Good News about Cell Phones!

On January 4, ACA International announced the FCC had ruled that “autodialed and prerecorded message calls to wireless numbers provided by the called party in connection with an existing debt are permissible.”

This is very good news for IAT customers and everyone in the collections industry! As more and more people are using cell phones exclusively, and as phone numbers have become more portable, it has become increasingly difficult to determine if the number provided by the debtor is for a cell phone. Now, as long as the debtor provided his or her wireless number “during the transaction that resulted in the debt owed,” then you can use both CT Center PD and IC (Broadcast Messaging) to collect the debt. Refer to your state laws for other possible regulations regarding automated dialing.

The FCC also ruled that calls made for the purpose of debt collection only are not considered telemarketing calls.

The IAT Newsletter is in no way intended to be legal advice. We encourage you to consult with your attorney for any questions surrounding this issue. You can also visit www.acainternational.org to find any updates or click on this link to View the full text of the order.