Do-Not-Call regulations: Do-Not-Worry?Jim Hamiltontelemarketing, web-based solutions, Do-Not-Call
It's hard to believe that it's been one full year since the Federal Trade Commission (FTC)
developed the national Do-Not-Call (DNC) list. The law requires all
companies to comply with these regulations, and the need for
cost-effective compliance solutions is skyrocketing. This is
particularly true since the FTC continues to hand out fines of up
to $11,000 per violation (not including possible fines from
individual states).
While some larger companies jumped on the compliance train as
soon as the DNC list came out, others have sought out compliance
solutions and found them to be too costly. Still other companies
bring images to mind of Alfred E. Newman, the poster-boy for Mad
Magazine, saying "What, me worry?" by ignoring the possible
consequences. For a short while, no fines were handed out, which
encouraged companies that ignored the law. Recently, however,
enforcement of DNC regulations has been on the rise, and consumers
on the DNC list seem to be happy with the fact that they are
getting fewer and fewer calls.
It's important to remember that the FTC is not targeting anyone
for fines that is the consumer's job. Once an individual has signed
up on the national DNC list, they have the ability to file a
complaint against any company that calls them, and the FTC makes it
fairly easy for them to do so. Once a complaint is filed, the FTC
or the state attorney generals office will seek penalties for the
violator. The size of the company or the type of sales call is not
an issue (unless you are a non-profit organization or work on
political campaigns); the only issue is making one call to a
consumer who is under the FTC's protection.
Once a complaint has been filed, there may be no escaping the
fine unless the company already has a compliance solution in place,
abides by all the rules and made the call in error. It is okay to
make "errors" by calling consumers who are on the DNC list, but
only if the company can prove that they are in compliance and
simply made a mistake. More fines are being handed out all the time
as consumers realize the power that they now have over companies
that make sales calls and do not check numbers against the DNC list
first.
In the mortgage industry, the telephone has always been a
powerful marketing tool. Nobody wants to give up on a great
marketing technique, but some feel there is no choice. However,
there is always a choice. The regulations do make marketing more
difficult for businesses; however, all is not lost. Most
telemarketing is still allowed, but businesses must follow the
rules or face heavy fines. Some compliance services may be fairly
costly, but there are other services on the market that don't go
over that line. Web-based solutions such as Authtel's
Callpermission.com, are quite cost-effective since they require
less setup, little or no systems integration, and very little
ongoing maintenance.
Compared to a Web-based solution, creating an in-house
compliance solution is far more expensive, particularly when you
consider hiring an individual whose job it is to create, set up and
maintain the compliance system. Outsourcing the compliance solution
is the easiest way to hop on the compliance bandwagon, but you must
make sure that the service you elect will help you cover all of
your bases.
Under the FTC's rules, there is a safe harbor provision.
Companies will be safe from fines as long as they stay in
compliance with all regulations. The initial step to get your
business in compliance is the toughest. After that, staying
compliant is easy. If done properly, we will all be safe from fines
and saying, "What, me worry? No, not me!" Jim Hamilton is
marketing manager for Authtel LLC. He may be reached at (888)
849-5207 or e-mail
[email protected].
