Safe harbor from the do-not-call storm

Take these five steps to protect your firm.

As owner of a real estate firm, you may be on the hook for calls your agents and employees make that violate the new federal do-not-call rules. To help defend yourself from lawsuits regarding violations of the rules, your company should be able to show that the following five procedures are in place and practiced routinely:

1. Establish written procedures. Company policy must be detailed and describe how FCC and FTC rules will be followed. The firm must also have a system to monitor compliance.

2. Train personnel. In addition to providing instruction on how to comply with the rules, a firm might want to have its representatives sign that they have indeed taken the training.

3. Keep an internal list. Your company must also maintain a list of telephone numbers that have specifically asked to not be called by your company, even if that number is not on the registry.

4. Access the registry. Not only must your company access the registry at least quarterly; you must be able to show you have done so. You must also have a system in place to not call the numbers on the registry.

5. Purchase the registry. Company records must show that you download the list only for your own purposes and you don’t share or sell the list or use it for any purpose other than compliance.

A more-detailed explanation of these procedures and other do-not-call resources can be found on Realtor.org at www.realtor.org/libweb.nsf/pages/fg707#topicnar. NAR has also put together a toolkit, hard copies of which can be ordered for $15.

Buyers & sellers, visit www.texasrealestate.com.
REALTORS®, visit www.texasrealtors.com.