2015 GNYADA MEMBERSHIP DIRECTORY

HOT TOPICS 2015 GNYADA Membership Directory

IMPORTANT LAWS AND REGULATIONS

Laws Regulating Telemarketing, Email and Faxing

Federal and state laws govern contacting consumers by telephone, fax or email. The FTC and a number of states maintain “Do- Not-Call” lists prohibiting telemarketing calls to the listed numbers, which include both land lines and cell numbers. Scrub telemarketing lists against both the FTC’s National Do Not Call Registry and applicable state do-not-call lists. Additionally, dealers are required to keep their own company list of customers who indicate that they do not want to be contacted by telephone, fax or email and their names must be deleted from marketing lists as well. If you share customer information with affiliates or third parties, make sure to scrub from the shared lists any customers who have opted out of being contacted in any medium of expression.

As background, the federal Telephone Consumer Protection Act (“TCPA”) and the Telemarketing Sales and Consumer Fraud and Abuse Prevention Act (“Telemarketing Act”) restrict the use of telephonic equipment to contact consumers and the use of fax machines to send unsolicited advertisements. The Junk Fax Prevention Act of 2005 also restricts fax advertising. The FTC also regulates use of phone numbers for various purposes principally through its Telemarketing Sales Rule published pursuant to the Telemarketing Act. Among other things, the Telemarketing Sales Rule prohibits making prerecorded telephone marketing calls to any phone number unless the recipient has provided a prior express written consent to receive such calls at the indicated phone number. An established business relationship with the consumer is no longer sufficient for prerecorded telemarketing. Even with consents, all prerecorded calls must include an automated interactive opt-out mechanism to disconnect at the outset of the call by means of a key-press or voice activated mechanism, as well as a toll-free number to limit further calls. If the customer opts out at any time during the call, then the prerecorded message must immediately terminate and disconnect from the consumer’s phone. The Telemarketing Sales Rule can be enforced by the FTC, state Attorneys General or via consumer lawsuits, including class actions. States also have laws that restrict the right to make calls to cell phones, fax numbers and for telemarketing and other purposes. The federal CAN-SPAM Act of 2003 and the Junk Fax Prevention Act of 2005 also require that each email and fax transmission conspicuously gives the consumer a way to opt out of receiving further communications in that medium.

Pages 98-113 provided by Dealertrack Technologies 516.547.2242; www.dealertrack.com

100