Yes, you can send one final message confirming the opt-out and offering information on how to opt back in. However, this final message cannot contain any sort of marketing. The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) recommends you send this message no later than 5 minutes after the opt-out occurs.
It is not legally required to provide customers with instructions on how to opt out. But it is a very strongly recommended best practice to provide customers with this information. If you don’t do so, it is possible that people will opt out with their own legally sufficient language that is not recognized by your system, leading you to continue to send messages or make calls which now violate the Telephone Consumer Protection Act (TCPA). You need to be able to recognize and honor opt-outs, so always include a simple opt-out instruction (“Reply STOP to Opt-Out” for example).
You do not need consent for the initial automated response if the message is consistent with what your direct response offer has promised. The message must be sent immediately, containing only the requested information and nothing more. Any additional marketing messages would require consent.
Yes. Since they are opting in again, you have consent again.
Yes, but you cannot send a text from an ATDS that says, “Sign up for our marketing program.” That message would be marketing in and of itself, and you would have already violated the Telephone Consumer Protection Act (TCPA). However, you could do a call to action that says, “For automated offers, text DISCOUNT to XYZ number…” When the consumer responds to your offer, request a double opt-in, and get the consumer to agree to the required disclosures. Always ensure full TCPA disclosures are utilized, as well as an opt-out instruction.
The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) has held that “written” consent can be obtained on a recorded telephone call, but you must ensure you meet all the requirements of the ESIGN Act or similar state laws regarding electronic signatures.
The best practices for avoiding Telephone Consumer Protection Act (TCPA) violations and the attendant lawsuits are as follows:
Make Sure You Have Clear Consent
In order for a court to proceed with a class action, the class must first be certified. When it comes to the TCPA, if the defendant can provide evidence of consent procedures, and prove consent for the individual plaintiff, the class as a whole, or a subset of the class, then the class certification may be denied.
Marketers can make Business-to-Business (B2B) calls/texts using an Automatic Telephone Dialing System (ATDS) provided they have proper consent. For marketing purposes, you must have express written consent. The written consent may be an e-signature or button press, but it must include the following disclosures:
Yes. Moreover, recent court decisions have generally held that consumers can revoke their consent by any reasonable means. The Telephone Consumer Protection Act (TCPA) does not offer explicit guidance on revocation of consent, but it is best practice to recognize and honor all consent revocation requests immediately.