SUBSCRIBE TO TMCnet
TMCnet - World's Largest Communications and Technology Community

CHANNEL BY TOPICS


QUICK LINKS




Predictive Dialer Users Beware, Fines will Find You if You Don't Follow the Rules

TMCnews Featured Article


September 18, 2012

Predictive Dialer Users Beware, Fines will Find You if You Don't Follow the Rules

By Jamie Epstein, TMCnet Web Editor


Predictive dialers are used by many technology savvy companies to spread the word about their brand and continuously expand their customer base. However, when this dialer technology is not used in line with the many rules set forth by the Federal Trade Commission and those who have banded together and signed the Do Not Call Registry, it can negatively affect any organization and cause customers to run to a competitor.


There is nothing worse than be contacted about a product or solution that couldn’t be farther from interest to you right as you finally manage to get your entire family together for a relaxing dinner after a long day. And that is one of the main factors behind this registry being created, allowing people to request to be taken off all telemarketing lists once and for all as these calls can cause some unneeded frustration in some people’s busy lives.

However, it looks like some firms aren’t adhering to rigorous mandates in regards to baring calls to those on this list as recently released government statistics are highlighting that robocall complaints have increased from about 65,000 in October 2010 to over 212,000 this April. In addition, complaints from people asking a telemarketer to stop calling them also ramped up during that period, from approximately 71,000 to 182,000, a piece on the CBS website revealed.

Robert Madison from Kansas is one of these extremely irritated individuals who just wants some peace and quiet and has revealed that he receives calls from this dialer technology almost every single day, advising him of ways he can lower his interest rates."I am completely fed up," Madison said in a statement. "I've repeatedly asked them to take me off their call list."

What are the next steps someone like Madison can take whose number has been on the Do Not Call list for years? He has decided to get in touch with the Federal Trade Commission in order to voice his concerns.

Although telemarketers are required to closely analyze the growing list at least every 31 days for any new numbers that may have been added during that time, some are just ignoring this rule all together. Comparing 2007 to last year, we see that 65,000 telemarketers checked the list during that time while only about 34,000 looked it over as-of-late.

When asked about the rising number of complaints being received, Lois Greisman, associate director of the FTC’s (News - Alert) Marketing Practices Division responded that she believes the registry is “absolutely working” but that the large number of robocalls “creates a challenge for us.”While in previous years only a select amount of corporation’s leveraged prerecorded messages, many organizations are now turning to predictive dialers as they can see many benefits including reduced costs, improved efficiency and the overall streamlining of operations. This in turn has caused the number or companies that aren’t following legislation to rise dramatically.

The only way neglectful businesses will finally get the point that adhering to these important outlines aren’t optional is when they receive a hefty fine like Talbots, DirecTV (News - Alert) and Dish Network, who have all seen some pretty severe repercussions for their actions which have added up to nearly $5.6 million in penalties.

SpitFire can help your company fall in line with these inflexible rules as its Enterprise Predictive Dialer is touted as being fully compliant with all telemarketing regulations.

To learn more about the company’s next-generation offering, click here.

Want to learn more about the latest in communications and technology? Then be sure to attend ITEXPO West 2012, taking place Oct. 2-5, in Austin, TX. Stay in touch with everything happening at ITEXPO (News - Alert). Follow us on Twitter.




Edited by Amanda Ciccatelli







Technology Marketing Corporation

2 Trap Falls Road Suite 106, Shelton, CT 06484 USA
Ph: +1-203-852-6800, 800-243-6002

General comments: [email protected].
Comments about this site: [email protected].

STAY CURRENT YOUR WAY

© 2024 Technology Marketing Corporation. All rights reserved | Privacy Policy