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It's The Law: Complying With
Do-Not-Call Legislation
By Donovan Bezer
By now, unless you've been living on another planet, you must know
about state do-not-call laws. Enacted back in 1991, the federal Telephone
Consumer Protection Act (TCPA) was straightforward, and even if
telemarketers did not like the TCPA, they understood how to comply with it.
Eleven years later, compliance is not even remotely as simple as it once
was. Welcome to the post-TCPA universe of telemarketing.
Today, 26 states have passed do-not-call legislation, and each of the
other 24 states is in the process of doing the same. The costs of
non-compliance vary from state to state. In Oregon, a single do-not-call
violation can draw a fine as high as $25,000, and Nevada can assess up to
$50,000 per call for repeat violations. Louisiana sets maximum fines much
lower ($3,000 for senior citizens, $1,500 for people under age 65), but
requires telemarketers to post a $20,000 surety bond before calling anyone
in the state. Determining how to achieve full compliance should be important
to every business that uses the telephone to generate customers.
At a bare minimum, to avoid violating any of the multitude of state
do-not-call laws, call center managers should keep three things in mind.
First, join a trade association (if you have not already done so). The
Direct Marketing Association (DMA) offers consumers a free 'Telephone
Preference Services' (TPS) to request the removal of their numbers from
callings lists, has a prominent national do-not-call list, and is the
biggest and best-funded trade organization for call centers. The American
Telemarketing Association (ATA) also represents and serves reputable
telemarketing professionals, as does the Electronic Retailing Association.
Second, the TCPA is not obsolete, so continue complying with it.
Companies still need to compile their own internal do-not-call lists.
Moreover, call centers can use their TCPA do-not-call policy for the states
that require telemarketers to keep a do-not-call policy on hand for state
residents who request it. Third, keep in close contact with the relevant
agencies in the states in which your call center contacts the public. Get
new lists as soon as they are available; many states want telemarketers to
update their do-not-call databases quarterly.
Options
Many companies choose to outsource their do-not-call functions. Several
firms have risen to the task of providing assistance in complying with the
state laws. For a price, call centers can enlist the help of any one of
these companies.
Gryphon (www.gryphonnetworks.com)
Founded in 1995, Gryphon is a provider of a network-delivered do-not-call
compliance service. The technology behind Gryphon's real-time blocking of
do-not-call numbers is patented and network-delivered (i.e., comes through
the phone company). Whenever an employee or auto-dialing program attempts to
call a prohibited number, the call center employee hears the following
intercept message: 'You've reached a do-not-call-restricted number.
Please call a different number.' In a case where an employee subsequently
places an allowable call, but the called party asks not to be called again,
all the caller-employee need do is press the pound button, then zero.
Hitting #0 instantly blocks the customer's phone number and prevents all
phone reps from calling that telephone number.
DNCSolution (www.dncsolution.com
/ www.possiblenow.com)
DNCSolution is a Web-based toolkit that manages the different state and
private DNC databases and subscription requirements, eliminates do-not-call
numbers from outbound calling campaigns and provides Web-based agent
training. There is no need for call centers to change long-distance
providers or integrate any hardware or software to use the service.
PossibleNow provides a binder of state and federal laws, registration and
bonding requirements, and also offers a legal defense service to assist
customers with legal costs associated with compliance defense. Time is also
the enemy; in many cases there is no grace period to comply with DNC laws.
Therefore, PossibleNow designed DNCSolution to instantly deploy into
customers' operations. The list scrubbing service allows telemarketers to
process their campaigns minutes before the calling begins.
TeleBlock/Call Compliance (callcompliance.com)
The people at Call Compliance, Inc., with its flagship product TeleBlock,
acknowledge that the most difficult part of complying with DNC regulations
is taking the secured DNC lists and merging and purging them against a lead
database on an ongoing basis. If your compliance strategy is limited to list
scrubbing, they warn, the risk of incurring fines is far from eliminated.
Therefore, Call Compliance offers a software solution to automatically block
calls to DNC numbers. If the number dialed appears on any DNC list, the call
is blocked and a 'restricted' number message is supplied. TeleBlock
works through the public network, so a local or long-distance company can
add the TeleBlock service to their existing network providing their
customers with a value-added solution. No additional hardware is required,
and TeleBlock is available to both local and long-distance carriers wishing
to participate. Call Compliance also provides the tools necessary to
demonstrate compliance with the pertinent governing bodies.
Alpha Omega Consulting Group (www.aocg.com)
Alpha Omega Consulting Group has developed software that enables its
customers to download state DNC files and perform a 'reverse merge,'
removing the do-not-call subscribers from the contact database. The company
warns that while some mailing list vendors insist their databases are DNC
compliant, do-not-call lists change constantly. For this reason, AOCG offers
a one-time software change that fully automates the removal of the DNC
subscribers from the contact database.
Sarrick Systems ' Direct Market Pro (www.directmarketpro.com)
Sarrick Systems' Direct Market Pro is a dialing program for small
telemarketing operations. The software compares a firm's database to the
DNC list, and then automatically removes the offending names. Direct Market
Pro accumulates the names that have been removed, so call centers can go
back to the list vendor and receive a credit.
Red Clay Media ' 'Do Not Call Scrubbing' (www.redclaymedia.com)
Red Clay Media acquires the latest updates to all state and Direct Marketing
Association DNC lists and provides its clients various levels of update
options, ranging from monthly to 80 times a year. The company offers
services for list compiling and scrubbing, quick turnaround FTP transfer,
and corporate 'A' list maintenance and management. Red Clay also
maintains records of all files to ensure continued compliance and keeps
customers abreast of federal and state DNC policies.
SSA/Data Clustering Engine (www.searchsoftware.com)
Search Software America's 'Data Clustering Engine' was designed to
perform identity searching and matching by comparing names and addresses.
The program is sophisticated enough to be overkill for all but the largest
telemarketing operations.
Anchor Computer (www.anchorcomputer.com)
Anchor Computer is a supplier of software and data processing services to
the telemarketing industry. The company offers a range of address hygiene,
data enhancement, data appending, merge/purge, data modeling and document
personalization software and services.
The Do-It-Yourself Option
On the other hand, you may be thinking about handling do-not-call compliance
in-house. Outsourcing providers urge it's just not worth it. Anchor
Computer's Paul Lacey says compliance 'burns up a lot of time ' the
call center should probably dedicate one full-time position to ascertain
each state's specific telemarketing requirements, register with every
state the company calls, purchase all the states' updated lists and update
them immediately.' AOCG's Mike Burch adds, 'The level of expertise
required to take two unrelated databases and remove ALL records appearing in
the DNC database from the contact database is beyond the ability of most
non-programmers.'
Although it is possible to filter out the DNC subscribers manually, doing
so is a cumbersome and error-prone process. Furthermore, even when the
process is working correctly, a minor change in the format of either
database can cause the process to 'break.' Worse still, no error message
will be generated, so the user is likely to assume the process is working.
Many telemarketers work with several contact databases, which must be
handled differently, thus multiplying the likelihood of error. For example,
a solution designed for a flat ASCII file will not work with an Access
database
According to do-not-call legal experts, a good choice for call centers is
an in-house administered program that integrates the various state lists
with the company's own consumer-specific list and possibly the DMA's
telephone preference service. Unless the call center controls its own DNC
compliance program, it will be dependant on an outsourcer to follow-through.
Nonetheless, handling compliance in-house is obviously a very expensive and
time-consuming process. While outsourcing is probably the most economical
option across the board, each call center should carefully evaluate its
needs and capabilities before committing to an extensive relationship with a
do-not-call solution provider.
Looking Ahead
Do-not-call laws might actually end up helping the telemarketing industry.
JHA Telemanagement's president Jon Hamilton is encouraged that the trend
will force call centers to 'target and train phone reps better' to weed
out the poor prospects. 'From a best practices standpoint,' opines Paul
Lacey, 'DNC laws make sense for all of us in the direct marketing
industry. Why try to reach people who do not have any interest at all in
being reached through that particular medium?' For good or for ill,
multitudes of citizens are asking not to be called. In the post-TCPA
universe of telemarketing, compliance will not be simple, but will be very
necessary.
Donovan Bezer is a telecom consultant and former auditor of the 1996
Telecom Act. He recently graduated from Rutgers Law School and welcomes any
feedback via dbezer@hotmail.com.
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