September 1998

Start Calling Smarter Today!

BY JERRY CERASALE, DIRECT MARKETING ASSOCIATION

The telephone marketing industry is at a crucial stage. The industry continues to face numerous attacks from state legislators - attacks that would directly restrict a marketer's ability to contact potential consumers. Telephone marketing is also confronted by angry consumer opposition. Some consumers say they do not wish to receive any calls. Consumers complain to their legislators and bills are proposed to require state do-not-call lists, to restrict hours and days, or to ban telephone solicitation entirely. Telephone marketers must respond to consumer requests not to be called again.

TPS
Telephone Preference Service (TPS) is a compilation of consumers who have requested fewer national sales calls at home, and is sponsored by the Direct Marketing Association (DMA). Consumers register with TPS by providing their name, address and telephone number to the DMA. Consumers learn about the availability of the service through state and local consumer agencies and print and broadcast media. The TPS list is available to members of the DMA and to nonmembers. Companies that subscribe to the service have the option of receiving the file every month or only once a quarter. By purchasing the TPS list, your company is agreeing to use the Direct Marketing Association Telephone Preference Service strictly for the purpose of removing consumers' names from calling lists. TPS shows consumers and legislators that the industry is being responsive to consumer requests by not calling a consumer who clearly has stated disinterest in receiving calls from telephone marketers. To order the TPS list, contact the DMA's TPS Manager by calling 202-955-5030.

Note that state do-not-call lists from Alaska, Florida, Georgia and Oregon are not included in the DMA's TPS files.

What About Federal Law?
The Telephone Consumer Protection Act (TCPA) requires telephone marketers to offer consumers in-house suppression upon request. The TCPA requires a marketer making a call to a residence to have procedures in place for maintaining a list of people who do not wish to receive further telephone solicitations from that marketer before any calls are initiated. The marketer must have a written policy for maintaining a do-not-call list; and a request to be placed on the list must be honored for 10 years from the time the request is made. The marketer must train all telephone sales personnel about the existence of the do-not-call list. When a residential subscriber asks to be placed on a do-not-call list, the marketer must record the request and place the person's name on the list at that time.

At a minimum, the written policy must include:

• Training procedures for making calls
  • inform personnel of do-not-call procedures,
  • train callers to hear the consumer's request,
  • record the do-not-call request.

• Monitoring and compliance procedures
  • establish a time frame for deletion of the number from future calling lists,
  • implement list procedures (for example, are the numbers on a separate list or are they clearly marked on the calling list?),
  • transmit do-not-call lists to clients or incorporate into the seller's list,
  • ensure that lists of persons who ask not to be called again are not transferred to any other entity without the prior express consent of the called party.

If the request is recorded or maintained by a service bureau or other party making the solicitation on behalf of a client, the client is liable for any failures to honor the do-not-call request. Since the client (marketer) is ultimately responsible for violations of the rule, the client should obtain a written policy of implementation from the service bureau and ensure that it receives do-not-call requests. The written policy should include all of the elements required of marketers making their own calls.

The Federal Trade Commission's Telemarketing Sales Rule also requires marketers to have written policies to remove residential phone subscribers from calling lists at their request.

Using TPS complements your in-house suppression file by removing in advance those consumers who have already expressed the desire not to receive any calls at home - saving your time and money, for those who may be interested.

Jerry Cerasale is the senior vice president of government affairs at the Direct Marketing Association. He is in charge of DMA's contact with Congress, all federal agencies, and state and local governments.