Contents

Regulatory Compliance

Overview

This chapter provides background information about the Federal Do-Not-Call Registry and Telemarketing Sales Rule. It lists American states that maintain individual do-not-call (DNC) lists, and explains modifications that states made to federal telemarketing rules. It explains how to manage Do-Not-Call lists, which are called DNC Sources in Interaction Dialer.

You will learn how to perform an initial bulk scrub of contact lists to prevent unwanted numbers from being dialed. Afterward, Dialer's just-in-time scrubbing feature will exclude contacts whose DNC status changed between the time the contact list was bulk scrubbed and the time the contact is dialed.

This chapter explains how Filters can be used to dial only call those records that meet a certain criteria. Sorting is discussed too, should you need to dial the list in a certain order. While these tasks can be accomplished through back end procedures on the database management system, they are simplified through the use of Filters and Sort Criteria in Interaction Dialer.

Federal Do Not Call Registry

Legislative Timeline

Unlike inbound ACD systems, use of predictive dialers is governed by certain state and federal statutes, depending on the purpose of the outbound dial. For companies who engage in telesales, compliance with Do Not Call registries has emerged from an internal best practice into State and Federal regulation.

Although the Federal Do Not Call Registry was enacted in October 2003, legislation preceded the registry by over a decade:

1991	The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) drafts the Telephone Consumer Protection Act (TCPA).
1992	In December, the TCPA is enacted.
1994	The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) begins drafting the Telemarketing Sales Rule (TSR), an addendum to the Telemarketing and Consumer Fraud and Abuse Prevention Act.
1995	The TSR is enacted.
1999	After reviewing the effect of the TSR for five years, the FTC proposes the creation of a National "Do Not Call" list.
2003	Following a series of hearings from consumers groups and businesses who engaged in telemarketing, the TSR is amended in January to include the Federal Do Not Call Registry. In June, the FTC begins taking requests from consumers to be enrolled on the Do Not Call registry. There are over ten million phone calls the first day. On October 1st, the Federal Do Not Call list officially goes into effect. There are over 50 million consumers who are pre-enrolled.
2007	By Q4, nearly 150 million consumers have enrolled both household and mobile numbers on the Federal Do Not Call List.

Telephone Consumer Protection Act

Created by the FCC in 1991, the Telephone Consumer Protection Act (TCPA) was developed in response to the increase in telephone sales in marketing/business practices and the increase in consumer complaints. Key provisions of the TCPA for businesses who made such calls included:

Limit telemarketing calls to the period between 8 A.M. and 9 P.M. (local time for the number dialed.)
Maintain an internal "Do Not Call" list and honor any request to not be called again. A person's name must be kept on the list indefinitely.
Have a clearly written policy (with regard to TCPA procedures), available to anyone upon request.
Have a clearly defined training program for personnel making the telephone solicitations.
Service bureaus (including outsourced marketing centers) must forward all requests to be removed from a list to the company on whose behalf they are calling. It is that company, not the service bureau, who is held legally liable under the TCPA. The "Do Not Call" request must also be honored by any affiliate or subsidiary of the company if there is a reasonable expectation on the part of the consumer that the request would apply also to the affiliate or subsidiary.

Telemarketing Sales Rule

In 1994, the U.S. Congress estimated that, despite the TCPA, consumers lost nearly $40 billion annually due to telemarketing fraud. Congress stated that interstate telemarketing fraud had become an issue of "such magnitude" that existing government resources were overwhelmed and insufficient to adequately protect consumers.

In 1995, the Federal Trade Commission exercised its jurisdiction over fraud over state lines and developed the Telemarketing Sales Rule (TSR) as part of the Telemarketing and Consumer Fraud and Prevention Act. Using the guidelines set forth in the TCPA, the TSR made the following provisions:

Required telemarketers to make specific disclosures of material information
Prohibited misrepresentations
Set payment restrictions for the sale of certain goods and services

As technology progressed, the TSR was amended in 2003 to also include:

Telemarketing companies transmitting of Caller ID information
Maximum percentage limits for abandoned outbound calls
Requirement telemarketing companies to retain certain business records for two years
Creation of the National "Do Not Call Registry"

Exemptions to Federal Regulations

Although the vast majority of organizations who market using outbound dialing are covered by the TCPA, TSR and Federal Do Not Call Registry, there are situations in which these Federal laws do not apply.

The FTC does not have jurisdiction over banking, common carriers (including telephone companies and airlines), nor not-for-profit organizations. These industries therefore do not fall under the auspices of the TSR. Outsourced companies marketing for these companies are subject, however, to TSR compliance.

Other exemptions to the Federal regulations include:

An organization with whom the consumer has an established business relationship (EBR.) An EBR is defined as a consumer inquiry, application, purchase or transaction regarding products or services offered by the person or entity involved. The EBR is in effect for eighteen months following the last business transaction or three months after the last inquiry or application.
Organization has received prior written permission from the consumer.
Calls which are not commercial or do not include unsolicited advertisements (including surveys and political campaigning)
Business-to-Business calls; business phones may not be registered on the Federal Do Not Call Registry.

Some States maintain their own "Do Not Call" registries and may have telemarketing governances that are more restrictive than Federal regulations. See State Do Not Call Lists.