How We Address TCPA Consent Requirements
Whether you’re a first party creditor, a third party collector, or a third party data verification contact center, it is essential to comply with laws governing consumer calling.
A requirement of the TCPA, and typically a given for first party creditors, is that of obtaining prior express consent. The FCC issued a declaratory ruling in July of 2016 (viewable here: http://bit.ly/2rtBYDh) in which consent requirements were clarified:
“Non-emergency robocalls and automated texts are lawful if the caller has the consumer recipient’s prior express consent. The Commission determined that consent is required whether the call is telemarketing or not… the Commission has acknowledged that in limited cases, the mere giving of a telephone number as a contact number satisfies the consent requirement as long as the call or text is closely related to the purpose for which the consumer gave the number.”
TCPA lawsuits are costly and there is a recent trend among consumers of purposely giving permission for robocalls or automatic texts, and then withdrawing consent.
When a consumer alleges to withdraw consent but does not use the exact proper phrasing for the system to recognize it, it can be judged as an attempt to withdraw consent nonetheless. This exposes a clear need for continued proof of consent, in order to avoid TCPA lawsuits with utmost certainty.
Accutrac’s efforts to mitigate risk for both first party and third party clients come through our Phone Consent and Pinpoint Consent solutions, which account for both verifying consent and obtaining new consent. When we verify phone numbers for our clients, we also can ask for consent of further telephone communication on behalf of our client.
Call recording is another way in which we protect our clients, because if the consent is recorded, the consumer cannot bring a lawsuit against the client.
These are our solutions to the consent issue, and there are certainly other methods of reducing lawsuit risk within the industry. When it comes to TCPA law in the industry, it’s best to maintain airtight compliance, as companies are at large risk financially and in reputation during a TCPA suit.