I have to look at the specific state laws that affect my bank, but the federal law says that bank's are exempt. Did you notice that?

The following is from the last page of the publication in the Federal Register of the Telemarketing Sales Rule in January 2003:
Concurring Statement of Commissioner Orson Swindle in Telemarketing Sales
Rule, File No. R411001

While I believe that the amended TSR and the national do-not-call registry will
go a long way to help consumers prevent unwanted intrusions into their
homes, a number of entities are not subject to the TSR’s requirements.
Under the Telemarketing Act and the TSR, the Commission does not have
jurisdiction in whole or in part over the calls of entities such as banks, telephone
companies, airlines, insurance companies, credit unions, charities,
political campaigns, and political fundraisers.

From the perspective of consumers, the right to be let alone is
invaded just as much by unwanted calls from exempt entities (e.g., banks,
telephone companies, or political fundraisers) as it is by such calls from
covered entities.3 Therefore, I believe that the entire spectrum of entities that
make telemarketing calls to consumers should be subject to do-not-call
requirements.

3 The Federal Communications Commission,
however, has requested comment on whether to
establish a national do-not-call registry that would
address telemarketing calls by at least some of the
entities that are exempt from the FTC’s jurisdiction.
Notice of Proposed Rulemaking, Rules and
Regulations Implementing the Telephone Consumer
Protection Act of 1991, 67 FR 62667 (Oct. 8, 2002).

Melissa, this is an excerpt from the FTC called "FTC Facts for Business":

"A telemarketer or seller may call a consumer with whom it has an established business relationship for up to 18 months after the consumer's last purchase, delievery, or payment - even if the consumer's number is on the national "do not call" registry."

I believe the 18 month grace period only applies if the customer does not request to be removed from an individual company's calling list.

This same document recommends contacting the state attorney general for information regarding the coordination of the national do-not-call registry with individual state laws.

One important point to remember is that while banks are exempt from the TSR, if a bank contracts with a telemarketer on their behalf, the TSR rules do kick in.

Thanks Cindy - When I spoke to the FCC today, I was told that they didn't know exactly how the states would coordinate with the national list, but she thought I would only have to monitor the State lists, that offer more protection than the FCCs rule. Ultimately she referred me to the FTC...am waiting on a call back.

I did see that Q&A on the FTC's web site. What's throwing me is the States that have more restrictions say you can call your customer that you have had an existing bus. relationship with for 18, 24, 36 months (it varies by state), unless they specifically request no calls. Does that last part mean specifically requesting no calls from you the company they have the relationship with, or requesting no calls by signing up on the State's no call list. If they have to request to the company to not call them, then we won't need to subscribe to the State or the National no call lists.

My understanding of the "business relationship" exemption was that it applied until the customer specifically requests that you, the business, don't call them anymore, and is separate from the do-not-call lists.

However, this is a general interpretation of the TSR and isn't based on specific knowledge of individual state laws. Sorry I couldn't be more helpful.

I'm puzzled by the low volume of attention BOL users are giving the latest....FCC has effectively extended FTCs telemarketing to banks, insurance companies etc. Millions of people are now on the federal do not call list. And non-compliance penalties are high.
Because of the FCC's actions, we now have the situation that calling our own customers is impacted by telemarketing law. How to develop, maintain, and implement procedures to abide by an "internal do not call list", state do not call, and federal do not call is mindboggling. I'm hoping that the gurus and other BOL users can provide some insight on the impact and how to comply.

Say a customer has had a checking account with us for 5 years. Can we still make sales calls to him? In other words, does the 18 month time frame run from the date the account was originally opened, or 18 months after the closing date?

I agree, I am anxious for this to start getting some more attention as well because our Marketing and Executive management folks are watching the news and are concerned about how this will affect us.

When I spoke with the FCC yesterday, I was told that the FCC and FTC are still working out all the details and that a final rule will be published "soon". Since the national list becomes effective 10/1, we can at least expect it before then.

I need more than a news release to get this right! The Q&A on the FTC's web site is very helpful, though it is meant for telemarketers. We were discussing when a service call turns into a solicitation, the FTC responded on the Q&A that if any part of the call is to offer goods or services the national registry applies.

This is from the Q & A on the FTC Do Not Call website:

Q: My number is on the National Do Not Call Registry. After I bought something from a company, a telemarketer representing that organization called me. Is this a violation?


A: No. Even if you put your number on the National Do Not Call Registry, a company with which you have an established business relationship may call you for up to 18 months after your last purchase or delivery from it, or your last payment to it, unless you ask the company not to call again. (In that case, the company must honor your request not to call. If they subsequently call you again, they may be subject to a fine of up to $11,000.) Also, if you make an inquiry to a company or submit an application to it, for three months afterwards the company can call you. If you make a specific request to that company not to call you, however, then the company may not call you, even if you have an established business relationship with that company.

If you do not want to put your number on the national registry, you can still prohibit individual telemarketers, one by one, from calling by asking them to put you on their company’s do not call list.

Cindy,
Colorado's rule says that a consumer can be called up to 30 days after an inquiry, even if a customer is on a no call list. In this case, I can only call my the consumer if it's within 30 days, even though the federal rule allows 90 days, right?

If I can still call my customers that I have an existing business relationship with, then the only reason I would need to subscribe to any of the state or national no call lists, is if I want to call non-customers, right? And, as long as I want to develop a script for every loan officer to read to the customer who is on a national or state list on why I can by law still call them..........seems like these are the customers that don't want calls to begin with and we should leave them alone. This is going to be just like Privacy, where no one understands its intent.

Comments are my own and NOT necessarily those of my employer.

p.s. Cindy - are you getting ready for the Iowa State Fair??? Same place, same time?

I would agree that the Colorado 30-day rule will probably override the 90-day FTC rule. Unless/until we get further clarification, I am assuming that state rules which are more restrictive will take precedence over the TSR.

I also agree that if you are only calling your own customers, you would only need to comply with any internal customer do-not-call requests and not the national do-not-call registry. This is how we are going to approach it. The difficulty in your situation is your multi-state customer base.

Quote:

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p.s. Cindy - are you getting ready for the Iowa State Fair??? Same place, same time?

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ABSOLUTELY!!! I can hardly wait! See you there!

According to the Gryphon's website, FCC's rules/order extending its law to include the FTC's do not call registry has been published in the Federal Register. The Gryphon website does link to rules/order, but doesn't give a Federal Register volume, page. I searched the Federal Register and could not find. Does anyone have the actual Fed. Register volume, date, page numbers?
I think it will be wise for banks to base interpretations on the FCC rule, vs FTC since it is the FCC rule that grabs banks.

The only thing I could find is a copy of the proposed FCC rule which was published in the Federal Register on 4/3/03, Volume 68, Number 64, beginning on Page 16250 (sorry, I couldn't get a link). I haven't been able to find a final.

The final order is now published on the FCC website.

Wow 164 pages, I think I'll wait for it to come out in the Federal Register!