Panel discusses managing remote work and communication options, compliance and regulatory changes going into 2021.
12/1/2020 11:30
As we discussed in our Dec. 10, 2020 article, a panel of industry experts got together recently for a thoughtful and wide-ranging conversation hosted by Text Request addressing “The challenge of increasing collections in the midst of changing regulations.”
Kenneth Burke, director of marketing for Text Request, an online text messaging service for small businesses, moderated a conversation featuring Issa Moe, vice president and general counsel for ACA International, Mike Bevel, director of education for the iA Institute, and Mike Gibb, CEO for Canvas Business Media.
Here is the second part in this two-part series providing highlights from the panelists’ observations and comments about the conundrum that is 2020.
General Considerations Related to Remote Work
When agencies first received the order that onsite work was restricted to essential workers, requiring debt collectors or servicers to work from home, if at all, some people initially thought the work-from-home order would be a temporary requirement, and they managed it from this expectation. Today many people realize the concept of working from home will be with us for a long time, if not permanently.
- Agencies discovered unexpected positives, including the ability to hire people with a disability who cannot work in a traditional office environment, and the increased productivity from some employees.
- It is important to remember, however, the main reason employees work from home today are public health and safety concerns. Some agencies brought employees back to the office too quickly and they are experiencing a variety of expensive repercussions.
- Consider all Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, state, and local guidelines outlining changes you must make to your office setup to ensure sufficient social distancing.
- Failure to plan effectively for return to work at the office has both a human and a business cost, including the spread of contagion, the need to contact trace and quarantine numerous employees, and resulting disruption to individuals, families, and business activity.
Remote Work and Tech Issues
Agencies planning a work-from-home environment for the long haul must consider certain technology issues.
- Because you won’t be able to have a quality assurance manager walking the floor next to your agents, you may want to invest in surveillance software.
- A key issue to consider when employees work from home is whether you will permit them to use their own computer or will require them to use a work issued computer. The trend of employees using personal devices such as laptops or smartphones to connect to their company network and access work-related systems and sensitive or confidential data is referred to as BYOD (bring your own device).
- While this approach is common, and saves your agency some capital investment, the practice does bring significant additional risks to address.
- Many risk managers consider it a best practice to not let employees use a personal computer for work. The agency does not want to uncover personal information or illegal activity on an employee’s own computer. Also, you don’t want employees to incur expenses to do their work.
- If you do permit employees to use a personal computer, make sure you have every employee sign a disclosure on policies and procedures should a data breach occur.
New Expenses Related to COVID-19
The impact of the coronavirus reaches all aspects of business planning. Individuals tracking litigation trends have found nationwide approximately 50 lawsuits filed thus far in 2020 mention COVID-19, coronavirus or pandemic.
- Lawsuits involving novel issues arising from workers compensation, human resources, or consumer issues are new line items on your budget to consider.
- As always, you must understand the data you need to collect, and you must make sure the consumer understands how you will use it to ensure you maintain regulatory compliance and minimize related risks of litigation.
Considerations Arising Out of New Regulations
On Oct. 30, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau issued what has been referred to as the “final” version of Regulation F, the new regulations applying the requirements of the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act. While the new rule doesn’t take effect until Nov. 30, 2021, agencies are considering what changes they may need to implement next year.
- Ensure you have a good process to minimize the risk of accidental disclosure of the consumer’s confidential information to third parties. The rule outlines how to get a safe harbor for your communications if a third party sees the message, for example by using the new “Limited Content Message” provided in Reg F at Section 1006.2(j).
- In the new rule, the bureau recognizes the “affected consumer” who owns debt; there also is provision for a spouse or guardian to opt out of communications. A spouse can opt out of any method and you must comply with their directive and use a different method.
What About Using Text Messages to Reach Consumers
Creditors have always been able to send text messages to consumers, but the requirements for the debt collector are different. Know the requirements that apply to you.
- Because consent is such a key element of the text message solution, it is imperative that creditors collect the correct information document the consumer’s consent at the beginning of their process.
- Your policy should require you to always verify you have consent, whether or not there is a strict requirement for consent. It is a best practice.
- Consumer advocates wanted an “opt in” model providing guidelines that would dictate when a text message did not violate any requirements. In crafting the new rules, the CFPB did not include an opt in requirement, but they did provide an opt out requirement; if you are going to use text, you must provide a “reasonable and simple” method to opt out.
- Once and done is never enough. On the agency side, you should continue touching base with consumers to make sure the information you have on file still includes a good address or telephone number and that consent remains.
- You must not focus only on the requirements of the new FDCPA rule. The continuing requirements of the Telephone Consumer Protection Act also have a huge impact on your compliance requirements for text messaging. Make sure you have obtained prior express consent of the consumer.
We Need to Stay Focused on What is Happening Now and What is Coming
In everything you do, you must pay attention. There is so much going on in the regulatory environment at both the state and federal level.
- The bureau is set to issue part two of the rule in December.
- The Facebook v Duguid case under review by the U.S. Supreme Court may provide official interpretation of ATDS, settling a contentious topic that has generated tremendous amounts of litigation.
“Empathy” is the Theme Word During the Pandemic, and Always
To repeat our closing advice from part one of this series, when you work with the consumer in a friendly and professional manner to get a debt paid, you will accomplish more than if you convey a negative attitude. Training your employees to maintain this standard of conduct is one good way to minimize risk and to ensure your agency does its best work every day.