As you know, small businesses and “grey area” business-consumers are becoming more educated and sensitive to incoming cell communications, solicitations, and updates—especially when generated through Automatic Telephone Dialing Systems. Many times, it’s not worth the risk or hassle of potential litigation in defending these potential class action cell phone suits.
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I just spent an hour with a top home security provider's CEO – listening to why he doesn’t need to register with the National Registry and doesn’t have to check numbers before calling. Eight agents in a room serving over 1000 accounts and growing like gangbusters, but they don’t use the phone for “cold calling”, so don't need compliance protection. My friend is in one of the biggest lawsuit prone industries but doesn't care about the millions in fines for potential wrong number violations or class action suits. Most of his major competitors: Devcon, ADT, and Millennium Security have all been sued for big money in call compliance-related violations. Yet he has no State calling checks, no cell checking system, no compliance procedures. Not good.
I’ll never forget the blank stares on the faces of call center directors, chief marketing officers, lead generators, dialing companies, and Do Not Call service providers as they leave the seminar rooms after talk after talk on handling Do Not Call regulations for their businesses and customers.
Think you know how to stay compliant with the latest call prohibitions? Try doing it without scrubbing your calling lists every 30 days for landlines and 15 for cells. Imagine the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau auditing your call center without those records handy. Imagine surviving the Telephone Consumer Protection Act without scrubbing your wireless inventory against both Federal and State lists before each campaign. After over ten years of Telephone Sales Rule domination, Do-Not-Call list scrubbing is still the basis of individual and call center compliance. Here are a few tips to make sure you’ve got things buttoned up.
As FCC Chairman Tom Wheeler has passed his proposal to strengthen consumer protections and enforce the TCPA even further, thereby combining the 40 or so TCPA related proposals on his desk over the last couple of years, it makes sense to just not call previous litigators, plaintiffs and their attorneys. These are the professionals most experienced in causing call litigation and lawsuits against you. [Click Video]
Even if your compliance procedures are technically correct, calling cell phones is a pretty big risk. In the eyes of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB), the consumer is generally always right—regarding the Telephone Consumer Protection Act (TCPA), anyway. So, if a consumer gets upset and complains to the CFPB about your cell phone calling practices—whether you feel you’re in the right or not—it could cause trouble for you and your business. And, with the recent FCC Declaratory Ruling definition of Automatic Telephone Dialing System vs Manual becoming even less clear, it appears call recipients (and their lawyers) have more ways than ever to sue telemarketers.
I get a lot of calls asking this. “Bob, how do I get ahold of the DNC?” or “I’m all set with the National list, but how do I get ahold of all the State DNC lists?”
But what they really want to know is, “As a telemarketing professional, how do I stay compliant with the various Do Not Call Lists – and Laws!”
Recently, a major political robocall company said (in response to their FCC citation for violating cell phone calling prohibitions), “We are simply a service provider. We inform our customers about the (political cell phone) laws, but we cannot possibly police all of them.” Not surprisingly, that didn’t go over well. As the 2016 political calling season nears, let's take a fresh look.
You’re never going to get a Do Not Call Law Compliance Service Provider to guarantee in writing against anything that could ever happen with the FTC, FCC, State AG, or in the courts. So what exactly is the advantage of working with a 3rd party then, and what type of compliance partner should you seek out? Let’s take a look.
Years ago, when a customer said they weren’t going to buy, we as salespeople would continue talking. It was considered an objection. Something to be overcome. “Based on the information I’ve given you so far, you see no reason to buy my product, so I need to tell you more.” Now, inappropriate handling of requests not to be called can put you out of business.
