Consent and Revocation of Consent in the Debt Recovery Industry

Recently, an act was passed known as the Telephone Consumer Protection Act. This Act requires accounts receivable collection agencies to obtain and document contact consent, meaning, in other words, permission for them to contact consumers in an effort to collect on their debts. These same agencies also must document any revocations of consent when consumers ask to no longer be contacted and, of course, abide by these requests.   

Because of the laws in place, it is important for every collection agency to have clear policies and procedures on how it will document both consent and implied consent, as well as clearly worded contracts and other documents that protect them and prove that they had the right to make contact.

The same holds true when it comes to revocation of consent. In fact, debt collectors need to be even more careful when they receive revocation of consent since violating a request not to contact a debtor can lead to serious legal ramifications. Debt collectors must have a reliable system in place that allows them to track revocation of consent and, ideally, will alert them and employees anytime they accidentally attempt to contact a person who has revoked the right to contact them.

While debt collection agencies have a lot to keep track of, tracking consent and revocation consent is a necessary addition to the already long-list of tracking responsibilities. It may not be fun, but it is required, so debt collectors are encouraged to closely examine their current tracking systems to make sure they are as efficient and effective as they should be and to make changes as necessary, or, if they don’t currently have a tracking system in place, to create one right away!