TCPA litigation exploded in 2013 with a total of 1862 lawsuits throughout the year and significant financial consequences.
The Telephone Consumer Protection Act of 1991 (TCPA) restricts telephone solicitations and the use of automated telephone equipment, such as automatic telephone dialing systems (ATDS) or an artificial or prerecorded voice to telephone numbers assigned to a mobile device, also known as "robocalls".
When a company is required to comply with the TCPA and does not, the FCC may impose mandatory penalties ranging from $500 to $1,500 per violation, and there is no limit on the number of violations that can be included in an individual suit, so the costs can quickly climb into the millions.
In addition to this, on October 16, 2013, two changes went into effect in the consent rules implementing the TCPA:
- Mobile devices: Prior express written consent required for all autodialed or prerecorded calls/texts to wireless numbers.
- For residential land lines: The new rule eliminates "established business relationship" exception - prior express written consent required for all prerecorded calls to residential lines.
Even with these changes, some call centers have not changed their practices at all. Businesses often consider initiating calls to mobile devices using an ATDS or predictive dialers as an efficient and effective way to reach large numbers of consumers or transfer calls to agents. However, they must do so by staying legal and not violating consumer rights.
So, how do you ensure that your call center practices are in compliance and still reach a vast number of consumers in this legal landscape?
Our suggestion: reduce the use of automatic telephone dialing systems or predictive dialers. Instead, use a low-cost high-performance workforce to increase your FTE call center agents and engage with more consumers without resorting to a predictive dialer.
Call Center Services International's nearshore solution allows you to do just that. Our agents are fully bilingual, bi-cultural, well-educated and have expertise in a wide array of business functions such as Debt Collection, Customer Service, Sales, Order Processing, and Business Process Outsourcing. One of the benefits of our nearshore approach is that agent rates and overhead expenses are 50% less than the U.S. Plus, this world-class workforce is right next to San Diego, CA. Contact us to learn more about our agents and tell us what your biggest challenge to meet TCPA compliance is.