Alarm Company Calls Should Be Exempt From TCPA, Says AICC
The FCC should rule that nonemergency, service-related phone calls and text messages to customers who have provided a phone number don't violate the Telephone Consumer Protection Act, said the Alarm Industry Communications Committee in comments posted Friday in docket 02-278.…
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AICC supported a petition for expedited declaratory ruling sought by Edison Electric Institute and the American Gas Association (see 1503270020). Calling the proposed exemption a “common sense approach to customer relations,” AICC acknowledged TCPA exempts communications made for emergency purposes, but “alarm companies may also benefit by being able to use the contact number provided by their customer … to contact that customer about their account and alarm system status and to verify installation/maintenance appointments.” Other notifications “can best be quickly distributed to alarm subscribers by auto-dialer and/or text message," the group said, citing alerts about the need for an equipment upgrade, an equipment recall, alerts regarding a system security risk, suspicious activity like someone is knocking on doors, or about home invasions in the area. Customers who give a vendor or creditor a phone number expect “to be contacted on that number in connection with its relationship with that vendor,” AICC said.