Have you ever had one (or ten) of those annoying telemarketer calls interrupt your day? Have you heard ‘We have been trying to reach you about your car’s extended warranty’ far too often?
It might surprise you to hear that this kind of company overreach and consumer frustrations actually brought about the Consumer Protection Act and the Dodd-Frank Act. The acts allow legal ramifications for this kind of company overstep.
Mobile communication can be an important tool for business marketing. When done well, it is a wonderful way to connect with your customers. However, understanding the boundaries of communication is of utmost importance.
Read on to learn more about it!
What is the Telephone Consumer Protection Act?
The Telephone Consumer Act was established in 1991. The goal was to reduce the number of auto telemarketing calls that were overwhelming consumers. The majority of whom had not given any consent to receive those marketing calls.
Specifically, this act restricts the amount of auto-dialed and prerecorded calls. These restrictions applied to faxes as well.
Since Dodd-Frank and the Telephone Consumer Protection Act (TCPA) were passed, there have been more amendments to even further restrict marketing campaigns. In so doing, this further protects the consumers. Since 2013, businesses must receive express written consent in order to text their customers.
Other specifications include:
- Businesses must include instructions on how to opt-out of their marketing messages.
- Businesses must allow consumers to opt-out by text.
- Times in which a business may text customers must be restricted to local times between 8 am to 9 pm.
- Businesses must identify themselves in the marketing message.
What is the Dodd-Frank Act?
The Dodd-Frank Act was a direct result of the 2008 financial crisis. Created in 2010, its main goal was to help create financial stability by protecting consumers from receiving poor financial advice. Its purpose was also to mandate that all phone conversations be recorded and archived to allow for as much transparency as possible.
Mobile compliance is imperative across the board, but finance mobile compliance is particularly important since the Dodd-Frank Act.
What Does This Mean For You?
Since Dodd-Frank and the Telephone Consumer Protection Act (TCPA), if businesses do not receive your express permission to contact you, then they are liable for a lawsuit.
If they have violated the other amended aspects of the TCPA and Dodd-Frank Act then they are liable as well. Businesses that have crossed the line can be fined for statutory damages up to $1,300 for each incident. This has resulted in payouts of millions of dollars for consumers whose time has been highly taken advantage of by companies refusing to acknowledge boundaries.
How Does This Change The Way You Handle Marketing Calls?
As a consumer, does this information make you feel more empowered? With legal backing from the Dodd-Frank Law and the Telephone Consumer Protection Act, you can seek legal action for companies that have crossed the line.
As a business, does this make you think twice about how you gather consumer information and plan your marketing campaigns?
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