Recent changes to the Telephone Consumer Protection Act (TCPA) have thrown a wrench into the gears that is automatic dialing and contact center operations. The Federal Communications Commission has ruled that nearly any electronic device can be considered an autodialer and have addressed the manner in which companies are allowed to contact customers – both of which directly affect industry practices – so it’s not surprising that many enterprises and legal groups have begun to challenge that authority.
In the meantime, companies such as LocateSmarter are helping enterprises work around those regulations and helping them reduce the risk of completing their everyday operations. The software developer, which focuses on the accounts receivable and collections markets, has announced the launch of its new voice-over-IP (VoIP) identification service. As part of the service, enterprises can freely access daily-updated databases and match their calling lists against those numbers. Any that show up as a VoIP number could represent a higher risk of calling, so they can be scrubbed from such calling lists to keep businesses in the clear.
Chad Benson, the president of LocateSmarter, commented on the amount money associated with lawsuits concerning the TCPA. He mentioned that his company’s service, which currently costs less than $2,000 a year, is a “cost-effective way to reduce risk.” Given that lawsuits can run into the tens of thousands of dollars, a surefire method of identifying hazardous numbers could be well worth that added business expense.
Many companies have replaced their basic phone systems for unified communications platforms that handle voice, video, text, email, and many other methods of reaching customers. Even with all those new types of contact, automatic dialers can still make it easy for call centers to reach their customers, so computerized dialing remains in widespread use within enterprises.
The problem with that continued use, as it relates to the TCPA, is that the new regulations have made it illegal for companies to use an autodialer to contact any consumer without his or her direct consent. It also gives consumers more power to revoke their consent at any time. The TCPA’s new definition of an automatic dialer mentions any device that has the capability of automatically dialing a number, so it is likely that any active method of dialing will fall under those guidelines.
The use of unified communications platforms will play a strong role in this week’s ITEXPO (News - Alert). Companies will not be willing to let them pass; their call centers have used them with great success and do not intend to let new regulations bog down their operations. While the regulating bodies and enterprises continue to stand against one another in the fight for customer protection and ease of business practices, LocateSmarter will find itself in the mix as a mediator that can help prevent any unwanted effects of the new laws.
Edited by Rory J. Thompson