customer, it's like you're making the calls yourself." Meaning anyone in the call chain is now liable under the new FCC. And this could have sweeping ramifications for previously safe businesses.
6 High-Risk Call Verticals Needing Litigator Scrub:
1. Call Centers calling on behalf of other companies.
As a call center, your customers have no idea how bad things can get with the DNC/TCPA laws - and how quickly it can happen. Your clients look to you as experts in the calling area. Yet you're uncomfortable making call protection promises that might come back to haunt you. One thing we can all agree on: Don't call professional consumer litigants that have previously
2. B2B small loan company calls.
These poor folks are getting killed right now. B2C lawyers have discovered B2B companies make easy targets. Calling small business websites displaying hybrid cell numbers using automated equipment is illegal under the new FCC rules of October 2013. That covers 99% of B2B's say lawyers in the know.
3. Web Form Return Calls.
A potential call-back trap. Professional consumer TCPA litigants count on you doing something wrong when following up these forms: Did you include proper consent language on the form; Does it include a "no commitment to buy" clause. Judges don't care how many times plaintiffs have sued under the statutes. Predatory attorneys will always find something. Even physical forms filled out at retail outlets like Costco have run into trouble.
4. Lead Generators.
B2B Lead Middlemen.
It's all about the trust, right? You buy a lead; you resell it to your buddy at another company. You've done it this way for years to make some extra bucks. But lately, you hear about problems. And you're caught in the middle. Your client wants to sue you when a TCPA filing shows up from your lead. And you want to sue the guy that sold you the prospect in the first place!
Political Calls, Utility Calls, Informational Calls... all need Litigator Scrub.
Yes, this is where we're at now. Traditionally exempt calling verticals having to defend themselves just like everyone else. Even if you're right, it'll still cost you $50,000 to get out of a case. And these laws are so crazily slanted in favor of the consumer at this point - who knows what a judge will rule in court. And consumers don't have to pay expenses as you do - they're probably on lawyer contingency anyway. So eliminate the pros here. They're not going to buy anything anyway. Will waste your associates valuable time and drive them crazy in the process. An easy call campaign pass getting rid of the professional filers is a no-brainer here.
For more information, give me a quick call on my personal line at 561-317-3001. We'll take a look at your particular calling nitch and check out potential problems. After they file, it's too late. Before calling the bad guys is when to take effective action! You can also email me here - Bob
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