Improve Retail Initiatives, Debt Collection and TCPA Compliance

Whether conducting outbound calls or texts for any purpose - including growth strategies, notifications, debt collection, etc. - increasing institutional and regulatory pressures contribute to the challenges organizations face in optimizing their customer calling strategies. And no surprise here, risk reduction and compliance will continue to be a leading strategy for organizations in 2017.

When the Telephone Consumer Protection Act (TCPA) was originally enacted in 1991, it was created to address abusive telemarketing practices relating to landlines. However, with the common use of auto dialers and technology advancements in call communication the TCPA has evolved into an onslaught of litigation. An autodialer can be any equipment that has the capacity (A) to store or produce telephone numbers to be called, using a random or sequential number generator; and (B) the ability to dial such numbers. The FCC has also expanded this definition to include “predictive” dialers and “other devices that dial a fixed set of numbers without a random or sequential number generator.”

Any well-intentioned business that utilizes an auto dialer to contact consumers’ mobile phone or VoIP lines is at risk of not only violating the TCPA and incurring fines. Additionally, companies dialing the wrong number can damage customer relationships or brand reputation.

The challenge then becomes how to effectively reach consumers in compliance with the TCPA. With statutory penalties of up to $1,500 per violation for dialing the wrong consumer, TCPA violations can quickly snowball out of control. With damages that can range up to tens of millions of dollars, validating the phone numbers you have on file before you contact the consumer is vital.

Know Before You Contact the Consumer

Organizations are responsible for knowing who they are reaching, if the number they are dialing still belongs to that consumer, and that the consumer provided consent to call. With millions of phone numbers recycled each year and the increase in number porting, gaining accurate and immediate visibility of the number and type (i.e. landline, mobile, or VoIP) to support efficiency and effectiveness of your contact center is essential. Identifying VoIP numbers is particularly important since landlines and VoIPs can be ported to cellphones, for which there is no prior consent.

The only way to accomplish this is by leveraging real-time connectivity to telecom data to verify whether the number you have on file is still associated with the right consumer or if there has been a change. Using our unsurpassed coverage and accuracy across the mobile, landline and VoIP networks, Early Warning has the ability to pass the right answer in real-time.