May 2008

DNC.com Monthly Compliance Update

Contact Center Compliance Technology

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Table of Contents

 

Featured Article

ATA Washington Summit 2008: The Future of the Industry

by Joseph Sanscrainte

Joseph Sanscrainte is an attorney with Bryan Cave, LLP, specializing in telemarketing law.

Visit us at DNC.com for information on contacting Joseph Sanscrainte.

For anyone in the teleservices industry who has never attended an American Teleservices Association Washington Summit, let me clue you in on something: you need to go to this meeting! Every year, around the end of April, the ATA hosts a few hundred highly motivated teleservices professionals and provides a top-flight program featuring industry executives, FTC and state regulators, and the best compliance minds in the industry. Over the course of just a few days, everyone attending is brought up to date on all the latest legislation, industry trends, and regulatory advances.

This year's event may have been the best ever, with a highly informative and entertaining speeches by noted CNN Political Analyst Paul Begala and Steve Liguori, CMO of GE Money Americas. This ATA Summit also featured a number of "firsts" ? including a co-presentation by the ATA and the Direct Marketing Association on cooperating together for advocacy to ensure the vitality of the industry; as well as the unveiling of an online accreditation tool to implement the Standards created for the ATA's Self-Regulatory Organization (the SRO).

This development ? the creation of the program that will enable a teleservices SRO to certify inbound and outbound teleservices providers as being "compliant" with an agreed upon set of standards, will go a long way with regulators to establish that the industry has finally "grown up" and is capable of policing itself to the benefit of consumers. The Summit was also highlighted by the 2008 Compliance Issues Panel that featured Ryan Thurman, Michele Shuster, Noreen Kaminski, Dean Garfinkel, and Reid Houser that clarified some of the most pressing issues facing contact centers such as: the growing use of cell phones as primary contact, caller ID and name display, EBR affiliate rules, pre-recorded messaging, registration in US territories, monitoring and taping laws, and recent changes to the Federal DNC List.

This year also featured yet another "first" ? the first ship ride on the Potomac to raise money for the ATA's PAC. The ATA is rapidly moving toward becoming a force on the political scene, as its members (and others in the industry) have come to recognize how essential a well-funded PAC is in helping to shape the laws that impact the industry.

With a well-funded PAC, the ATA is in a position to provide its support to those leaders who understand that the teleservices industry represents millions of jobs, jobs that very often go to persons who have difficulty finding work elsewhere. Quite a few politicians have felt the brunt of job losses caused by cutbacks in the teleservices arena, in the form of businesses shutting their doors ? these same politicians have now come around to understand that the teleservices channel, properly regulated by an effective SRO, plays a very important, and useful, role in the United States' economy.

Add in all of the informative education sessions, covering everything from the "how-to's" of building a successful PAC to up-to-the-minute updates on teleservices laws, technologies, and best practices, and you can see why this event is circled year after year on so many people's calendars.

The ATA is responsible for sponsoring the most exciting development in teleservices since the launch of the national DNC registry ? a working and effective SRO program. Come join us in Washington, DC next year (and while you're at it, don't forget the ATA's National Convention and Expo October 5 ? 8, 2008 in San Antonio) and help the ATA work with federal legislators to shape the future of the industry.

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State Holiday Alerts

Alabama, Louisiana, Rhode Island and Utah all restrict outbound calling to consumers during their respective state recognized holidays. The following holidays have been verified for the months of May and June:

Outbound calling is prohibited in Alabama, Louisiana, Rhode Island and Utah on Monday, May 26, 2008 in observance of National Memorial Day.

Outbound calling is prohibited in Alabama on Monday, June 2, 2008 in observance of Jefferson Davis' Birthday.

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Meet us in Irvine, CA at the Atrium Hotel for an ATA seminar on May 12, or in Atlanta, GA at the Westin Hotel for SNUG 2008 from May 13-14. Call us at 866-362-5478 or visit DNC.com for more information.

Regulation Alerts

 

CALIFORNIA CONSIDERS STATE BILL ON DISCLOSURE OF WAIVER OF DNC RIGHTS

State assembly bill, AB 2059, is under consideration by the California General Assembly and would require additional, clear disclosure by companies sending solicitations by mail to consumers that by electing to receive additional information the consumer may be waiving their rights under the Federal Do Not Call list and may be contacted by a telephone solicitor, including, but not limited to, the sender of the original solicitation.

 

NORTH DAKOTA TO RECEIVE $25,000 FROM DNC VIOLATION

The State of North Dakota is set to receive $25,000 in fees in lieu of civil penalties from a telemarketer who was alleged to have violated the state's Do Not Call rules when it called on behalf of a charity. A separate agreement was settled with the charity in question, including a $1000 fine.

 

FTC ISSUES RESPONSE TO MISINFORMATION ON THE DNC CIRCULATING VIA EMAIL

The Federal Trade Commission has again issued a response to the continued circulation of rumors and misinformation via email regarding the National Do Not Call list. Most importantly the FTC has clarified that cell phone numbers will not be released from the list to telemarketers and consumers do not need to
re-register. There is no deadline to register a number and both home and cell phone numbers can be registered.

Contact Center Compliance Corporation
350 E Street, Suite 300A
Santa Rosa, CA 95404
866-DNC-LIST (866-362-5478)
www.DNC.com

All information contained in this newsletter has been researched to ensure accuracy. However, Contact Center Compliance will not be held legally responsible for the accuracy of this information and is not a substitution for legal counsel.

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