With the passing of October 16, 2013 came new FCC rules and regulations that have the call center operators that dial consumers mobile phone numbers in a quandary. The FCC Telephone Consumer Protection Act (TCPA) rules mandate prior express written consent from the consumer when the operator uses an call center software with an auto dialer aka predictive dialer to call mobile phones or leave prerecorded messages. These new rules have created uncertainty for call center operators that utilize predictive dialing. There is a lack of clarity in the regulations in regards to the definition of the true meaning of a call center system that has the ability to store and dial mobile telephones. From one interpretation of the law, a system that has the capacity to auto dial a mobile number even though it is not used in auto dial mode is a violation of the law. The confusion stems from the definition of the true meaning of a call center solution that has the ability to store and dial mobile telephone numbers. There is still uncertainty about what exactly is permitted or not permitted and the industry is vigorously petitioning the FCC for clarity. In lieu of a formal clarification from the FCC as of the time of this communication, Promero advises to consult with legal counsel in order to best determine the proper course of action. In the meantime, Promero's new feature allows call center customer to move forward in a very conservative manner should they decide to dial wireless numbers that lack prior express written consent. The confusion stems from the definition of the true meaning of a call center solution that has the ability to store and dial mobile telephone numbers. There is still uncertainty about what exactly is permitted or not permitted and the industry is vigorously petitioning the FCC for clarity. In lieu of a formal clarification from the FCC as of the time of this communication, Promero advises to consult with legal counsel in order to best determine the proper course of action. In the meantime, Promero's new feature allows call center customer to move forward in a very conservative manner should they decide to dial wireless numbers that lack prior express written consent.The call center community believes that the spirit of the law is to not auto dial mobile numbers without prior written consent and not to mean that a system that has the capacity to auto dial is violation of the law. In lieu of a formal clarification from the FCC, operators must minimize their risk by either not auto dialing any mobile number or find alternative software solutions that do not have the capacity to auto dial.

Another point of confusion is the definition of what exactly is prior express written consent? Written consent can mean E-Signatures via electronic or digital forms of signatures that can be obtained via email, website form, text message, telephone key press or voice recording. The responsibility of maintaining accurate documents falls upon the caller. Note that a recent study found that 85% of webpages that captured contact information failed to meet one or more of the new rules from TCPA. Most often cited is the failure to have âEUR~clear and conspicuous disclosureâEUR(TM) alerting the consumer that they will received future calls via an automated dialing system. The new requirement does not apply to purely informational or transactional calls or messages, such as sending a link to a website, flight updates, surveys, or bank account fraud alerts.If your business is considering an application enhancement, replacement or in need of technical support, please contact Promero for a free, no obligation consultation.

About Author

Gregg Troyanowski is president of Promero, Inc. Founded in 2001, Promero is a leading customer care - call center software expert. Promero provides valuable insight to customers when selecting a call center technology platform. If your business is considering an application enhancement, replacement or in need of technical support, please contact Promero for a free, no obligation consultation.http://www.promero.com