Think Your Call Center is TCPA Compliant?

No matter how beautifully you design your call center space, no matter how many monetary incentives you implement, and no matter how many of your agents exceed their established goals each shift, if your call center is not TCPA compliant, in time you won’t have a call center to manage.

1. What is the average fine per phone call for violating the Telephone Consumer Protection Act? Violations are on the rise, and the average fine is $500 to $1,500 per incident.

2. Is it okay to get verbal consent to use an autodialer or pre-recorded messages on a solicitation call? No, you must get written consent that identifies the company for which you are soliciting.

3. Under the TCPA compliance guidelines, does written consent apply to political and collection calls? No, the written consent rule only applies to calls that are marketing goods or services.

4. Does purchasing a third-party calling list keep your company in the clear? No, once a list is purchased, it becomes your responsibility to ensure written consent has been obtained.

5. Is it a TCPA compliance violation to text someone who has given written consent, but the message goes to another person’s phone? Phone numbers change all the time, so yes, this is a violation subject to fine. It is your responsibility to ensure phone numbers are accurate.

6. What is the best way to maintain TCPA compliance? By using modern call center management software, you not only ensure you and your agents are adhering to the latest rules, but also your dialing lists are accurate.

7. Does the Do Not Call registry cover all 50 states? Yes, it not only covers all 50 states, but also American Samoa, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, North Mariana Islands, Guam and the U.S. Virgin Islands.

8. Is it a violation of TCPA compliance to throw a sales pitch in at the end of a survey call? Yes, unless you have written consent from the call recipient. Utilizing a modern call center software company will help you maintain compliance and avoid fines.

9. Are business-to-business calls exempt from TCPA rules? Yes, they are exempt.

10. What if a consumer has given written consent but their number is in the Do Not Call registry? As long as the consent clearly spells out the seller, includes an accurate phone number, and has a signature, you may call that person.

11. Can you call customers with whom you have an established business relationship? As long as they have not requested to be placed on your specific Do Not Call list and the last transaction is not more than 18 months old, you may call them.

12. How does call center management software help maintain compliance? By offering tools such as a manual dial only platform, call recording for quality assurance, and automatic flagging of potentially illegal calls by state, call center management software helps keep you out of trouble and avoid fines that can add up quickly.

13. How can a company take advantage of the “safe harbor” rule? If a company inadvertently makes a mistake that violates TCPA compliance, it can avoid a fine, providing it has a written procedure to follow the DNC list rules. It must also demonstrate it follows these procedures, that it has a company-specific list, and that it accessed the DNC registry no more than 90 days before the incident. You must also show that any violation was a mistake as the result of a misdial or use of a wrong list. Call center management software can automatically ensure your firm meets all these requirements.