adminCUNA filed a comment letter to the FCC regarding its proposal to create a Reassigned Numbers Database for purposes of compliance with the Telephone Consumer Protection Act (TCPA). Our comments state that the Commission should establish a comprehensive, easy-to-use and affordable reassigned numbers database and provide a safe harbor from TCPA liability for calling a reassigned number where the caller utilized the database, along the lines of the Do Not Call registry provisions.
“Despite the limited, informational nature of their communications, credit unions nonetheless find themselves the target of frivolous TCPA litigation. A recurring concern is reassigned numbers,” the letter reads. “Like telephone consumers generally, credit union members frequently change their contact numbers that were provided to the credit union, and do not necessarily think to immediately inform the credit union of the change. The credit union may then call the number to provide information without any knowledge that the number has been reassigned, potentially exposing it and its member-owners to liability.”
CUNA believes the FCC should also:
- Ensure the database is affordable and as easy to use as possible. CUNA suggests a fee structure similar to the national “Do Not Call” list, for which users pay a per-area code dee, with a cap on the maximum cost; and
- Create a safe harbor for callers that utilize the database, structured similarly to the safe harbor established by the national “Do Not Call” list in which a caller demonstrates that it checks numbers against the database as part of its routine business practices.
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