FOR THE PRESS: Here is Why R.E.A.C.H. is Pushing for a Stay of the FCC’s One-to-One TCPA Consent Rule

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Getting a ton of press inquiries right now. Love you all but don’t have time to statements to each of you today. Please feel free to use any portion of this for your work. Thank you!

While R.E.A.C.H. generally supports the one-to-one rule the way it is drafted will have very damaging consequences for small business that were simply not intended. The previous administration did not adequately consider the impact on small business and more time is needed to absorb input and modify the rule so it makes sense for consumers and businesses alike.

Most problematically is the rule’s requirement that consumers hear from only on behalf of a single specific entity when it is often not possible to know what specific entity will provide the good or service the consumer wants. For instance, in the insurance context if a consumer agreed to hear from GEICO only then a broker could not advise a consumer about a Progressive product—even if it was cheaper and provided better coverage. And a consumer cannot just agree to hear from “Allstate” as a brand, but would have to check separate boxes for any Allstate entity that might provide the insurance product the consumer was looking for—otherwise an Allstate agent could not complete a call with the consumer after determining the consumer checked the wrong Allstate entity for the type of insurance they are looking for.

I am using examples of well known brands but the impact is actually much worse for small businesses—like the brokers in these scenarios, but also like smaller insurers and lenders who do not have the name recognition of national brands and are not likely to be selected by a consumer on a webform, even if they have better rates and service.

We are hoping to see the rule pushed 60 days to allow more time for consideration of these issues. Otherwise the predatory TCPA lawsuits against small businesses may start as early as Monday. 

Thank you.

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Published by Eric "Czar" Troutman

The Czar of TCPAWorld Eric Troutman is one of the country’s prominent class action defense lawyers and is nationally recognized in Telephone Consumer Protection Act (TCPA) litigation and compliance. He has served as lead defense counsel in more than 70 national TCPA class actions and has litigated nearly a thousand individual TCPA cases in his role as national strategic litigation counsel for major banks and finance companies. He also helps industry participants build TCPA-compliant processes, policies, and systems. Eric has built a national litigation practice based upon deep experience, rigorous analysis and extraordinary responsiveness. Eric and his team feel equally at home litigating multibillion dollar telecommunications class actions in federal court as they do developing and executing national litigation strategies for institutions facing an onslaught of individual TCPA matters. They thrive in each of these roles – delivering consistently excellent results – while never losing sight of the client experience. While many firms now tout TCPA expertise, Eric has been there from the beginning. He built one of the country’s first TCPA-only defense teams and began serving as national TCPA counsel for his clients nearly a decade ago. This perspective allows him to swiftly develop the right litigation strategies for dealing with recurring problems, without wasting time on tactics that are bound to fail. Eric’s rich historical perspective and encyclopedic knowledge of the TCPA landscape also make him an invaluable resource to institutional compliance teams struggling to comply with the shifting regulatory landscape. No task is too small – or too big. Indeed, Eric and his team have helped build TCPA-compliant systems and processes for some of the largest and most complex corporate entities in the country. He commonly works with in-house compliance counsel to build and implement enterprise and business-line specific TCPA solutions, performs TCPA audits and drafts and reviews proposed TCPA policies and procedures. He and his team also have the technical expertise necessary to assist call centers seeking to develop TCPA-resistant call path architecture or to modify existing telephony and software integration to better insulate from potential TCPA exposure. Eric has built a reputation for thought leadership. An avid blogger and speaker, he has been at the forefront of the industry’s effort to push for clarity and a return to sanity for the TCPA for years. He was selected to advocate for the financial services industry on important TCPA issues before the Federal Communications Commission and co-authored the nation’s only comprehensive practice guide on TCPA defense. In his spare time, Eric leads defense teams representing banks and other financial services companies in consumer finance litigation matters. He has experience representing clients in UCC, TILA, RESPA FCRA, CCRA, CLRA, FDCPA, RFDCPA and FCCPA claims, as well as in fraud and bank operations issues.

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