Telemarketing Software Featured Article

The Telephone Consumer Protection Act, which was first introduced in 1991 and has been amended many times, is the primary piece of legislation that governs commercial telecommunications. The law, which was first created to restrict telemarketing and the use of automated dialing equipment, now covers unsolicited messages such as “robocalls,” or outbound calls placed with dialers and recorded messages, as well as restrictions on when commercial companies may call consumers on their mobile phones.

The credit and collections industry has often chafed under the restrictions of the TCPA, particularly now that so many Americans use their mobile phones as their only phones. This year, the Federal Communications Commission (FCC (News - Alert)), which oversees the TCPA, has been petitioned by several industry groups to redefine and loosen some of the legislation’s restrictions. ACA International, an industry group for credit and collections professionals, is seeking the ability to be able to allow informational communications to mobile devices. The FCC has accepted the group’s petition, which was submitted in January, and the commission has opened a public comments period for proposals to revamp some of the restrictions, according to the Web site insideARM.

To some industry groups, however, the FCC isn’t moving speedily enough. In a letter dated August 1st of this year, 15 members of the U.S. House of Representatives asked the FCC to act on the petition from ACA International.  Specifically, ACA wants the FCC to declare that not all predictive dialers are automatic telephone dialing systems, and that a customer’s “prior express consent,” necessary to attain before a company communicates with that person, should apply to the person and all telephones he or she owns and not a single telephone number. The group also wants the FCC to establish a safe harbor that will prohibit fines if a company autodials a wrong number to a mobile device.

Credit and collections groups have long since maintained that not all outbound dialing systems are the same, and the law should recognize this fact. It’s also concerned that as more and more consumers switch to mobile phones and give up their landlines, it has become difficult for them to contact consumers about outstanding debts. In recent years, the FCC has handed out a record number of fines against companies accused of breaking the rules when using dialers or calling wireless telephones.

In a related move, Santander Consumer USA has asked the FCC to clarify the definition of “prior express consent” when it comes to making calls and sending texts to debtors. The rule dictates that companies must have a consumer’s express written consent before they can send messages or make calls to consumers with whom they have no prior business relationship.

Confusing and often conflicting rulings handed down by U.S. courts pertaining to automated dialers, unsolicited calls to mobile phones and robocalling have left the industry unsure how to proceed when it comes to collecting debts, particularly by third parties.