Overview
This overview of the TCPA and corresponding video is intended to be used for educational purposes only and is not legal advice. Your compliance with TCPA is directly controlled by your communication practices with consumers.
We strongly advise you seek legal counsel on this topic to receive guidance on how to remain compliant with the TCPA.
What is the TCPA?
The Telephone Consumer Protection Act (TCPA) is an Act originally implemented by the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) to protect consumers from receiving unwanted and unsolicited telemarketing communication. In 2012, the rules were updated to include pre-recorded, telemarketing “robocalls” and texts. According to the Act, these artificial calls/communications invade consumers’ privacy and are therefore unlawful.
In order to remain compliant with the TCPA, you must receive consent from a consumer prior to initiating contact via automated calls or text messages. Making phone calls or sending text messages to consumers that have not provided consent or removed their consent (opt-out) may result in fines from $500 up to $1500 per violation.
For more specific details on the Telephone Consumer Protection Act, please refer to the following resource: https://www.fcc.gov/sites/default/files/tcpa-rules.pdf
Guidelines for Following the Requirements of the TCPA
Obtain Consent to Contact Consumers. When a consumer registers on your BoomTown-provided website they provide consent by agreeing to the Terms of Use accessible via a link on the registration form. The Terms of Use is the agreement between you and the consumer for being contacted by you via phone call, text message, and email.
It is important to remember that only consumers who have gone through the registration process on your BoomTown site have agreed to the Terms of Use and provided consent. If you import contacts into your BoomTown platform from other sources, you must make sure that the consumer has provided consent via the other source before contacting the consumer using BoomTown.
Use the Customer Expanded Disclaimer at Registration. Not all BoomTown customers are alike and BoomTown provides custom and expanded disclaimer area on the registration form so you can clearly display your unique communication practices for consumer contact. For example, if you use an automated dialer you may want to include language to let the consumer know they will be contacted using automated systems, or if you share the information with a mortgage partner that uses automation, you may want to disclose that they may be contacted by a loan officer. As always, please seek legal advice for any changes to the standard terms. If you would like a custom disclaimer added, please send it to our Support Team via the Help Portal.
Opt-Out Consumers Who Ask Not to Be Contacted. BoomTown provides an opt-out mechanism (status) for each contact in your database but it’s up to you to change the status for consumers who have asked to be opted-out of phone calls and text messages. If an opt-out is requested on a call or via text message, you must discontinue contacting that consumer via call or text and update the opt-out status. The consumer can opt out of email communication by clicking the unsubscribe link. Unsubscribing from email does not unsubscribe the consumer from phone calls and text messages.
Maintain the Opt-Out Status of Your Contact Database in a Timely Fashion. Consumers may ask to opt-out using a variety of terms both by phone and by text. Anytime you believe a consumer asks not to be contacted, change the opt-out status immediately. Any additional communication may lead to a TCPA violation and a potential fine.
Best Practices for Communication with Consumers
Disconnect an unanswered telemarketing call prior to at least 15 seconds or four (4) rings.
Do not contact consumers outside of the hours of 8:00 a.m. to 9:00 pm (local to the calling party’s time).
If using an autodialer and/or leaving a prerecorded or artificial message, you must state the identity of the caller at the beginning of the message and provide the address and phone number of the caller during the call
Mobile Phone Carrier Compliance
To provide some industry background, there were changes made in July of 2019 in which carriers (AT&T, Verizon, T-Mobile, etc.) altered how messages are delivered to customers. There are currently two channels for this delivery, person-to-person and application-to-person. Communications stemming from software (such as the BoomTown CRM or any other software application) are considered application-to-person. As opposed to a one-off text message sent to a friend or family member, which would travel through a person-to-person channel.
The most important thing to note about these two channels is that telephone numbers with local area codes in software, such as the ones we utilized in our Product, prior to July 2019 were delivered through a person-to-person channel. Due to this, change carriers now only deliver messages through an application-to-person channel which carries much more stringent spam filters. Since phone carriers nationwide are not federally mandated, they have no underlying protocol for what they consider spam and the contact that is considered "spam-like". It is at the complete discretion of the individual carrier (AT&T, Verizon, T-Mobile, etc.).
To learn more about texting regulations and compliance please view the following sources:
Frequently Asked Question
What can you do to stay compliant?
BoomTown gives you the tools to properly honor a consumer’s communication preference. If a lead requests to no longer be contacted, you should honor that request and mark the phone status to “do not call”, text status as “opted out”, and email address status as “opted-out” to help prevent further outreach from your team and automated & bulk messaging.
Additionally, we recommend you review other sources of leads and ensure leads are giving consent to be contacted before importing them into the BoomTown system (bulk and auto imports).
How does BoomTown help you stay compliant with phone carriers?
Per compliance requirements, the initial text message to all leads via the Concierge Service includes the sender’s identity and a method for the lead to opt-out of text message communication.
We provide you with tools to honor text opt-out requests and include a method for leads to opt themselves out of text message communication by replying STOP to unsubscribe, or the equivalent using another standard opt-out keyword, such as STOPALL, UNSUBSCRIBE, CANCEL, END, and QUIT.
We proactively and consistently monitor industry changes and make adjustments whenever necessary to ensure we maintain compliance and high deliverability rates on your behalf.
What is the opt-out language?
All Initial Messages: “If you prefer not to receive texts from me reply end.”
Recurring Message from a Smart-Drip or Bulk Text: "If you're not interested, just reply with help."
Concierge Greeting Text (subject to change): “Reply with ‘end’ if you don’t want to receive texts from our team."
When do opt-out instructions get added to my text messages?
Initial Text Messages: In order to be compliant, all initial text messages, either manual or automated, will include the opt-out instructions appended as the last sentence of the text message.
Recurring opt-out:
By “Recurring opt-opt” we mean that every time a Smart-Drip plan fires a text message or a bulk text is sent we will check if the contact has ever received opt-out instructions, did those instructions go out in the last 30 days, and is there 2-way communication via text between the receiving contact and the sending user.
If the contact has never received a text message with opt-out instructions we will append opt-out instructions as the last sentence of the message.
If 30 days have passed from the previous opt-out instructions being sent AND a two-way communication has NOT been established between the user sending the text message and the contact receiving the text message, opt-out instructions will be appended to as the last sentence of the message.
The opt-out instructions will continue to append for future drip text until the receiving contact and the sending user have established a two-way communication via text.
Example recurring opt-out scenario that would include opt-out:
A new lead registers and an initial introduction text is sent to the lead by the assigned agent. The initial text includes opt-out instructions. The lead does not reply to the initial text and is then placed on a Smart-Drip Plan with text messages on days 15, 45, 180, 270, and 360. The text message sent on day 15 would not include opt-out instructions because 30 days have not passed since the initial text (including an opt-out) was sent. The lead does not reply to the text and on day 45 another text is sent via the Smart-Drip plan. The day 45 text does include opt-out instructions because more than 30 days have passed. If the lead does not reply to any text messages for the duration of the plan, opt-out instructions would also be appended to the days 180, 270, and 360 messages.
Therefore, the frequency of the opt-out is dependent on the following but could occur as often as every 30 days:
The frequency in which automated text messages are sent to leads.
Is there active two-way communication with the lead via text?
Recurring opt-out Instructions that are appended to messages -- "If you’re not interested, just reply with help.”
If a contact replies "help" to a text, the contact will receive "Reply STOP to unsubscribe." Replying "Thank you for your help.", "I need help", or any other combination of words including "help" will not trigger the automated reply of "Reply STOP to unsubscribe." Only a reply of 'help' will trigger the automated response of "Reply STOP to unsubscribe."
Text Messages from the Concierge:
The default initial greeting text message from the Concierge will include opt-out instructions
Customized Buyer and Seller Greetings will include opt-out instructions appended as the last sentence of the text message.
Each concierge campaign will include opt-out instructions within a text message on a recurring basis of 30 days or more. The opt-out instructions are visible within the Concierge Campaigns and can be viewed by navigating to Concierge > Concierge Campaigns and then selecting the name of the campaign to view the content.
Where can I find recommended texting best practices?
Check out Text Opt-Outs and Best Practices for more information about BoomTown's opt-out functionality and our recommended texting best practices.
How can a lead opt back into text messages from an agent?
Leads can either reply with START or send any text message to the agent’s BoomTown Number to opt back in.
The blue banner isn’t visible anymore. Where did it go?
Only one Broker/Admin per platform needs to complete the registration form. Once the form has been completed, the blue banner will disappear. If you do not see the blue banner it is likely because someone else already completed it.
I'm based in Canada and do not have an EIN number to complete my texting registration. How can I complete the form?
If you will be texting US phone numbers through the CRM, you will need to enter your Canadian Corporation Number, which may be federal or provincial. Please do NOT enter your business number or federal tax ID number.
Where can I learn more about the business license registration requirement?
Click here to learn more about A2P 10DLC.