State responses to the COVID-19 pandemic are changing fast. For all of us, it’s a very uncertain time. Now that unemployment claims have topped 6.65 million, governments are trying to lessen the financial pain for consumers already struggling to pay their debts. In many cases, the impact on third-party collection agencies has been severe.

What should you be doing to keep calm, carry on, and manage risk in these unprecedented times?

Earlier this week, I sat down with two of my Ontario Systems colleagues—Compliance Consultant Director Sara Woggerman and Senior Director of Product Engineering and Product Management Dan Womack— for our first weekly COVID-19 crisis management webinar, “Understanding ‘Inconvenient Time’ and State Restrictions During This Most Inconvenient Time.” We discussed what ARM businesses need to consider and do to successfully navigate the new legal landscape in the age of COVID-19. (You can access the full webinar recording here.)

State Stay-at-Home Orders: How to Operate Responsibly

State stay-at-home orders have caused enormous disruption for many ARM agencies. Our goal is to help you weather the storm by keeping you informed so you can adapt to changing circumstances in compliance with state and federal mandates.

Before we discuss how you might approach collections in the COVID-19 era, let’s talk about the operational adjustments you’ll need to make in the days and weeks ahead.

Determine whether you’re an essential business

Review the definition of financial services or financial affiliates under your state’s definition. Some states are changing their definitions after issuing a stay-at-home order or within the order itself. In the case of commercial debt, you’ll want to review the definitions of the debt and debt collector under state laws.

Identify any remote work requirements or barriers

Certain states prohibit remote collections entirely. Others allow it but impose additional requirements. Some states have temporarily waived branch licensing requirements. If you’re looking for real-time updates, Cornerstone Support’s Coronavirus guidance (for both employment matters and collection activity) is an outstanding resource.

• Catalog your remote workers’ locations. Some states require this information.
• Call your insurance company to find out if they need the information as well.
• Be ready to defend against future negligence claims by having collectors attest, in writing, to the fact that they are working in a private, closed-off area of their home; are adhering to your policies and procedures; and are following your workstation expectation with regard to clean desk, password protections, etc.

Guidelines and Restrictions Governing Collection Activity

State guidelines and mandates related to suspension of debt vary widely, and they’re changing often. For the duration of the COVID-19 crisis, someone in your organization should be dedicated to staying on top of these changes. In addition to Cornerstone Support, insideARM, ACA International, and the Receivables Management Association International (RMAI) are great sources of COVID-19 guidance.

Consumer attorneys read the civil liability section of the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act (FDCPA) frequently, if not daily. Right now, most ARM leaders aren’t thinking long term about exposures they might be creating. But there are some things you need to do today to close gaps and prevent exposure later.

Credit reporting

You’ll need to determine how state-ordered suspension of collection activity or deferment of payments may affect consumers whose data you’re reporting. Then you’ll need to decide whether you’ll furnish any new data or accounts.

Earlier this week, the CFPB issued guidance on the Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA). As a result of the pandemic, the CFPB will consider the consumer reporting agency or furnisher’s individual circumstances when dispute responses are delayed beyond the 30-day guideline. As long as you’re making a good-faith effort to investigate disputes as quickly as possible, the CFPB will not cite an examination or bring an enforcement action.

Payment processing

You’ll need to establish a policy that outlines how deferred payments will be handled. The legal risks posed by preauthorized EFTs, payment plans, checks on record, etc., will differ from payments the consumer initiated themselves via portal, phone, or IVR.

In states that have prohibited collection activity, your safest bet is to suspend any payment plans involving charging credit cards or debiting accounts until you have contacted the consumer. Understand, some agencies have taken the position that unless the state order or law specifically prohibits the collector from processing previously authorized payment arrangements, they are willing to assume the risk of noncompliance.

Interacting with consumers

The FDCPA’s inconvenient time provision is alive and well. As always, you’re prohibited from contacting consumers at a time or place affected by a natural disaster or declared state of emergency.

Many consumers have been deeply affected by COVID-19, whether they’re sick, caring for someone, in the hospital, or unemployed. I recommend asking consumers outright whether and how the crisis is affecting them so you can successfully defend an inadvertent violation of the inconvenient time provision.

It’s important not to let the use of a dialer or any sort of prerecorded message block your ability to detect consumers who are particularly hard hit by this crisis.

• Stop workflows for any communications you and your legal counsel deem high risk.
• Provide agents with scripts that account for consumers’ stress and unease. Empathy is crucial during this time.
• If you are the middleman between consumers and a creditor and law firm, stay in close contact with the law firm so you’ll know how they’re responding to the crisis (e.g., suspending garnishment).

Bottom Line: Consult Your Attorney, and Proceed with Care

Language in some states’ collection restrictions leaves room for interpretation. Instead of mandating a suspension of activity, they “urge” or “encourage” certain steps. Discuss these guidelines with your attorney, and consider his or her input and your risk tolerance before making any decisions.

It’s also important to document everything you’re doing in response to this crisis including technology changes, script changes, and relocation of personnel. Keep these details well organized in a central location. Any change you make is a deviation from standard policy, so you must be prepared to show that you had reasonable procedures in place to comply with COVID-19 state mandates and existing federal law.

We are committed to helping you protect your business during this uncertain time. For more on the latest COVID-19 requirements and guidelines as well additional ARM industry information and resources, be sure to download your free recording of this week’s webinar, “Understanding ‘Inconvenient Time’ and State Restrictions During This Most Inconvenient Time.”

Disclaimer: Ontario Systems is a technology company and provides this blog article solely for general informational and marketing purposes. You should not rely on the content of this material for any other purpose or as specific guidance for your company. Ontario Systems’ advice, services, tools and products described herein do not guarantee compliance with any law or industry standard. You are ultimately responsible for your own company’s actions and compliance efforts. Because everyone’s situation is different, you must consult your own attorneys, accountants, and/or other advisors to obtain specific advice on your company’s compliance, legal, tax, regulatory and/or other business needs. Despite Ontario Systems’ efforts to provide current and up-to-date information, you need to recognize that the information contained herein may become outdated quickly and may contain errors and/or other inaccuracies.

© 2020 Ontario Systems, LLC. All rights reserved. Information contained in this document is subject to change. Reproduction of this publication is not permitted without the express permission of Ontario Systems, LLC.

For more insights and tips you can use to accelerate your success in the ARM market, subscribe to the OS blog. We’ll deliver high-value content straight to your inbox.

Disclaimer: Ontario Systems is a technology company and provides this blog article solely for general informational and marketing purposes. You should not rely on the content of this material for any other purpose or as specific guidance for your company. Ontario Systems’ advice, services, tools and products described herein do not guarantee compliance with any law or industry standard. You are ultimately responsible for your own company’s actions and compliance efforts. Because everyone’s situation is different, you must consult your own attorneys, accountants, and/or other advisors to obtain specific advice on your company’s compliance, legal, tax, regulatory and/or other business needs. Despite Ontario Systems’ efforts to provide current and up-to-date information, you need to recognize that the information contained herein may become outdated quickly and may contain errors and/or other inaccuracies.

© 2020 Ontario Systems, LLC. All rights reserved. Information contained in this document is subject to change. Reproduction of this publication is not permitted without the express permission of Ontario Systems, LLC.

1. A Text Message Is the Functional and Legal Equivalent of a Phone Call

Text messages trigger the same legal and regulatory requirements as phone calls placed to mobile devices using an automated telephone dialing system (ATDS), prerecorded message, or artificial voice. The Telephone Consumer Protection Act (TCPA) applies to text messaging, as do the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act (FDCPA) and the requirements put forth by CTIA (formerly the Cellular Telephone Industry Association).

But not all text messages trigger state calling times and frequency restrictions.

In the case of self-service text message programs, consumers can request information about their accounts and make payments 24/7. These sorts of self-service actions are initiated by the consumer with the expectation and understanding on the part of the consumer an automated response will be provided to their self-service text request.

For example, if a consumer requests the balance on their accounts at 3:00 a.m., the consumer will immediately receive a text from the agency indicating the total balance due on all active accounts. The automated response sent by the agency’s text messaging service informing the consumer of the balance due should not be deemed a communication that must satisfy state calling times and frequency restrictions.

On the other hand, if the agency initiates a text to the consumer, any such text would trigger state calling times and frequency restrictions. For example, if the agency notifies the consumer their last payment failed, such a text would not be deemed a self-service request. It would be deemed an agency- initiated text similar to an agency initiated outbound call.

The Telephone Robocall Abuse Criminal Enforcement and Deterrence (TRACED) Act complicates matters for collectors, as it fails to address ARM industry concerns about the TCPA and punts the ball for rulemaking to the FCC.

As we await the FCC’s proposed rules, which should be published in the coming months, the U.S. Supreme Court will revisit TCPA’s federal debt collection carve-out. This decision could have big implications for TCPA compliance when it comes to collecting debts owed to the Federal government and any other type of exemption from the TCPA based on the content of the message.

“This Court declines to contravene the FCC’s regulation by interpreting the TCPA as requiring callers to do what the competing expert reports in this case demonstrate is either impossible, or at least highly unreliable.”

To avoid any issue over the validity of pass-through consent, debt collectors should conduct a scrub to ensure the consumer who originally granted the consent is still associated with the mobile number.

4. Text Consent Need Not Be Specific to Meet the Requirements of the TCPA

Under the TCPA, you do not need consumers’ specific permission to text as long as you properly obtain consent (whether verbally or in writing) to meet the minimum requirements of the TCPA. From a legal standpoint, consent to autodial, leave a prerecorded message, or use an artificial voice in an outbound communication to a mobile phone includes consent to text.

Nevertheless, most creditors and third-party collection agencies err on the side of caution by seeking express, specific consent to text—not just to avoid legal complications, but to be sensitive to consumers’ wishes. This is a smart move, especially now that service quality has become a leading differentiator in the ARM market.

5. CTIA—the Mobile Industry Standard for Short Code Text Messaging—Requires More Than the TCPA

CTIA (formerly the Cellular Telephone Industry Association) is the self-regulatory body governing the use of short code text messages. The CTIA’s consent-to-text requirements are more stringent than the TCPA’s.

Unlike the TCPA, which recognizes a consumer’s verbal permission to text, the CTIA requires consumers to affirmatively subscribe to or join a text message program. Consumers can do so by replying to a text message inviting them to participate or by initiating a text message to a short code using a keyword such as YES, ENROLL, or SUBSCRIBE.

Although the CTIA’s guidelines for text messaging consumers do not establish a private right of action,  operating outside of them could lead major carriers to block your text messages.

6. Prior Express Consent Gives Third-Party Collectors the Green Light to Text First

If you have received pass-through consent to text from the creditor, or the consumer provides their consent to text verbally, you are permitted to send a text message to that consumer’s mobile number inviting the consumer to agree to terms and conditions and opt into your text messaging program by way of a text message response.

7. Invitations to Text Should Be Transparent—with No Strings Attached

CTIA comes down hard on what it considers unfair practices—not just the failure to properly obtain consent, but also unreasonable claims and demands.

For example, carriers prohibit the use of the word “free” in describing a standard messaging rate texting campaign. Any messages a consumer receives from a business may trigger text and data charges for which the consumer must pay.

CTIA also prohibits a business from requiring a consumer’s consent as a condition of an opportunity—e.g., a settlement or type of payment. If you’re going to offer consumers the option to text, you must offer it as a service without demanding anything in return.

Clarity and transparency are key to a compliant, successful text messaging program. Make sure your invitation to text is worded in a simple, straightforward way, with no inflammatory language (intentional or not). This will help ensure consumers understand exactly what they’re consenting to—and help you avoid service failures, legal problems, and lost opportunities to collect.

Learn More About Compliant Texting for Collections

To successfully make the leap to digital communications, you’ll need to focus your efforts in three areas: 1) applicable laws, regulations, and industry standards; 2) consumer expectations for service; and 3) day-to-day compliance management.

I’ve outlined what you need to get started in our complementary eBook “Ready to Text 2.0: The Collection Professional’s Guide to Compliant Communication in 2020.” In it, you’ll learn why texting is important, what recent legal decisions mean for collectors, and how to mitigate your legal risks and serve consumers well.

If you missed my recent webinar “Game-Changing TCPA Cases & the TRACED Act: The Bottom Line for Collectors,” I encourage you to download the recording today so you can better understand how these laws intersect and the steps you should take to protect your business.

Don’t miss the other blog posts in this series:

• ARM Industry Leaders, Why Aren’t You Texting?
• Compliant Texting for Collections: How to Draft Your Terms and Conditions

For more insights and tips you can use to accelerate your success in the ARM market, subscribe to the OS blog. We’ll deliver high-value content straight to your inbox.

Disclaimer: Ontario Systems is a technology company and provides this blog article solely for general informational and marketing purposes. You should not rely on the content of this material for any other purpose or as specific guidance for your company. Ontario Systems’ advice, services, tools and products described herein do not guarantee compliance with any law or industry standard. You are ultimately responsible for your own company’s actions and compliance efforts. Because everyone’s situation is different, you must consult your own attorneys, accountants, and/or other advisors to obtain specific advice on your company’s compliance, legal, tax, regulatory and/or other business needs. Despite Ontario Systems’ efforts to provide current and up-to-date information, you need to recognize that the information contained herein may become outdated quickly and may contain errors and/or other inaccuracies.

© 2020 Ontario Systems, LLC. All rights reserved. Information contained in this document is subject to change. Reproduction of this publication is not permitted without the express permission of Ontario Systems, LLC.

If the Receivables Management Association International’s (RMAI) 2020 annual conference was any gauge of the accounts receivable management (ARM) industry’s future, I would say business is in for another good run. More than 1,300 debt buyers, first- and third-party collectors, government officials, and service providers descended on Las Vegas for what I believe was the best education conference I’ve attended in years.

Session attendance was so strong, presentations were often made to standing room–only crowds, and the Exhibit Hall was no exception.

Over the course of the four-day event, certain themes dominated the conversation: digital consumer communications; diversity, inclusion, and ADA compliance; the CFPB’s new rules for debt collection; and new legal theories plaintiffs’ attorneys are formulating in the name of consumer protection.

Let’s dive into each of these RMAI themes one by one.

Digital Communications

One-way and two-way text messaging, along with email communications and the use of secure URL links, are coming of age for debt collectors. Yet E-Sign consent remains a challenging topic both conceptually and technically for the industry as a whole.

To properly obtain a consumer’s consent to substitute the digital delivery of a legally required disclosure or legally required written document (such as a validation notice or post-dated payment reminder), a collector must require the consumer to demonstrate their ability to send and receive the information at the mobile number or the email address they choose for this purpose. E-Sign consent is not valid until the demonstration is complete.

Diversity, Inclusion, and ADA Compliance

Three years ago, these topics would not have been included in a session agenda for an ARM industry conference. Today, they’re among the industry’s hottest topics.

First- and third-party collectors employ over 130,000 people of diverse backgrounds. Understanding how to manage individuals who vary by age, socioeconomic status, race, gender, and religious beliefs has become critically important to organizational success. By including people from diverse groups in the decision-making process—from the front line all the way to the C suite—companies can positively impact their employee retention rates, brand reputation, and profitability.

ARM businesses should be equally focused on meeting the needs of diverse consumers—including those with disabilities. The Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) has traditionally applied to brick-and-mortar businesses, but the 9th Circuit made the ADA come alive for the ARM industry in the matter of Domino’s Pizza LLC v. Robles.

Domino’s argued that companies were not required under the law to make their websites and mobile apps fully accessible so long as they offered customers with disabilities other options for accessing the goods and services, such as a telephone hotline.

The 9th Circuit disagreed. The Court held the ADA applies to a company’s website and mobile app as well as any brick-and-mortar presence it may have. In the Court’s opinion, the ADA “applies to the services of a place of public accommodation, not services in a place of public accommodation” (emphasis added).

CFPB’s New Rules for Debt Collection

The RMAI conference buzzed with the unofficial announcement that the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) will be publishing its final rules for debt collection in Q2 or Q3 of 2020. The new rules will take effect one year after the date of publication in the Federal Register.

If the CFPB is true to its “word,” albeit unofficial, this means agencies will have months, not years, to adapt—i.e., update their policies and procedures, reengineer their software applications, modify creditor-client contracts, embrace technology to communicate digitally, and incorporate artificial intelligence in their contact management workflow.

Attendees also learned the CFPB plans to publish a new rule for out-of-statute debt. In its notice of proposed rulemaking for debt collection, the CFPB reserved the right to study issues pertaining to the collection of out-of-statute debt. After many months of research, the CFPB has identified disclosure requirements for the collection of out-of-statute debt. The new rule for out-of-statute debt collection, once final, will be included in the comprehensive final rules for debt collection.

New Legal Theories and Claims

One of the required courses for RMAI certification is the ever-popular Hot Topics session presented by a panel of RMAI-certified attorneys. This year’s Hot Topics included an explanation of a new claims attacking the validity of a judgment on the grounds:

• The judgment was obtained by an unlicensed debt buyer;
• An incorrect interest rate was applied to the judgment total; or
• The underlying debt was not valid, and the original service of process was insufficient.

Other hot topics included a discussion of the difference between convenience fees charged by agencies and convenience fees charged by third-party processors as well as issues relating to credit reporting and trade line deletion practices.

Final Thoughts

Throughout the conference, Solutions by Text did a fantastic job updating the attendees with information about the networking events and providing them with access to PowerPoint decks and materials for the sessions.

For additional information about the RMAI conference or any of the topics mentioned above, visit https://rmaintl.org/.

Disclaimer: Ontario Systems is a technology company and provides this blog article solely for general informational and marketing purposes. You should not rely on the content of this material for any other purpose or as specific guidance for your company. Ontario Systems’ advice, services, tools and products described herein do not guarantee compliance with any law or industry standard. You are ultimately responsible for your own company’s actions and compliance efforts. Because everyone’s situation is different, you must consult your own attorneys, accountants, and/or other advisors to obtain specific advice on your company’s compliance, legal, tax, regulatory and/or other business needs. Despite Ontario Systems’ efforts to provide current and up-to-date information, you need to recognize that the information contained herein may become outdated quickly and may contain errors and/or other inaccuracies.

© 2020 Ontario Systems, LLC. All rights reserved. Information contained in this document is subject to change. Reproduction of this publication is not permitted without the express permission of Ontario Systems, LLC.

Disclaimer: Ontario Systems is a technology company and provides this blog article solely for general informational and marketing purposes. You should not rely on the content of this material for any other purpose or as specific guidance for your company. Ontario Systems’ advice, services, tools and products described herein do not guarantee compliance with any law or industry standard. You are ultimately responsible for your own company’s actions and compliance efforts. Because everyone’s situation is different, you must consult your own attorneys, accountants, and/or other advisors to obtain specific advice on your company’s compliance, legal, tax, regulatory and/or other business needs. Despite Ontario Systems’ efforts to provide current and up-to-date information, you need to recognize that the information contained herein may become outdated quickly and may contain errors and/or other inaccuracies.

© 2020 Ontario Systems, LLC. All rights reserved. Information contained in this document is subject to change. Reproduction of this publication is not permitted without the express permission of Ontario Systems, LLC.

Disclaimer: Ontario Systems is a technology company and provides this blog article solely for general informational and marketing purposes. You should not rely on the content of this material for any other purpose or as specific guidance for your company. Ontario Systems’ advice, services, tools and products described herein do not guarantee compliance with any law or industry standard. You are ultimately responsible for your own company’s actions and compliance efforts. Because everyone’s situation is different, you must consult your own attorneys, accountants, and/or other advisors to obtain specific advice on your company’s compliance, legal, tax, regulatory and/or other business needs. Despite Ontario Systems’ efforts to provide current and up-to-date information, you need to recognize that the information contained herein may become outdated quickly and may contain errors and/or other inaccuracies.

© 2020 Ontario Systems, LLC. All rights reserved. Information contained in this document is subject to change. Reproduction of this publication is not permitted without the express permission of Ontario Systems, LLC.