(a) General Telemarketing Requirements
No member or person associated with a member shall initiate any outbound telephone call to:
(1) Time of Day Restriction
Any residence of a person before the hour of 8 a.m. or after 9 p.m. (local time at the called party's location), unless
(A) the member has an established business relationship with the person pursuant to paragraph (m)(12)(A),
(B) the member has received that person's prior express invitation or permission, or
(C) the person called is a broker or dealer;
(2) Firm-Specific Do-Not-Call List
Any person that previously has stated that he or she does not wish to receive an outbound telephone call made by or on behalf of the member; or
(3) National Do-Not-Call List
Any person who has registered his or her telephone number on the Federal Trade Commission's national do-not-call registry.
(b) National Do-Not-Call List Exceptions
A member making outbound telephone calls will not be liable for violating paragraph (a)(3) if:
(1) Established Business Relationship Exception
The member has an established business relationship with the recipient of the call. A person's request to be placed on the firm-specific do-not-call list terminates the established business relationship exception to that national do-not-call list provision for that member even if the person continues to do business with the member;
(2) Prior Express Written Consent Exception
The member has obtained the person's prior express invitation or permission. Such permission must be evidenced by a signed, written agreement (which may be obtained electronically under the E-Sign Act) between the person and member which states that the person agrees to be contacted by the member and includes the telephone number to which the calls may be placed; or
(3) Personal Relationship Exception
The associated person making the call has a personal relationship with the recipient of the call.
(c) Safe Harbor Provision
A member or person associated with a member making outbound telephone calls will not be liable for violating paragraph (a)(3) if the member or person associated with a member demonstrates that the violation is the result of an error and that as part of the member's routine business practice, it meets the following standards:
(1) Written procedures. The member has established and implemented written procedures to comply with the national do-not-call rules;
(2) Training of personnel. The member has trained its personnel, and any entity assisting in its compliance, in procedures established pursuant to the national do-not-call rules;
(3) Recording. The member has maintained and recorded a list of telephone numbers that it may not contact; and
(4) Accessing the national do-not-call database. The member uses a process to prevent outbound telephone calls to any telephone number on any list established pursuant to the do-not-call rules, employing a version of the national do-not-call registry obtained from the administrator of the registry no more than 31 days prior to the date any call is made, and maintains records documenting this process.
(d) Procedures
Prior to engaging in telemarketing, a member must institute procedures to comply with paragraph (a). Such procedures must meet the following minimum standards:
(1) Written policy. Members must have a written policy for maintaining a do-not-call list.
(2) Training of personnel engaged in telemarketing. Personnel engaged in any aspect of telemarketing must be informed and trained in the existence and use of the do-not-call list.
(3) Recording, disclosure of do-not-call requests. If a member receives a request from a person not to receive calls from that member, the member must record the request and place the person's name, if provided, and telephone number on the firm's do-not-call list at the time the request is made. Members must honor a person's do-not-call request within a reasonable time from the date such request is made. This period may not exceed 30 days from the date of such request. If such requests are recorded or maintained by a party other than the member on whose behalf the outbound telephone call is made, the member on whose behalf the outbound telephone call is made will be liable for any failures to honor the do-not-call request.
(4) Identification of sellers and telemarketers. A member or person associated with a member making an outbound telephone call must provide the called party with the name of the individual caller, the name of the member, an address or telephone number at which the member may be contacted, and that the purpose of the call is to solicit the purchase of securities or related service. The telephone number provided may not be a 900 number or any other number for which charges exceed local or long distance transmission charges.
(5) Affiliated persons or entities. In the absence of a specific request by the person to the contrary, a person's do-not-call request shall apply to the member making the call, and will not apply to affiliated entities unless the consumer reasonably would expect them to be included given the identification of the caller and the product being advertised.
(6) Maintenance of do-not-call lists. A member making outbound telephone calls must maintain a record of a person's request not to receive further calls.
(e) Wireless Communications
The provisions set forth in this Rule are applicable to members and persons associated with a member making outbound telephone calls to wireless telephone numbers.
(f) Outsourcing Telemarketing
If a member uses another appropriately registered or licensed entity or person to perform telemarketing services on its behalf, the member remains responsible for ensuring compliance with all provisions contained in this Rule.
(g) Caller Identification Information
(1) Any member that engages in telemarketing, as defined in paragraph (m)(20) of this Rule, must transmit or cause to be transmitted the telephone number, and, when made available by the member's telephone carrier, the name of the member, to any caller identification service in use by a recipient of an outbound telephone call.
(2) The telephone number so provided must permit any person to make a do-not-call request during regular business hours.
(3) Any member that engages in telemarketing, as defined in paragraph (m)(20) of this Rule, is prohibited from blocking the transmission of caller identification information.
(h) Unencrypted Consumer Account Numbers
No member or person associated with a member shall disclose or receive, for consideration, unencrypted consumer account numbers for use in telemarketing. The term “unencrypted” means not only complete, visible account numbers, whether provided in lists or singly, but also encrypted information with a key to its decryption. This paragraph shall not apply to the disclosure or receipt of a customer's billing information to process a payment pursuant to a telemarketing transaction.
(i) Submission of Billing Information
For any telemarketing transaction, a member or person associated with a member must obtain the express informed consent of the person to be charged and to be charged using the identified account.
(1) In any telemarketing transaction involving preacquired account information and a free-to-pay conversion feature, the member or person associated with a member must:
(A) obtain from the customer, at a minimum, the last four digits of the account number to be charged;
(B) obtain from the customer an express agreement to be charged and to be charged using the account number pursuant to paragraph (i)(1)(A); and
(C) make and maintain an audio recording of the entire telemarketing transaction.
(2) In any other telemarketing transaction involving preacquired account information not described in paragraph (i)(1), the member or person associated with a member must:
(A) identify the account to be charged with sufficient specificity for the customer to understand what account will be charged; and
(B) obtain from the customer an express agreement to be charged and to be charged using the account number identified pursuant to paragraph (i)(2)(A).
(j) Abandoned Calls
(1) No member or person associated with a member shall “abandon” any outbound telephone call. An outbound telephone call is “abandoned” if a person answers it and the call is not connected to a person associated with a member within two seconds of the person's completed greeting.
(2) A member or person associated with a member shall not be liable for violating paragraph (j)(1) if:
(A) the member or person associated with a member employs technology that ensures abandonment of no more than three percent of all outbound telephone calls answered by a person, measured over the duration of a single calling campaign, if less than 30 days, or separately over each successive 30-day period or portion thereof that the campaign continues;
(B) the member or person associated with a member, for each outbound telephone call placed, allows the telephone to ring for at least 15 seconds or four rings before disconnecting an unanswered call;
(C) whenever a person associated with a member is not available to speak with the person answering the outbound telephone call within two seconds after the person's completed greeting, the member or person associated with a member promptly plays a recorded message that states the name and telephone number of the member or person associated with the member on whose behalf the call was placed; and
(D) the member retains records establishing compliance with paragraph (j)(2).
(k) Prerecorded Messages
(1) No member or person associated with a member shall initiate any outbound tele
phone call that delivers a prerecorded message other than a prerecorded message permitted for compliance with the call abandonment safe harbor in paragraph (j)(2)(C) unless:
(A) the member has obtained from the recipient of the call an express agreement, in writing, that:
(i) the member obtained only after a clear and conspicuous disclosure that the purpose of the agreement is to authorize the member to place prerecorded calls to such person;
(ii) the member obtained without requiring, directly or indirectly, that the agreement be executed as a condition of opening an account or purchasing any good or service;
(iii) evidences the willingness of the recipient of the call to receive calls that deliver prerecorded messages by or on behalf of a specific member; and
(iv) includes such person's telephone number and signature (which may be obtained electronically under the E-Sign Act);
(B) the member or person associated with a member allows the telephone to ring for at least 15 seconds or four rings before disconnecting an unanswered call; and within two seconds after the completed greeting of the person called, plays a prerecorded message that promptly provides the disclosures in paragraph (d)(4), followed immediately by a disclosure of one or both of the following:
(i) for a call that could be answered by a person, that the person called can use an automated interactive voice and/or keypress-activated opt-out mechanism to assert a firm-specific do-not-call request pursuant to the member's procedures instituted under paragraph (d)(3) at any time during the message. The mechanism must:
a. automatically add the number called to the member's firm-specific do-not-call list;
b. once invoked, immediately disconnect the call; and
c. be available for use at any time during the message;
(ii) for a call that could be answered by an answering machine or voicemail service, that the person called can use a toll-free telephone number to assert a firm-specific do-not-call request pursuant to the member's procedures instituted under paragraph (d)(3). The number provided must connect directly to an automated interactive voice or keypress-activated opt-out mechanism that:
a. automatically adds the number called to the member's firm-specific do-not-call list;
b. immediately thereafter disconnects the call; and
c. is accessible at any time throughout the duration of the telemarketing campaign; and
(C) the member complies with all other requirements of this Rule and other applicable federal and state laws.
(2) Any call that complies with all applicable requirements of paragraph (k) shall not be deemed to violate paragraph (j).
(l) Credit Card Laundering.
Except as expressly permitted by the applicable credit card system, no member or person associated with a member shall:.
(1) present to or deposit into, the credit card system for payment, a credit card sales draft generated by a telemarketing transaction that is not the result of a telemarketing credit card transaction between the cardholder and the member;.
(2) employ, solicit, or otherwise cause a merchant, or an employee, representative or agent of the merchant, to present to or to deposit into the credit card system for payment, a credit card sales draft generated by a telemarketing transaction that is not the result of a telemarketing credit card transaction between the cardholder and the merchant; or.
(3) obtain access to the credit card system through the use of a business relationship or an affiliation with a merchant, when such access is not authorized by the merchant agreement or the applicable credit card system.
(m) Definitions
For purposes of this Rule:
(1) The term "account activity" shall include, but not be limited to, purchases, sales, interest credits or debits, charges or credits, dividend payments, transfer activity, securities receipts or deliveries, and/or journal entries relating to securities or funds in the possession or control of the member.
(2) The term “acquirer” means a business organization, financial institution, or an agent of a business organization or financial institution that has authority from an organization that operates or licenses a credit card system to authorize merchants to accept, transmit, or process payment by credit card through the credit card system for money, goods or services, or anything else of value.
(3) The term “billing information” means any data that enables any person to access a customer's or donor's account, for example a credit or debit card number, a brokerage, checking, or savings account number, or a mortgage loan account number.
(4) The term "broker-dealer of record" refers to the broker-dealer identified on a customer's account application for accounts held directly at a mutual fund or variable insurance product issuer.
(5) The term “caller identification service” means a service that allows a telephone subscriber to have the telephone number, and, where available, name of the calling party transmitted contemporaneously with the telephone call, and displayed on a device in or connected to the subscriber's telephone.
(6) The term “cardholder” means a person to whom a credit card is issued or who is authorized to use a credit card on behalf of or in addition to the person to whom the credit card is issued.
(7) The term “credit” means the right granted by a creditor to a debtor to defer payment of debt or to incur debt and defer its payment.
(8) The term “credit card” means any card, plate, coupon book, or other credit device existing for the purpose of obtaining money, property, labor, or services on credit.
(9) The term “credit card sales draft” means any record or evidence of a credit card transaction.
(10) The term “credit card system” means any method or procedure used to process credit card transactions involving credit cards issued or licensed by the operator of that system.
(11) The term “customer” means any person who is or may be required to pay for goods or services offered through telemarketing.
(12) The term “established business relationship" means a relationship between a member and a person if:
(A) the person has made a financial transaction or has a security position, a money balance, or account activity with the member or at a clearing firm that provides clearing services to such member within the previous 18 months immediately preceding the date of the telemarketing call;
(B) the member is the broker-dealer of record for an account of the person within the previous 18 months immediately preceding the date of the telemarketing call; or
(C) the person has contacted the member to inquire about a product or service offered by the member within the previous three months immediately preceding the date of the telemarketing call.
A person's established business relationship with a member does not extend to the member's affiliated entities unless the person would reasonably expect them to be included. Similarly, a person's established business relationship with a member's affiliate does not extend to the member unless the person would reasonably expect the member to be included.
(13) The term “free-to-pay conversion” means, in an offer or agreement to sell or provide any goods or services, a provision under which a customer receives a product or service for free for an initial period and will incur an obligation to pay for the product or service if he or she does not take affirmative action to cancel before the end of that period.
(14) The term “merchant” means a person who is authorized under a written contract with an acquirer to honor or accept credit cards, or to transmit or process for payment credit card payments, for the purchase of goods or services or a charitable contribution. A “charitable contribution” means any donation or gift of money or any other thing of value, for example a transfer to a pooled income fund.
(15) The term “merchant agreement” means a written contract between a merchant and an acquirer to honor or accept credit cards, or to transmit or process for payment credit card payments, for the purchase of goods or services or a charitable contribution.
(16) The term “outbound telephone call” means a telephone call initiated by a telemarketer to induce the purchase of goods or services or to solicit a charitable contribution from a donor. A “donor” means any person solicited to make a charitable contribution.
(17) The term “person” means any individual, group, unincorporated association, limited or general partnership, corporation, or other business entity.
(18) The term "personal relationship" means any family member, friend, or acquaintance of the person associated with a member making an outbound telephone call.
(19) The term “preacquired account information” means any information that enables a seller or telemarketer to cause a charge to be placed against a customer's or donor's account without obtaining the account number directly from the customer or donor during the telemarketing transaction pursuant to which the account will be charged.
(20) The term "telemarketing" means consisting of or relating to a plan, program, or campaign involving at least one outbound telephone call, for example cold-calling. The term does not include the solicitation of sales through the mailing of written marketing materials, when the person making the solicitation does not solicit customers by telephone but only receives calls initiated by customers in response to the marketing materials and during those calls takes orders only without further solicitation. For purposes of the previous sentence, the term “further solicitation” does not include providing the customer with information about, or attempting to sell, anything promoted in the same marketing materials that prompted the customer's call.
• • • Supplementary Material: --------------
.01 Compliance with Other Requirements. This Rule does not affect the obligation of any member or person associated with a member that engages in telemarketing to comply with relevant state and federal laws and rules, including but not limited to the Telemarketing and Consumer Fraud and Abuse Prevention Act codified at 15 U.S.C. 6101–6108, as amended, the Telephone Consumer Protection Act codified at 47 U.S.C. 227, and the rules of the Federal Communications Commission relating to telemarketing practices and the rights of telephone consumers codified at 47 CFR 64.1200.
