Click
here to view our full year calendar of events.
TSL EXPRESS Current news about Asset-Based Lending right on your desktop.
Click HERE
to subscribe
Judicial & Regulatory Alert
New Business Fax Regulations in Effect
The Federal Communications
Commission has issued regulations amending its
rules for implementation of the Telephone Consumer
Protection Act (TCPA), to institute a national
do not call registry to prevent consumers from
being deluged with unwanted telemarketing solicitations.
Included
in the regulations are provisions governing how
businesses can send unsolicited fax advertisements
to prospective customers. These regulations may
have an impact on the ability of CFA member companies
to send unsolicited fax advertisements.
Specifically,
the FCC has amended the TCPA to require that,
effective August 25, 2003,
all businesses wishing to send unsolicited
advertisements via fax must obtain affirmative,
signed permission, including the recipient's
fax number, prior to sending the faxed advertisement.
This is a reversal to prior FCC regulations
which allowed businesses with an "established
business relationship" with the recipient
to send unsolicited faxes without prior permission.
However, in the face of strong opposition
from the business community, the FCC recently
announced that businesses who meet the existing
business relationship (EBR) definition can
continue to send unsolicited faxes without
obtaining prior consent until January 1,
2005. Businesses that wish to send advertisement
faxes to recipients with whom they have no
established business relationship will still
be required to obtain prior written consent.
As
part of these amended regulations, the FCC
has revised its definition of establish
business relationship to conform more closely
with that of the Federal Trade Commission.
Under the revised EBR definition, businesses
may send unsolicited faxes to prospective
customers for 18 months following their last
purchase, rental and investment, and for
three months after an inquiry or application.
The inquiry or application must be of a type
that a customer would reasonably expect a
seller to contact him. An inquiry from a
prospective customer about location or office
hours would not constitute an EBR according
to the revised regulations. Senders of the
advertising faxes would bear the burden of
proof, by
clear and convincing evidence,
that an EBR exists. Affiliates of the company
with whom the customer has the EBR may only
contact the prospective customer if the customer
would reasonably expect the affiliate to
be included within the EBR exception, given
the nature and type of goods and services
offered by the affiliate.
Violators of these
regulations could face a fine of $500 for
each individual violation.
That amount maybe be tripled if the FCC determines
it to be a "knowing and willful" violation.
A
coalition of financial services trade associations
has filed a petition with the
FCC to amend the regulations regarding advertising
faxes to remove the burden that these regulations
now place on businesses who use unsolicited
faxes as a sales and marketing tool. CFA
will continue to closely monitor this issue
and keep members informed of any new developments.
For more
Information contact: Brian Cove Government
Relations Director
Commercial Finance Association
Copyright
2008 - Commercial Finance Association - All Rights Reserved
This site created and maintained CK Studios, Inc.
Problems or suggestions should be addressed to Webmaster
