reach, recruit & enroll the right students...1. authorizes seller to deliver or cause delivery...
TRANSCRIPT
Understanding & Responding to TCPA Changes
September 24, 2013
Reach, Recruit & Enroll the Right Students
The leading provider of digital marketing solutions to higher education.
The leading cloud-based conversational analytics solution for improving agent performance across all contact channels by automating performance management.
Jeff Herz: Director, Operations and Compliance
Jason Napierski: Product Marketing Manager
Regulatory • TCPA regulation updates
• Potential penalties • Controversies
Transparency • CUnet policies
• CallMiner
Quality • Benefits to marketers
• Benefits to affiliates
Agenda
Part I: Regulatory
Telephone Consumer Protection Act (TCPA)
• Originally passed in 1991 • Restricts telephone solicitations and use of
automated telephone equipment: • Automated telephone dialing systems (ATDS) • Artificial or prerecorded voice messages • SMS text messages • Fax machines
TPCA General Provisions
• Hour restrictions: No calling residences before 8am or after 9pm (local time)
• DNC lists: • Company-specific (request must be honored for 5 years) • National Do Not Call Registry
• Identification: Provide caller details (name, name of company, telephone/address)
• Restricted automation: • No ATDS or artificial voice/recordings to emergency lines • No autodialed calls to 2+ lines of a multi-line business
• Fax restrictions: No unsolicited advertising • Litigation: Sue for up to $1,500/violation or to recover actual
monetary loss (whichever is higher)
Updates to TCPA Regulations
• New requirement: Prior express written consent of the called party is required to make telemarketing calls or calls that introduce advertisements to cell phones via ATDS
• Objective: Address growing number of telemarketing calls to cell phones using automated telephone dialing systems (ATDS)
• Effective date: October 16, 2013
• Impact: Telemarketing practices through vendor calls and online forms
Automated Telephone Dialing System (ATDS)
Definition Equipment which has the capacity:
• To store or produce telephone numbers to be called, using a random or sequential number generator – this includes • predictive dialer, • power dialer, • preview dialer, • click-to-call or • anything that can dial
numbers without human intervention
Source: transition.fcc.gov/cgb/policy/TCPA-Rules.pdf
Prior Express Written Consent
An agreement bearing the signature of the person called
• Acceptable formats: • In writing • Writing may be “electronic”
• In compliance with E-Sign Act • Ex: voice recording, online form
Prior Express Written Consent
Required Elements of the Agreement 1. Authorizes seller to deliver or cause delivery
of advertisements or telemarketing messages using ATDS to specific cell phone number
2. Cites the entity granted consent (or entity on whose behalf the call is made)
3. States that consent is not required as condition of purchase
4. Includes signature of the called party (E-Sign is acceptable)
5. Clearly and conspicuously discloses all of the above
Potential Penalties
• Class action cases have cost companies millions • Judges siding toward NOT certifying class action suits
$500 MINIMUM
$1,500 MAXIMUM
Per Violation Penalty
TCPA Litigation & Settlements
• Jiffy Lube’s promotional texting campaign → $47 million settlement
• AT&T made 15,000 calls using ATDS → $4 million settlement • Coca-Cola & Papa John’s settled TCPA lawsuits for millions
• Small business targeted
• Five-person, family-owned business sued in class-action for $4 million for sending unsolicited faxes (class action denied)
Future TCPA Issues
• Legal commentators warn of increased lawsuits due to new “written” requirements
• Courts may vary widely in further clarifying what constitutes “prior express written consent”
• Courts have incentive to stem the TCPA tide by dismissing class action suits: • Courts recognize TCPA class actions primarily
benefit plaintiffs’ lawyers • Courts have very limited time/resources
Future TCPA Issues
• Courts may strike down the writing requirement if the new regulation “adds” rather than “interprets” the TCPA
• Congressional action is possible but unlikely in the near future • Small law firms/solo lawyers could unintentionally accelerate
congressional action if small business remain targets
Important Lessons
• Litigation is generally very expensive – even if you win • Develop best practices and monitor diligently • Be conservative but not paranoid
Part II: Transparency
CUnet Policies: CollegeQuest
• Implemented August 1: • Updated both web pages and call
center scripts • Requesting express written
consent (in standard script) • Schools can provide language for
custom script • CallMiner
CUnet Policies: 3rd Party Call Center
• Required verification of prior express written consent
• Express consent to transfer the caller and/or information
• Scripts audited by MOQC • CallMiner
CUnet Policies: Data Inquiries
• Amended Contractual Agreement to build updated requirements for prior express written consent
• Screenshots reviewed by MOQC and stored in Sparkroom Monitor • Continual reviews started in August
Sample Consent
By Clicking the submit button, I agree to be called by or on behalf of
[SCHOOL] or CollegeQuest, using an automatic telephone dialing system at
the phone number(s) provided on this form. All calls placed will be regarding
educational services that you are requesting. You are not required to
provide consent to receive services from this/these school(s) or CollegeQuest.
CallMiner: Automating Agent Monitoring
Manual Monitoring
Costly, resource intensive
Inaccurate (sampling, subjectivity)
Untargeted
Slow, untimely
Not actionable
Key intelligence undiscovered
Analytics/Automated Monitoring
Analyze 100%
Objective, consistent
Timely, direct, & continuous
Target manual efforts
Monitor retraining efforts
Extract intelligence
Confirm/deny trends
How Speech/Contact Analytics Work
Acoustics
Transcripts
Categorization
Structured consumable information
Feedback
Contact ID: 394802
Agent: Gabriel Nelson
Department: Graduate Studies
Date: Oct 15, 2012 – 9:36AM
Direction: Inbound
Client: Arizona State
Prospect ID: 1298281
Mobile phone: Yes
Raw unstructured data
Analyze
Alert
Search, trend, discover, compare, report
Automated quality & performance management
Scores
Real-time monitoring “Missed Disclosure!”
Top rank – Compliance “Your Compliance Risk
score is one of the lowest this week!”
Example Contact
Interactions
Duration: 5m46s
% Silence: 40%
Agitation: 3459 Tempo: 105wpm
“…seeking an MBA…”, “…yes you may contact this number…”, “Let me see what I can recommend…”
Qualified lead: Yes
Escalation: No
Dissatisfaction: No
Express consent: Yes
Agent ownership: Yes
Politeness: Yes
Empathy: No
Proper Disclosure: No
Repeat Contact: No
Agent Quality: 82
Compliance Risk: Med
(disclosure, consent, salary, employment, aggressive sales, deceptive marketing)
Efficiency rating: 57
Lead quality: 75
Alert
Part III: Quality
Benefits of CallMiner
• Increased transparency helps quality shine • Removes random sampling • Focuses human capital on high-risk monitoring • More engaged prospective students • More compliant inquiries
Benefits to Schools
• High quality prospective students • Students with real intent • Fewer instances of fraud • Non-qualified prospects reduced • More time spent with best candidates
Benefits to Affiliates
• Prove you have nothing to hide • Demonstrate efforts to improve
education ecosystem • Cross check for problem/
resolution
Summary
Implications of TCPA Changes
• Process & policy changes • Obtaining consent • Record keeping
• Increased transparency • Improved quality • Better partnerships
Jeff Herz Operations and Compliance Director CUnet [email protected] Jason Napierski Product Marketing Manager CallMiner [email protected] Download TCPA Guide for Contact Centers: www.callminer.com/TCPA
This presentation is not offered as and does not constitute legal advice or legal opinions. It is offered only for general information and educational purposes. The material in the presentation is intended, but not promised or guaranteed, to be current, complete or up to date and should in no way be taken as an indication of future results. Transmission of the information is not intended to create, and the receipt does not constitute, an attorney-client relationship between you and CUnet, CallMiner or any of their affiliated companies, officers, employees, agents or attorneys. You should not act or rely on any information contained in this presentation without first seeking the advice of a licensed attorney in your state.