Scam call
Credit union trade groups this week asked House appropriators to push the FCC to amend rules limiting the phone calls financial institutions may make to members using automated dialing systems.
"We urge Congress to hold the FCC accountable for its failure to modernize the [rules] and reiterate the need for the Commission to undertake rulemaking efforts that are line with modern technological practices," CUNA President/CEO Jim Nussle wrote to appropriators prior to a hearing on the FCC's annual budget.
"We ask you to urge the Commissioners to adopt the approaches suggested by NAFCU so that credit unions may communicate important information to their members without fear of inadvertently violating the TCPA and potentially facing expensive, and oftentimes meritless, lawsuits," Brad Thaler, NAFCU's vice president of legislative affairs, wrote to appropriators.
However, consumer groups and some Democrats want the FCC to take a strict position on so-called robocalls.
In testimony before the House Financial Services Appropriations Subcommittee, Democratic FCC Commissioner Jessica Rosenworcel said at the start of the Trump Administration, consumers were receiving about two billion robocalls a month.
That number has ballooned to five million, she said.
She said the FCC should establish an office in its Enforcement Bureau to focus on robocalls.
And Rep. Mike Quigley (D-Ill.) criticized the commission, saying that while robocalls have reached crisis levels, the FCC is relying on the industry to figure out a system for authenticating calls.
But Nussle contended that the current limits on phone calls hurt credit unions and members.
He said the FCC treats telephone calls to a landline differently than a cell phone, adding that many consumers no longer have landlines.
"These trends suggest that the rationale for the FCC's existing interpretation of the [law] and implementing regulations are not only outdated, but also harmful to both consumers and the credit unions that serve them," Nussle added.
Before a credit union can make a cell phone call to a member using an automatic telephone dialing system, the institution must have the express consent of the member or risk being sued, according to Nussle.
"The different treatment of informational calls to cell phones and landlines is antiquated and unfair, and fails to reflect how the vast majority of consumers communicate today," he said.
Thaler told House appropriators that courts have taken a variety of positions in determining what constitutes an autodailer.
He said NAFCU supports a definition of autodialer that "only includes equipment that uses a random or sequential number generator to store or produce numbers and dial those numbers without human intervention."
However, consumer groups, such as the National Consumer Law Center, contended all calls made using an autodialer should fall under FCC rules.
Meanwhile, the Senate Commerce Committee on Wednesday approved S. 151, legislation that would broaden the FCC's powers to police robocalls. The bill would allow the agency to levy $10,000 fines per call for people who intentionally flout telemarketing restrictions.
The bill would also require federal agencies to report on efforts to stem robocall scams and directs the FCC to enact rules that would protect people from receiving unwanted phone calls or texts.
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