Call Center and Do Not Call Compliance

This article offers detailed information on complying with the Do Not Call (DNC) laws, primarily from the perspective of an outbound call  center. The key points covered are as below.

1. A brief history and overview of the DNC registry
2. Scenarios protected by the DNC list, namely, unsolicited calls, sales calls, and personal numbers
3. Exemptions to the DNC rules, including business-to-business calls, number of area codes, and established business relationships (EBRs)
4. Ways to ensure your contact center is compliant, which includes purchasing the DND lists and maintaining EBRs. among others
5. Fines for non-compliance, covering the different types of fines a business could face for violations, approximate fine amounts, and other consequences

      The rules surrounding the inclusion of cell phone numbers in the DNC registry

      Setting up a contact center business requires adhering to some key regulations, of which, a prominent one is the Do Not Call (DNC) registry. Established in 2003, the Do Not Call registry is a database maintained by the federal trade commission (FTC), based on the telephone consumer protection act (TCPA) of 1991, which allows consumers to opt-out of receiving unwanted sales and marketing calls by registering their phone numbers. As someone who runs a call center business, you should be fully aware of the regulations that govern the Do Not Call registry and the consequences of not abiding by FTC’s set parameters. It is even more crucial to follow these rules if your contact center thrives on outbound calls, but you should be aware of the parameters for an inbound call center as well.

What Does the DNC List Cover?

      To run your contact center business without hitting too many rough patches, it is important to understand who your business can or cannot call. Here are a few scenarios that are protected by the DNC law.

1.       Unsolicited Calls: Assume a scenario in which your business has a continuing relationship with a consumer. The company has probably sold some goods or services to the said consumer, and that is how their number has ended up in your database. Is it okay to call the consumer without violating the DNC rule? It is, only if you are calling within 18 months of the last transaction that occurred between your business and the consumer, unless, the consumer has specifically requested you to not call them. It is also fine to call if they have requested some particular information on a specific product or service. If none of the above are true, it amounts to an unsolicited call and is a compliance violation.
2.       Sales Calls: The rules of DNC apply to sales-related calls only. So, if you run an outbound call center that specializes in calling consumers for collection of debt, surveys, requests for charity, providing information, or your call is relevant to politics, you do not have to worry about going through the DNC registry before placing the call. It is only when your business or the business your call center represents intends to pitch a product or service that you need to strictly adhere to the DNC laws.
3.       Personal/Residential Numbers: Calls are prohibited only to numbers that are residential or personal. Calling a business number does not get your contact center in the bad books of the authorities even if they have registered themselves in the DNC list.

Exemptions to the DNC Rule

      Although most contact centers fall under the purview of the DNC compliance regulations, certain exemptions could be beneficial to businesses with specific requirements as below.

1. Business-to-Business (B2B) Customers

      The largest exemption to the DNC rules is calling B2B customers. B2B phone numbers are not covered by the telemarketing sales rule (TSR) and the TCPA, which makes it easier for call center agents to directly connect with such customers. If a number is registered on the DNC list that is used for both personal and business usages, the contact center agents have a clear advantage because that number can be considered as a B2B number, instead of a business-to-consumer (B2C) number. However, if you are unsure, it is better to stay safe and refrain from calling such a number, as one wrong decision on the call center agent’s part can attract dire consequences for the entire firm.

2. Area Codes Covered

      Certain other exemptions could be beneficial for your contact center business. For instance, if your company makes calls to up to 5 area codes, you could obtain the national DNC registry information at no cost. Bear in mind that this does not make your firm immune to compliance restrictions, which you have to follow regardless of the size of your business.

3. Established Relationships with Customers

      Call centers that only call customers with an established business relationship (EBR), or those customers who have explicitly provided written confirmations about their desire to be called, could be exempted from purchasing the federal DNC list. In all other cases, the DNC list is a must-have.

How To Ensure Compliance for Your Business

      Once you have established that there is no getting around the DNC regulations, a question that might arise in your mind is how to ensure your business is always compliant. By following certain steps as below, you could ensure your firm always stays within the law.

1.       Purchase the Correct List. While setting up or upgrading your contact center, ensure you purchase both national as well as state DNC lists. 12 states maintain their lists that may have entries different from the national list. Be sure to check with your state regulations, and purchase the correct lists. Apart from these two lists, there is also a list maintained by the direct marketing association (DMA). Check with the authorities in your area to understand whether this list applies to your business.
2.       Maintain an Internal DNC List. The TCPA recommends that each business should maintain an in-house list comprising the phone numbers of all the customers that have explicitly expressed their desire to not be disturbed. For example, if you have the number of a consumer who has not registered in either the state or the national DNC lists, make sure they are open to receiving your calls by checking the internal DNC list. It is the firm’s responsibility to keep the internal list updated at all times.
3.       No Violation of EBR and Inbound Follow-Up. The rule that states you have the permission to call up a regular customer provided you have done business with them in the last 18 months also varies in some states. Check with the authorities to ensure your contact center abides by the state laws. In some states, the time range may be as low as 6 months. If there are no state laws, the 18-month rule stands. If, on the other hand, you run an inbound call center, you are allowed to call back a customer within 3 months of the customer making an inquiry. Post 3 months, the DNC laws apply if the receiver of the call is registered with the national or state lists.
4.       Comply with Cold Call Rules. Cold calling is part of business strategies for several outbound call centers. However, certain rules apply here. It is required of a business to cold-call customers only between 8 am and 9 pm. Additionally, the identity of the caller and the firm they represent must be provided right at the beginning of the cold call. Cold calls are not exempted from the DNC regulations.

Consequences of Not Being Compliant

      Running a contact center that is not compliant to the DNC regulations could cost your firm dearly. Here are the different fines you should be aware of.

1.       State Fines: The state regulations vary with each state, and the fines for violating the state DNC registry could be as low as $100 and rise to a whopping $25000 per violation.
2.       The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) Fines: Apart from FTC, a second body that governs the implementation of the DNC rules is FCC. If your firm is found to violate the national DNC registry, the FCC could levy a fine of up to $16000 per violation.
3.        FTC Fines and Investigations: Not being compliant to the national DNC registry amounts to a federal violation, resulting in hefty fees of up to $40000 per violation. Further, if your company does not pay for gaining access to the national DNC registry, every call may be considered as a separate violation, resulting in a loss of $40000 per call. FTC is known to conduct in-depth investigations based on even a single complaint from a consumer. Hence, if FTC pulls your call center up for a violation, it is not just a monetary setback, but also hurts the reputation of your company.

Cell Phones and the DNC Registry

      With the rise in the use of cell phones, consumers are looking at ways to register their cell numbers for the Do Not Call option, in addition to the regular residential phones. What does this mean for your call center? Well, the government does not have a separate database for cell phone numbers wishing to be on the DNC registry, hence, firms still receive only one database when they purchase the national DNC list.

      However, consumers are protected by the FCC, as the organization prohibits businesses to call cell numbers using auto-dialers without the prior consent of the cell phone owner. Most modern contact centers have standardized, recorded dialers call consumers for an internal list of leads. If your call center does the same, it might be a good idea to check the leads list for DNC violations before feeding it to the automated dialing machine. The goal of the contact center ultimately stays the same, which is to comply with the DNC lists regardless of whether they contain cell numbers or home phone numbers.

      Being compliant with the DNC laws is an essential part of running a successful contact center. Whether you own an established business or are just considering upgrading to a modernized call center with cloud capabilities, compliance forms the backbone of your industry. Adhering to the regulations would mean an enhanced focus on your business. By diligently following the federal laws around DNC, you are also sure to gain the trust of your customers, thus enabling you to expand your business to new horizons.