| Compliance Tips for Internal Audits in Outbound Telemarketing Services
With the existing telemarketing service environment being what it is, every company that makes outbound calls should be compliant with state and federal telemarketing laws. Consumers who look unfavorably upon telemarketing service provider calls may trigger requests from State Attorney Generals, The Federal Trade Commission, or The Federal Communications Commission regarding the activities of your company and the outbound telemarketing service strategies being utilized. The request can be a Federal Civil Investigation Demand from the government or a simple one number request from a State Bureau of Consumer Protection Administrative Office. The Federal Trade Commission’s National Do Not Call Registry has been accepting registration from consumers since June of 2003. The registry, as of December 4, 2007, had over 151 million telephone numbers listed on it. Because of this, telemarketing services companies have to be aware that some consumers are sensitive to any type of sales call or any call in general that they perceive to be a sales call. The government has done a good job of explaining to consumers that the Federal Do Not Call Registry will stop some but not all calls.
Telemarketing Basics Can Lead to Call Center Success
While call centers have evolved into multi-channel contact centers with various initiatives and technologies, telemarketing is still a basic concept within many of these centers. For those conducting outbound calling, there are certain "basics" that never change, and if followed can help to generate successful practices. TeleResources (News - Alert) , Inc. recently published the white paper, "Understanding Telemarketing: A Quick Start Guide to Telemarketing Success." In this report, the company provides key basics that are important for every call center that performs outbound or telemarketing services. One of the first things to consider when designing a call center that will perform telemarketing services is the design. This is not to say the design of the building, but the design of the center.
Court fines telemarketer $180,000 for making 46 million irritating ...
A California telemarketing firm has agreed to pay a $180,000 fine to settle charges with the Federal Trade Commission that it made 46 million illegal calls. The original fine was $3 million all but $180,000 will be suspended based on the defendants' inability to pay. According to the complaint filed by the Department of Justice, since October 1, 2003, Voice-Mail Broadcasting Corporation (VMBC) and its owner, Jesse Crowe, have used automated dialers to “blast" consumers with prerecorded telemarketing pitches, the FTC stated. The calls pitched products from debt-consolidation services to mortgage brokerage services and other retail and financial services. When VMBC's telemarketing calls were answered by consumers rather than answering machines or voicemail systems, VMBC either immediately hung up, leaving consumers with “dead air," or played a prerecorded message.
I-Vision launches first-class CRM outsourcing services in Abu Dhabi ...
Established in 2000, IVT provides IT and security solutions. The UAE-based company recently created a division, I-Vision Contact Center, in order to offer outsourced services in the GCC region with a specific focus on serving the IT, banking and telecommunications industries. The new contact centre facility is fully powered by Altitude Software technology. I-Vision currently manages outbound telemarketing campaigns on behalf of a major financial institution in the Middle East, as well as customer service operations for an IT solutions provider in the UAE. The outsourcing company is today able to handle various business campaigns including lead generation, inbound customer service, help-desk, appointment scheduling, market research, surveys as well as client retention. Pioneering CRM Service Provider in the World's richest cityI-Vision is positioned as the first and only provider of inbound and outbound CRM outsourcing services in Abu Dhabi, which is considered to be the richest city in the world by leading international publications such as Fortune.
Cell phone numbers up for sale
Three U.S. senators are pushing a bill to protect more than 250 million consumers from having their cell phone numbers listed in a 411 directory similar to directories available for residential phone numbers.Prospects of a cellular phone directory have raised fears about a flood of telemarketing via wireless calls and text messaging. While the Federal Communications Commission says those fears are unfounded, there are other privacy concerns at stake.The wireless industry says it has no intention of creating such a directory, although it once did plan to do so.But the bipartisan authors of the Wireless 411 Privacy Act say they dont want to take any chances, and they note that numbers are already available in at least one online directory service that has 90 million cell phone records.I think this is something we want to nip in the bud and say, You wanted to do this, and now you dont.
FTC fines telemarketer $180,000
A California telemarketing firm has agreed to pay a $180,000 fine to settle charges that it made 46 million illegal calls, a government agency said Tuesday. The Federal Trade Commission and Justice Department said in a complaint that Voice Mail Broadcasting Corp. and its owner, Jesse Crowe, violated federal telemarketing rules by making 46 million automated calls since October 2003. The prerecorded calls pitched debt consolidation, mortgage services and other financial products, the agency said. When consumers answered, the calls were either terminated or the prerecorded message played. The FTC's Telemarketing Sales Rule requires that calls answered by individuals be connected to a live sales representative within two seconds. Under the settlement, Costa Mesa, Calif.-based Voice Mail Broadcasting and Crowe were fined $3 million, the FTC said in a release.
Marketing outfit made 46 million illegal calls
A CALIFORNIAN telemarketing company which used automated gear to annoy the world with pre-recorded telemarketing pitches has been fined $180,000 for its antics. The Federal Trade Commission that Voice-Mail Broadcasting Corporation (VMBC) made 46 million illegal calls using the equipment. The FTC wanted to fine the company a million dollars but worked out that VMBC and its owner Jesse Crowe had no way to pay such a steep fine. The calls were flogging debt-consolidation and mortgage brokerage services and other retail and financial services. According to Network World, the equipment was supposed to leave messages on answerphones and it hung up if it got a human. This is illegal, as the FTC’s Telemarketing Sales Rules say that calls should be connected to a human sales representative within two seconds.
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