The Federal Communications Commission’s (FCC)interpretation of the Bipartisan Budget Act of 2013 unfortunately mirrors its Telephone Consumer Protection Act (TCPA) omnibus declaratory ruling by failing to understand the need to communicate with consumers in a timely and efficient manner. That’s what CUNA told the FCC in a comment letter filed Friday on the FCC’s implementation of TCPA amendments in the Budget Act.

The Budget Act, signed into law in late 2015, amended the TCPA so that calls using an autodialer, “made solely pursuant to the collection of a debt owed to or guaranteed by the United States,” are exempt from the requirement to obtain prior express consent from the debtor. The act required implementation of this law within 9 months.

“When implementing the Budget Act, the FCC should consider the concerns that Congress and the President had with the limitations the TCPA places on the ability of a variety of businesses to contact consumers with information that they want and need,” CUNA wrote. “In accordance with this consideration, it should address those concerns on a broader level to not only include debts owed to or guaranteed by the federal government, but also provide more than artificial relief to financial institutions seeking to communicate with consumers on their cellular phones.”

CUNA’s letter raises 3 specific points:

• The FCC’s narrow reading of how to implement the Budget Act restricts the number of covered calls to 3 per month (including unanswered calls), and includes debt only when the borrower is in default or delinquent on a payment. Calls to reassigned numbers are not included in the exemption, except for a one-call safe harbor, which CUNA notes makes this exemption virtually meaningless;
   
• CUNA urges the FCC to include mortgage debt and Small Business Administration (SBA) loans in its consideration of debt owed to or guaranteed by the federal government. Credit union mortgages backed by government-sponsored enterprises should qualify for the TCPA’s exemption because the United States is at risk for the credit loss, despite not holding legal title to these mortgages. CUNA also argues that loans offered by credit unions through programs such as the SBA’s 7(a) Loan Program, with up to 90% of the loan guaranteed by the SBA, should be included in the exemption; and
   
• Concerns with the July 2015 TCPA order itself, which CUNA reiterates provides an exemption for financial institutions that is not workable and provides little relief regarding credit unions’ ability to communicate pertinent account information with consumers.

“The FCC’s proposal once again takes an unreasonable approach to applying the language of the TCPA to consumers’ use of modern technology, and disregards consumers’ preferences for communicating using their cellular phones,” CUNA’s letter reads. “Unfortunately, as a result, consumers in financial distress may not be able to receive important information about their accounts, which is necessary to improve their situation.”

For an in-depth look at this issue, see CUNA’s Removing Barriers Blog post on the proposal and CUNA’s comment letter.