2. Compliance Webinar
Joseph Sanscrainte 212-626-6934
Law Office of jws@sanscrainte.com
Joseph W. Sanscrainte
Ryan Thurman 866-362-5478 ext. 116
Director of Sales & Marketing Ryan@dnc.com
Contact Center Compliance Solutions
DNC Scrub
Training Master
Compliance Guide
Data Enhancement
3. Agenda
The FY 2011 National Do Not Call Registry Data Book Highlights
A review of political “robocall” rules
FTC Business Opportunity Rule
Hot topics: Cell Phone Calling Rules and Questions
4. The FY 2011 National Do Not Call Registry Data Book
DNC List Size: 209,722,924
State DNC lists: 13 states with 4.5 million unique numbers
Wireless Carrier Block and NeuStar required for dialer calls
(203,307,749 with valid area codes)
8,180,389 numbers added in FY 2011 (lowest increase since
2003)
Removing about 10% of disconnected numbers monthly
State Rankings Top 10
NH, CO, MA, CT, DE, KS, NJ, MN, MD, NE
Data on Registrations
FY 2007 FY 2008 FY 2009 FY 2010 FY 2011
Entities Who Paid 6,242 4,618 3,923 3,383 3,201
5 or Fewer Area Codes 59,337 46,559 40,406 34,206 31,240
Exempt Entities 801 1,107 1,002 680 728
5. FTC Consumer Complaints
Handled 11.1 million cumulative complaints last year
Total of 2.2 million complaints last fiscal year
Still receiving the bulk of complaints against pre-recorded “robocalls”
Separate complaint process now in effect for Robocalls
1st half of 2011: Number of complaints on Robocalls exceeds all of 2010
(800,000 Complaints)
Asked the industry for help with Robocall issue
FTC pursuing dialing platforms, resellers/brokers and uses of illegal
robocall applications
6. The FY 2011 National Do Not Call Registry Data Book
Overall historical enforcement
FTC has brought 79 DNC cases with over $40 million in fines
Over $500 million in awards
States also aggressively enforcing DNC and EBR rules
Consumer lawsuits and increased class actions (TCPA)
Supreme Court rules TCPA cases can be filed in Federal Court
Recent enforcement summary
2-8: FTC Shuts Down Robocallers Who Claimed to Reduce Credit Card
Interest Rates ($13.1 million judgment, defendants paid $159,000)
2-3: FTC Action Halts Telemarketers Who Sold Bogus Credit Cards
Americall Group, Inc Internal DNC violations
Facebook FTC privacy settlement
7. • Political “robo” calls are regulated in
many states
• Look out for bans on such calls!
• 1 state requires a live person
introduction before delivery of a robo-
call
• 9 states require prior consent
• Some states have time restrictions for
robo-calls
• All political calls (live and automated)
must adhere to federal and state
disclosure rules
• Robo-calls are NOT calls made by
that robot from Lost in Space
8. ROBOCALL BANS
• Arkansas: “It shall be unlawful for any person to use a telephone for
the purpose . . . of soliciting information, gathering data, or for any
other purpose in connection with a political campaign when such use
involves an automated system for the selection and dialing of
telephone numbers and the playing of recorded messages . . .”
• Maryland: “A person may not use an automated dialing . . . system
with a prerecorded message to . . . conduct a poll.”
• Wyoming: “No person shall use an automated telephone system for
the selection and dialing of telephone numbers and playing of
recorded messages if a message is completed to the dialed number,
for purposes of . . . promoting or any other use related to a political
campaign.”
9. LIVE OPERATOR REQUIRED
• Montana: “A person may not use an ADAD . . . for the selection
and dialing of telephone numbers and playing of recorded
messages if a message is completed to the dialed number for the
purpose of . . . promoting a political campaign or any use related to
a political campaign. . . . This section does not prohibit the use of
an ADAD . . . if the permission of the called party is obtained by a
live operator before the recorded message is delivered.
10. OTHER ISSUES
“Prior consent” states: California, Indiana, Kentucky, Minnesota, Mississippi,
New Jersey, North Dakota, Tennessee, Minnesota, Mississippi, Kentucky, South
Carolina
Specific Disclosures Required: Idaho, Kentucky, Maine, Minnesota,
Montana, Nebraska, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, North Dakota,
South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, Washington
AND THE FCC! 1) state clearly the identity of the business, individual, or other
entity that is responsible for initiating the call; and, 2) during or after the
message, state clearly the telephone number (other than that of the autodialer
or prerecorded message player that placed the call) of such entity
Add’l Notes: CA rules only apply to INTRA-state calls (and maybe NJ too); KY
allows for keypad consent prior to playing the robocall; NH requires scrubbing
out DNC numbers; ME, MD, and TN rules only apply to polling robo-calls
11. • Other considerations:
– “nature/purpose of the call” disclosure required?
– beginning AND ending disclosures required? (see
KY)
– address disclosure required?
– time requirements for such disclosures?
– disclose that the message will solicit funds? (see
ND, MN)
– state that the call is a recording? (see Montana)
12. TIME RESTRICTIONS
• Indiana, Maine, Montana, Nebraska, Oregon, South Carolina, Texas,
West Virginia
• Default time period for these states combined:
– 9 AM to 7 PM Monday – Saturday
– Noon – 9 PM Sundays
• Other considerations:
– Maine – 9 AM to 5 PM weekdays (no calls on weekends)
– only one call per person during each such 8 hour period
– only applies to calls “to gather data or statistics or solicit
information” (i.e. polling!)
13. PERMIT ISSUES
• Georgia: permit required (but only if calls originating in
the state)
• Kentucky: permit from AG + $10k bond
• Nebraska: fill out form only – no payment required
• New Hampshire: Registration with AG required
• Tennessee: registration required under statute – BUT –
no rules have been developed so not required in practice
• Texas: Permit required
14. FTC BUSINESS OPP RULE
• Effective March 1, 2012
• Replaces “interim business opportunity rule”
• Joe, what’s the FTC’s definition of “business opportunity”?
. . . a commercial arrangement in which: 1) a seller solicits a prospect to
enter into a new business; and 2) the prospect makes a required
payment; and 3) the seller represents that the seller will:
i) provide locations for displays, vending machines, or similar devices
owned or in some way controlled by the purchaser; or
ii) provide outlets, accounts or customers; or
iii) buy back the goods or services that purchaser produces.
• Joe, what if I’M a business opportunity? What happens then?
15. The “Disclosure Document”! A form created by the FTC that requires the seller to
provide the following information to the prospect at least seven days before any
contract is signed or money is paid:
• Identifying/contact information
• Whether or not “earnings claims” are being made, and if so, supporting
information on a form entitled “Earnings Claim Statement Required by Law”
• Whether the seller, its affiliates, or key personnel have been the subject of an
action for fraud or deceptive practices within the prior ten years;
• Cancellation or refund policy;
• Last but not least – a list of all people who purchased the business opportunity
within the prior three years. BUT – if there’s more than 10 such people, the
seller may choose to limit this disclosure to 10 purchasers within the past three
years who are located nearest to the prospective purchasers location.
16. Stay current
– New laws – don’t become the example!
– ftc.gov and fcc.gov
– Industry Trade Groups (ATA, SOCAP, DMA)
– Compliance Guide
– Industry Newsletters (CCC, NAAG)
– LinkedIn Discussion Groups
– Contact Center Compliance Officer’s Forum
17. Ryan Thurman Joseph Sanscrainte
866-362-5478 ext. 116 212-626-6934
Ryan@dnc.com
jws@sanscrainte.com
Contact Center Compliance Solutions
DNC Scrub
Training Master
Compliance Guide
Data Enhancement
