Prior to last week’s oversight hearing on the Federal Communications Commission (FCC), CUNA sent a letter to the Chair of the Senate Commerce Committee urging the FCC to revise its implementation of the Telephone Consumer Protection Act (TCPA).   The letter outlines how credit unions have been impacted by the Act, which was intended to discourage invasive telemarketing calls by bad actors.

Due to outdated and unclear legal requirements under the law, some credit unions have found themselves the target of frivolous TCPA litigation – even though telephone communications between credit unions and their members are often focused on time-sensitive fraud alerts, account balances, and governance matters.

CUNA’s letter outlines four specific actions for the FCC to consider to modernize the TCPA:

  1.  Revise its assigned number framework by defining the “called party” as the “intended recipient”;
  2. Identify reasonable methods to revoke consent;
  3. Grant the petition filed by the U.S. Chamber Institute for Legal Reform and clarify the definition of an “automatic telephone dialing system”; and
  4. Grant CUNA’s petition and eliminate antiquated distinctions between cell phone and landline informational calls.

CUNA’s believes adoption of these actions would go a long way with aligning the FCC’s interpretation of the law with the intent of Congress.  To view a copy of CUNA’s letter, click here.