With continually changing rules and regulations, having an up-to-date compliance checklist to auto dialer laws is a must for any business.
Gone were the days when customers can be contacted any time of the day and sales can be pitched without hesitation. If your business somehow involves any kind of telephone marketing or telemarketing, things have changed a lot for you over the years.
With time back, some telemarketers have been ruthless in their campaign causing annoyance and creating distrust among consumers. This constant aggression towards consumers prompted the State to pass rules to regulate the use of pre-recorded messages and auto-dialers.
Putting together a compliance checklist to auto dialer laws may be very useful to make sure complicated legislation doesn’t go off the chart.
Defining Major Auto dialer Law
The Telephone Consumer Protection Act (TCPA) was enacted in 1991. This Act helps protect the privacy of consumers and regulates unsolicited telemarketing and including the “do not call” (DNC) list all for the public’s best interest. Augmentation of this act in 2003 further prohibits businesses to proceed with any telecommunication without prior written consent from the consumer and established a centralized list to the DNC list as well as other stipulations on autodialed calls, text messages, pre-recorded messages, and unconsented faxes.
To make things even more difficult for companies, not only do they have to be aware of the rules and regulations put forward by the TCPA and Federal Communications Commission (FCC), but they also have to be diligent in being aware of new regulations and/or changes put in place. This has severely affected sales over the telephone.
Increased Auto dialer Lawsuits
Lawsuits against telemarketing companies have increased by folds and have cost some millions of dollars since the beginning of TCPA as the linguistics used in the legislation of the TCPA was vague and was difficult to interpret in court. The Act remains expressly open to interpretation but at least it began to change with the clarifications and updates made in 2013.
Therefore, an auto dialer law compliance checklist must be kept updated as the legislators continue to come up with revisions to the guidelines. The courts set no limits on the punitive charges that may be awarded when failure of compliance is proven thus telemarketers may face loss from thousands to millions of dollars, legal fees included.
Compliance to Auto dialer Laws is Key
Thankfully, there are salient points to note to help businesses avoid coming up against a brick wall. Aside from utilizing an auto dialer law compliance checklist, a couple of cloud-based software is available in the market today specially designed to comply with the TCPA rules and regulations. These kinds of software may offer specialized features like mobile and landline number differentiation and cross-referring numbers to check if consent has been obtained.
Although technological advances may help in these circumstances, it is still essential to know the rules and regulations by heart. There are still certain details that technology can’t capture and where human intervention is still best.
Following is an auto dialer laws compliance checklist that talks about the most salient points that businesses should follow. A consult with a competent TCPA or legal counselor may still be required to gain an in-depth understanding. The list is not designed as legal guidance and serves only to remind of the basic ideas.
Inclusions to Auto dialer Laws Compliance Checklist
- Call only between 8 in the morning and 9 in the evening, local time
- Keep a “do not call” (DNC) list specific to your firm or organization and honor it for five (5) years
- Adhere to provided National Do Not Call (DNC) List
- Supply the name of caller/agent, company name, and contact details such as phone number and web address where the consumer can reach your organization
- Do not use human/artificial voice recordings when contacting households or individuals without prior explicit written consent
- When calling mobile numbers, hospitals and healthcare facilities, and other channels that the consumer pays for the call, do not use auto-dialers, false voices, or voice recordings.
- If you are using a prerecorded message, be sure to include an opt-out function that will put the recipient on the DNC at their request
- Disconnect calls made if no answer is availed after 15 seconds or 4 rings, whichever is shorter
- Keep abandonment rates for calls answered by live agents for every calling campaign at 3% within 30 days (For calling campaigns lasting longer than 30 days, the counter will simply reset at the start of the next 30-day period)
- Fill in regularly on relevant updates (minimum of once a week), through a reliable news bulletin subscription or your legal counsel.
Exclusions to Audodialer Laws Compliance Checklist
As in any rule, there are always exceptions. The same goes for the TCPA, thus these exceptions are still helpful to note. Still, the rule of thumb would be to stick to the general rules when in doubt of its inclusivity.
- Manually dialed calls do not fall under TCPA regulations and autodialer laws
- Calls by tax-exempt nonprofit organizations
- Calls classified as “Urgent” calls including prescription notifications or health appointment reminders care of “covered entities” (You may visit the HIPAA website for the specifics on “covered entities”)
- Calls that are emergency in nature
- Commercial calls excluding advertisements or other requests that would constitute telephone marketing
- Non-commercial calls
A company’s goal should ultimately be its productivity. Embrace a system that can promote growth and efficient sales practices including streamlining processes from monitoring and tracking call campaigns, analysis and metrics, and other telemarketing essentials while ensuring compliance to autodialer laws in real-time.
Finally, it is important to remember that autodialer laws, primarily the TCPA, remain to be complex and at some point, open to subjective interpretations, even with several clarifications from the FCC. It is still best to consult a legal counsel when you may have questions specific to your organization or when concerned about your compliance with the TCPA. The handling of TCPA lawsuits is ever-evolving as new cases are passed through the court every day, so be always updated to protect yourself and your company’s assets.
