Clarification Regarding the FCC's Final Rule for the TCPA

Published: Wednesday, February 22, 2012

View this article at ACA International.

The recent Federal Communications Commission ruling on the Telephone Consumer Protection Act has caused some confusion for ACA members regarding a debt collector's ability to call a consumer's wireless number through the use of an autodialer.

Please note the following regarding compliance with the TCPA for debt collectors:

• The recent ruling does not change the existing requirements for debt collectors to comply with the TCPA.
• A debt collector must still obtain a consumer's prior express consent to call a consumer's wireless number using an autodialer or prerecorded message.
• Please visit ACA's TCPA Resources Page for information on complying with the TCPA.

The FCC ruling is a victory for the debt collection industry and ACA members to the extent that the prior proposed version of this rule would have required prior express written authorization to call a consumer's wireless or residential number when utilizing an autodialer or prerecorded message for the purpose of debt collection. Such a requirement would clearly present more onerous restrictions for debt collectors. However, the final rule only applies to telemarketing calls and does not apply to collection calls.

Debt collectors must still comply with the TCPA requirements as they existed before the ruling.

Please contact ACA's Compliance Department with further questions at compliance@acainternational.org.

This information is not to be construed as legal advice. Legal advice must be tailored to the specific circumstances of each case. Every effort has been made to assure that this information is up–to–date as of the date of publication. It is not intended to be a full and exhaustive explanation of the law in any area. This information is not intended as legal advice and may not be used as legal advice. It should not be used to replace the advice of your own legal counsel