Four Contact Center Tools Necessary for TCPA Compliance

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The Telephone Consumer Protection Act (TCPA) is a significant pain point for many contact centers. As TCPA guidelines consist of an extensive list of frequently changing regulations and restrictions, it can be difficult for contact centers to stay up-to-date with the latest provisions. New technologies have pushed contact centers to utilize automation over manual calling; however, this trend has caused numerous violations in TCPA compliance. Over the last 10 years, the number of TCPA lawsuits filed by consumers has increased significantly each year. Navient Solutions, Inc., for instance was sued for $17.5 million in 2017 for violating the TCPA by repeatedly calling the wrong person with an automatic dialer. This is a fairly small fine compared to other companies sued for TCPA non-compliance.

Establishing best practices to remain in TCPA compliance is a highly technical and time-consuming process for businesses to manage. Investing in contact center tools that are TCPA-compliant to regulate and monitor “do not call” lists, automated message delivery, call frequency, voicemail limitations and auto dialer restrictions can significantly reduce the risk of fines, fees and lawsuits.

Below are four beneficial TCPA-compliant features to consider when investing in cloud-based call center solutions:

1. Cell phone scrubbing – The TCPA prohibits auto dialers from contacting cell phones without prior consent from the recipient. As a result, cell phone scrubbing will automatically remove non-consenting cell phones numbers from call lists. Additionally, advanced contact center solutions can verify that “do not call” numbers don’t accidentally reappear on any lists, decreasing your chances of violating TCPA regulations.

2. Manual dialing – With auto dialers becoming more strictly monitored, contact centers should consider having a manual dialing system in place in addition to their automatic one. Having this additional layer of security to manually verify and approve call lists can provide companies with an additional level of assurance. Adding this extra step could end up saving your company millions of dollars in court and settlement fees.

3. Predictive dialing – The TCPA restricts the frequency a particular number can be called over a certain time period; therefore, predictive dialers can be used to automatically dial numbers from a list, track call pick-ups and hang-ups and assign contact center agents to their next calls. This advanced technology can record how many calls a particular number receives to verify the automatic dialer does not exceed call limits, as well as filter out “do-not-call” numbers from a list and automatically hang up if an answering machine is reached to avoid leaving unapproved voicemails.

4. Call recording – For additional protection, look for solutions that can record calls and offer long-term storage. Centralizing data in one place enables managers to store years of calls as a permanent record to safeguard against consumer TCPA violation claims, as well as monitor and track service quality over time. Call recording can help ensure process compliance and dispute resolution as well as promote agent coaching and training.

Implementing a contact center solution with TCPA-compliant tools and services can help prevent companies from being sued or fined for an unintentional failure to comply with federal guidelines. With the appropriate technology features, contact centers can protect themselves against unsolicited automation mistakes, “do-not-call” registry fiascos and automated message delivery without consent disputes.

If you’re interested in learning more about TCPA-compliant contact center management solutions, request a demo from TCN, Inc. – a reliable, scalable contact center platform that includes a comprehensive compliance suite for companies of all sizes.

Mckay Bird
Mckay Bird is the Chief Marketing Officer for TCN, a leading provider of cloud contact center technology for enterprises, contact centers, BPOs, and collection agencies worldwide.

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