Bank Systems & Technology > Laggard Firms Face Liability on Do Not Call > October 14, 2003: "Laggard Firms Face Liability on Do Not Call
Anthony O'Donnell
Last week's federal appeals court ruling on the Do Not Call Registry made suddenly real the possibility of penalties to financial services companies for failure to comply. The Denver court ruled the FTC could begin enforcing the list while legal challenges to it continue. And while many financial services firms with hardcore telemarketing operations were prepared, many others with less obvious exposures may face significant liability.
Firms that have not taken Do Not Call (DNC) seriously are making a mistake, according to Craig Weber, an analyst with Celent Communications (Boston) and author of a new study, 'Crunch Time for Do Not Call Compliance: Are Financial Institutions Ready?' Even with the final outcome of the national registry in doubt, DNC regulations have already been enacted in the vast majority of states, and are pending in all the others. 'Companies will need to manage DNC issues across 50 jurisdictions anyway, whatever happens with the federal DNC registry,' Weber comments. 'The other issue is simply that more than 50 million Americans have clearly said, 'Do not call me and try to sell me something.''
Across the financial services verticals there are no great differences in the compliance requirements and potential impact faced by companies. Differences do exist, however, in where banks, securities firms and insurance companies are likely to be exposed to liability."
COMMENT:
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Have you updated your CRM systems to reflect the wishes of your existing or potential customers?
It you haven't automated this process already, you are putting yourself at additional risk in compliance with DNC.
