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TRANSCRIPT
Outbound Calling Guide for 2012
Compliance Webinar
February 8, 2012
Joseph Sanscrainte
Law Office of
Joseph W. Sanscrainte
212-626-6934
Compliance Webinar
Ryan Thurman
Director of Sales & Marketing
866-362-5478 ext. 116
Contact Center Compliance Solutions
DNC Scrub
Training Master
Compliance Guide
Data Enhancement
Agenda
The FY 2011 National Do Not Call Registry Data Book Highlights
A review of political “robocall” rules
FTC Business Opportunity Rule
Hot topics: Cell Phone Calling Rules and Questions
� DNC List Size: 209,722,924
� State DNC lists: 13 states with 4.5 million unique numbers
� Wireless Carrier Block and NeuStar required for dialer calls
� (203,307,749 with valid area codes)
� 8,180,389 numbers added in FY 2011 (lowest increase since 2003)
� Removing about 10% of disconnected numbers monthly
� State Rankings Top 10
� NH, CO, MA, CT, DE, KS, NJ, MN, MD, NE
� Data on Registrations
FY 2007 FY 2008 FY 2009 FY 2010 FY 2011Entities Who Paid 6,242 4,618 3,923 3,383 3,2015 or Fewer Area Codes 59,337 46,559 40,406 34,206 31,240Exempt Entities 801 1,107 1,002 680 728
The FY 2011 National Do Not Call Registry Data Book
� FTC Consumer Complaints
� Handled 11.1 million cumulative complaints last year
� Total of 2.2 million complaints last fiscal year
� Still receiving the bulk of complaints against pre-recorded “robocalls”
� Separate complaint process now in effect for Robocalls
� 1st half of 2011: Number of complaints on Robocalls exceeds all of 2010 (800,000 Complaints)
� Asked the industry for help with Robocall issue
� FTC pursuing dialing platforms, resellers/brokers and uses of illegal robocall applications
The FY 2011 National Do Not Call Registry Data Book
� Recent enforcement summary
� 2-8: FTC Shuts Down Robocallers Who Claimed to Reduce Credit Card Interest Rates ($13.1 million judgment, defendants paid $159,000)
� 2-3: FTC Action Halts Telemarketers Who Sold Bogus Credit Cards
� Americall Group, Inc Internal DNC violations
� Facebook FTC privacy settlement
� Overall historical enforcement
� FTC has brought 79 DNC cases with over $40 million in fines
� Over $500 million in awards
� States also aggressively enforcing DNC and EBR rules
� Consumer lawsuits and increased class actions (TCPA)
� Supreme Court rules TCPA cases can be filed in Federal Court
• Political “robo” calls are regulated in many states
• Look out for bans on such calls!
• 1 state requires a live person introduction before delivery of a robo-call
• 9 states require prior consent
• Some states have time restrictions for robo-calls
• All political calls (live and automated) must adhere to federal and state disclosure rules
• Robo-calls are NOT calls made by that robot from Lost in Space
ROBOCALL BANS
• Arkansas: “It shall be unlawful for any person to use a telephone for the purpose . . . of soliciting information, gathering data, or for any other purpose in connection with a political campaign when such use involves an automated system for the selection and dialing of telephone numbers and the playing of recorded messages . . .”
• Maryland: “A person may not use an automated dialing . . . system with a prerecorded message to . . . conduct a poll.”
• Wyoming: “No person shall use an automated telephone system for the selection and dialing of telephone numbers and playing of recorded messages if a message is completed to the dialed number, for purposes of . . . promoting or any other use related to a political campaign.”
LIVE OPERATOR REQUIRED
• Montana: “A person may not use an ADAD . . . for the selection and dialing of telephone numbers and playing of recorded messages if a message is completed to the dialed number for the purpose of . . . promoting a political campaign or any use related to a political campaign. . . . This section does not prohibit the use of an ADAD . . . if the permission of the called party is obtained by a live operator before the recorded message is delivered.
OTHER ISSUES
“Prior consent” states: California, Indiana, Kentucky, Minnesota, Mississippi, New Jersey, North Dakota, Tennessee, Minnesota, Mississippi, Kentucky, South Carolina
Specific Disclosures Required: Idaho, Kentucky, Maine, Minnesota, Montana, Nebraska, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, North Dakota, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, Washington
AND THE FCC! 1) state clearly the identity of the business, individual, or other entity that is responsible for initiating the call; and, 2) during or after the message, state clearly the telephone number (other than that of the autodialeror prerecorded message player that placed the call) of such entity
Add’l Notes: CA rules only apply to INTRA-state calls (and maybe NJ too); KY allows for keypad consent prior to playing the robocall; NH requires scrubbing out DNC numbers; ME, MD, and TN rules only apply to polling robo-calls
• Other considerations:
– “nature/purpose of the call” disclosure required?
– beginning AND ending disclosures required? (see KY)
– address disclosure required?
– time requirements for such disclosures?
– disclose that the message will solicit funds? (see ND, MN)
– state that the call is a recording? (see Montana)
TIME RESTRICTIONS
• Indiana, Maine, Montana, Nebraska, Oregon, South Carolina, Texas, West Virginia
• Default time period for these states combined:
– 9 AM to 7 PM Monday – Saturday
– Noon – 9 PM Sundays
• Other considerations:
– Maine – 9 AM to 5 PM weekdays (no calls on weekends)
– only one call per person during each such 8 hour period
– only applies to calls “to gather data or statistics or solicit information” (i.e. polling!)
PERMIT ISSUES
• Georgia: permit required (but only if calls originating in the state)
• Kentucky: permit from AG + $10k bond
• Nebraska: fill out form only – no payment required
• New Hampshire: Registration with AG required
• Tennessee: registration required under statute – BUT –no rules have been developed so not required in practice
• Texas: Permit required
FTC BUSINESS OPP RULE• Effective March 1, 2012
• Replaces “interim business opportunity rule”
• Joe, what’s the FTC’s definition of “business opportunity”?
. . . a commercial arrangement in which: 1) a seller solicits a prospect to
enter into a new business; and 2) the prospect makes a required
payment; and 3) the seller represents that the seller will:
i) provide locations for displays, vending machines, or similar devices
owned or in some way controlled by the purchaser; or
ii) provide outlets, accounts or customers; or
iii) buy back the goods or services that purchaser produces.
• Joe, what if I’M a business opportunity? What happens then?
The “Disclosure Document”! A form created by the FTC that requires the seller to provide the following information to the prospect at least seven days before any contract is signed or money is paid:
• Identifying/contact information
• Whether or not “earnings claims” are being made, and if so, supporting information on a form entitled “Earnings Claim Statement Required by Law”
• Whether the seller, its affiliates, or key personnel have been the subject of an action for fraud or deceptive practices within the prior ten years;
• Cancellation or refund policy;
• Last but not least – a list of all people who purchased the business opportunity within the prior three years. BUT – if there’s more than 10 such people, the seller may choose to limit this disclosure to 10 purchasers within the past three years who are located nearest to the prospective purchasers location.
Stay current
– New laws – don’t become the example!
– ftc.gov and fcc.gov
– Industry Trade Groups (ATA, SOCAP, DMA)
– Compliance Guide
– Industry Newsletters (CCC, NAAG)
– LinkedIn Discussion Groups
– Contact Center Compliance Officer’s Forum
Ryan Thurman
866-362-5478 ext. 116
Joseph Sanscrainte
212-626-6934
Contact Center Compliance Solutions
DNC Scrub
Training Master
Compliance Guide
Data Enhancement