WASHINGTON—NAFCU, CUNA and several other financial services trade groups highlighted some of the unintended consequences that have resulted from vague language in the Telephone Consumer Protection Act (TCPA) in a joint letter to a House Energy and Commerce subcommittee.
NAFCU said it has consistently sought clarification related to the law as credit unions have ceased important communications with members about their accounts over fear of inadvertently violating the rule.
The letter was sent to House Energy and Commerce Subcommittee on Digital Commerce and Consumer Protection Chairman Bob Latta (R-OH) and Ranking Member Jan Schakowsky (D-Il).
In the letter, the trades acknowledge the burden of illegal robocalls on consumers and the Federal Communications Commission's (FCC) efforts to curb their frequency. However, they write that "it is important to distinguish between fraudulent and illegal robocalls and calls from legitimate businesses seeking to communicate with their members and customers."
Last month, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit issued a decision in a lawsuit, ACA International v. FCC, that stemmed from a declaratory ruling and order the FCC issued in July 2015 providing limited exemptions under the TCPA for financial institutions making free autodialed calls to consumers. The court invalidated the FCC's definition of "autodialer" and rejected the commission's interpretation of when a caller violates the TCPA by calling a reassigned number.
In light of this ruling, the trade groups urged the subcommittee to encourage the FCC to clarify the definition of an Automatic Telephone Dialing System (ATDS) for the sake of consistency and take other action to "ensure that consumers whose mobile phone numbers have been reassigned continue to receive important communications."
Other groups signing the letter: American Bankers Association, Consumer Bankers Association, Electronic Transactions Association, Independent Community Bankers of America, National Council of Higher Education Resources and the Student Loan Servicing Alliance.