Telemarketing Compliance: Legal Considerations Before You Call

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telemarketing complianceBy: Michael Silverman

Miami resident Adrian Abramovich certainly wasn’t laughing on Thursday May 10th, 2018 when the Federal Communications Commission (“FCC”) levied a $120 MILLION dollar fine on him for his alleged involvement in an illegal robodialing campaign. FCC Chairman Ajit Pai stated that Abramovich did not dispute that he had placed more than 96 million telemarketing robocalls over a three month period in 2016 without the recipient’s consent. Furthermore, Chairman Pai stated that Abramovich’s telemarketing campaign utilized caller ID “spoofing” which masks the calling party’s true phone number and causes the recipient’s caller ID to indicate that the call was being made by a local number. Abramovich’s telemarketing activities allegedly violated a variety of state and federal regulations; caller ID spoofing, for example, is expressly prohibited by the Florida Telemarketing Act, § 501.616(7).

With the record-breaking fine imposed on Abramovich, the FCC is sending a loud and clear message that it will not tolerate those individuals or entities that violate telemarketing laws. Any person or business engaged in telemarketing (be it a healthcare provider with a single telephonic sales representative or a business devoted to telemarketing with a 100 person call center) must heed the FCC’s unsubtle hint that enforcement activity of telemarketing laws is only heating up.Continue reading

Florida Telemarketing Law: What You Need to Know

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florida telemarketing lawBy: Michael Silverman

Like it or not, telemarketing is a huge component of American businesses, and the healthcare industry is no exception. Many insurance companies, physicians, medical equipment and pharmacy providers heavily rely on telemarketing to expand their client base.

Take a moment to reflect – are you engaged in telephonic marketing or sales? Be it a healthcare businesses’ own internal based sales team or a third party providing such services, many individuals and entities are telemarketing and don’t even realize. If conducting telephonic sales either out of a Florida based location, or if calling into Florida, then listen up! There is a Florida telemarketing law that requires all such marketers to register for a telemarketing license or file for an exemption therefrom. While it’s not a new regulation, it’s one that is often overlooked and one that carries serious consequences for non-compliance.

What am I talking about?

Florida Statute Title XXXIII, Ch. 501 §§ 501.601 through 501.626, or more colloquially known as The Florida Telemarketing Act.

BEFORE doing business, The Florida Telemarketing Act requires individuals or entities looking to conduct telemarketing activities within the State to either (1) obtain a Commercial Telephone Seller Business License, as well as to license its individual sales representatives, or (2) have an approved exemption from such licensure on file. For the purposes of the Florida Telemarketing Act, this includes individuals/entities calling either into or calling out of the State! Unwanted telemarketing calls are one of the largest sources of consumer complaints in America; an individual or entity engaged in telemarketing will not “fly under the radar.” A called party will inevitably file a grievance with the state or federal government over telemarketing calls. If the activity falls under Florida’s jurisdiction, regulators will investigate and will penalize those persons or businesses involved if they are not adhering to the regulations outlined in the Florida Telemarketing Act. So what’s required to become licensed or exempted?

The license or exemption is issued by the Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services – Division of Consumer Services (“FDACS”). A commercial telephone seller must obtain a license from FDACS, in accordance with §501.605, or have an exemption from such licensure on file, in accordance with §501.604.

Option 1 – Apply for the Commercial Telephone Seller Business LicenseContinue reading