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Difficulty: Very hardNational Do Not Call Registry and TCPA

Marcus, a licensed insurance producer located in Chicago (Central Time), is conducting an evening telemarketing campaign. He uses a prospect list that was last scrubbed against the National Do Not Call (DNC) Registry 20 days ago. Assuming all individuals contacted are currently registered on the National DNC list and have not provided express written consent, which of the following outbound calls constitutes a regulatory violation of the Telephone Consumer Protection Act (TCPA)?

  1. Placing a call at 8:30 PM Central Time to a prospect located in Denver (Mountain Time) who was referred to the agency by a current policyholder earlier that same day.Answer
  2. B
    Placing a call at 7:30 PM Central Time to a prospect located in New York (Eastern Time) who submitted a request for an auto insurance quote 85 days ago.
  3. C
    Placing a call at 8:15 PM Central Time to a former client located in Seattle (Pacific Time) whose life insurance policy lapsed 15 months ago.
  4. D
    Placing a call at 6:00 PM Central Time to an active policyholder located in Miami (Eastern Time) to recommend an umbrella liability policy.

Answer

The call to the referred prospect in Denver constitutes a regulatory violation because a third-party referral does not establish an Established Business Relationship (EBR).
The call to the referred prospect is a regulatory violation because a referral from a friend or existing client does not create an Established Business Relationship (EBR). Under the TCPA, a producer cannot call a person on the National Do Not Call Registry based solely on a referral; the producer must obtain the referred person's express written consent first. While the time of the call (7:30 PM Mountain Time) is legal, the lack of an EBR makes the outbound call a violation.

Step-by-Step Solution

1
Evaluate the agency's internal National DNC Registry scrub frequency.
The list was scrubbed 20 days ago, which is compliant with the requirement to scrub at least every 31 days.
Telemarketers must synchronize their lists with the National DNC Registry every 31 days to avoid violations.
2
Convert the producer's local calling times to the recipients' local times to verify compliance with the 8:00 AM to 9:00 PM window.
Denver (7:30 PM MT), New York (8:30 PM ET), Seattle (6:15 PM PT), and Miami (7:00 PM ET) are all within the permissible 8:00 AM to 9:00 PM local time window.
TCPA rules dictate that calling hours are strictly based on the recipient's local time zone, not the caller's.
3
Evaluate the Established Business Relationship (EBR) exemptions for each recipient on the DNC list.
The 85-day inquiry (allowed up to 3 months), 15-month lapsed policy (allowed up to 18 months), and active policyholder (ongoing) all have valid EBRs overriding the DNC Registry.
Producers may contact individuals on the DNC Registry if a valid, unexpired EBR exists.
4
Identify the scenario lacking a valid exception.
The referred prospect in Denver has no direct relationship with the agency.
A referral from a third party does not create an EBR. Calling them without prior express written consent violates the TCPA.

Key Concept

National Do Not Call Registry Exceptions and Calling Constraints
Estimated Time:2m 0s
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Topics

National Do Not Call Registry and TCPA

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