“Why do I get so many solicitation calls on my home phone - 20 calls in the last few days - and I’ve registered for the National Registry,” says Susan Marshall, Boston, Massachusetts age 82. “I get a few calls included in my plan each month, but the telemarketers use them all up! My landline is registered with the Do Not Call List, and my daughters cell phone doesn't get alot of sales calls.” What gives? –
“So what's happening on Do Not Call with this guy,” asks the CEO of a major calling platform provider. “We kind of want to make it our clients problem, right? They send us only pre-cleaned lists. They sign off on them. They upload it to us. It’s their list, and we’re just providing the platform, right?”
The problem is, your clients will continue to look for Do Not Call and TCPA guidance from you. And as the Operations Manager of a virtual call center, fulfillment house, or call marketer - you better get clear on things you don’t want to get involved in, and how you want to direct people on call prohibitions - and the pros and cons of integrating DNC with your present systems. Because upper management needs to know what the risks are. And there’s always risk.
All professional callers know to scrub against the National Do Not Call Registry and State DNC lists. To identify and archive cell numbers before calling. (It’s the first question the CFPB, State AG’s, FTC, FCC and predatory attorneys are going to ask.) And we get the importance of vetting our method of calling depending on the number classifications involved.
Everything’s coming up cells, and the latest phone data backs that up. 40% of the population claims to have a cell as their primary form of communication. When consumers call me to complain of abusive robocall or relentless marketing techniques, the first question is always: “Do you have a landline or cell?” If it’s a landline, I’m the bearer of bad news. Nobody cares who calls them. Even if they're on a National or State Registry. All the court money is in class action cell suits now.
That's our job. Scouring the universe to help prevent the biggest problem with compliance today: Multiple vendors running for the hills when call prohibition problems occur. Like before a hurricane here in Florida. Everyone is gone. Disappeared. The fine print comes out of the woodwork, “This is an ‘as-is’ service.” or “We make no representation for DNC or TCPA compliance.” But that’s not what their marketing materials said, was it?
Business Loan Factoring, the practice of advancing cash on the basis of accounts receivable, has grown 175% per year while bank loans have declined 3%. This has led to some aggressive Business to Business call solicitations by Internet Business Loan Companies. Consumer Factoring, buying annuities for cash based on fixed settlement payments, are already being hit by the TCPA. On July 21'st, 2015 Novation Capital, a structured settlement purchaser in West Palm Beach, Fl, had a class action brought against them for suspected violations. The Factoring Ethics blog featuring industry expert Sean Bentzen, Bentzen Financial says: “We are not at all surprised that a suit of this kind finally happened. We’re just surprised it took this long!”
"My List Broker says he scrubs for Do Not Call," says Marty Turville, President of Pure Water, LLC in North Carolina*. “But I don’t know about that. He never asked us for a SAN (National List Registration), and we don't scrub for cells. And I know we’re in one of the most challenging Do Not Call States.” Marty is right to be concerned. Without proper National and State Registrations, his compliance efforts probably won’t hold up in court. Worse, judges can take that as a sign you’re trying to circumvent the laws. Changing $500 non-intentional fines, into $1500 intentional fines. Per incident. And potential class actions in the millions.
So you’re not a calling expert. Maybe you just need to motivate a few voters to the election booth. Maybe you're just calling folks back. Or not quite sure of the difference between "informational" and "telemarketing" calls, or which one you're doing exactly. But you know proper compliance can make a difference in potential legal issues and fines. You know it makes sense to find call protections for your small phone team. But how can you limit compliance expenses and still get top DNC TCPA safeguards in place when making just a few calls?
Wow! – Is this list ripe for predatory consumer TCPA Attorney attacks or what? The FCC just published here the latest companies that have received consumer complaints. Why publish the list at all? Seems to harken back to the days of tar and feathering in the town square. Hanging folks up on the pillory with the shackles. But definitely a deterrent to running afoul of the DNC and TCPA laws! How the heck can we stay off this list?
Has the owner of the cell number you’re about to call changed? As a call center manager of permission-based communications, you can’t be entirely sure! About 25% of cell phone owners located in densely populated areas change their number each year. About a quarter of CFPB debt collector consumer complaints are for “no debt owed,” and most of those seem to be to the wrong party. And the FCC’s Declaratory Ruling of July 10th, 2015 confirmed: If a phone number has been reassigned, companies must stop calling the number after one attempt.
