Horizons October 2009

HORIZONS e-NEWSLETTER
Volume 2, Number 7

Latest update of items of importance to members of the Vehicle Protection Association (VPA)

VPA Standards of Conduct Available to Members

The Board-approved VPA Standards of Conduct are available in the members only section of vpanet.org. It goes into effect immediately and is applicable to all members of the association. If you desire additional electronic copies, you may download them from the VPA website – Members’- only section and request a copy from larry@vpanet.org. Please note that these standards will be made public in the next week or so and be sent to regulators and be availed to the media and public.

Missouri Attorney General Investigators Visit Multiple St. Louis Area Marketers

Over a ½ dozen St. Louis service contract marketers received visits from investigators from the Missouri AG’s office at the end of September. The VPA contacted the AG’s office (AGO) as soon as it learned of the visits. The Attorney General indicated that because of all of the press on the industry lately, the office decided to visit as many Missouri companies as they could to get “a feel for the industry.” They claimed that they wanted to see how the companies “run their facilities”. The VPA explained the history of the Association and noted that its members would now be following the Standards of Conduct and that the Certification process had already begun. They seemed very interested in the Certification process. The VPA offered to meet with the AG’s office and review its Standards and Certification process with them. The AG’s office agreed to meet with the VPA in November.


New Jersey Attorney General’s Office Sends Document Requests to Marketers

On a similar note, many service contract marketers received requests from the NJ AGO for documents concerning their marketing and the third parties the marketers use to assist them in their marketing. The VPA again immediately contacted the NJ AG’s office. The AGO indicated, much like Missouri, that they are trying to learn more about how the industry works. The VPA similarly offered to meet with the NJ AGO and explain all of the Association’s progress with our Standards of Conduct and certification program.

Source: Helen MacMurray
MacMurray, Petersen, Shuster

The Federal Trade Commission (FTC)’s new Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising will substantially alter the enforcement approach the FTC applies to advertising regulation. The new Guides significantly extend the scope of potential liability associated with the use of testimonials, endorsements, and new media methods in advertising. Advertisers will be required as of the effective date of December 1, 2009 not only to pay even closer attention to the content of these materials, but also to upgrade the quality and quantity of the substantiation they assemble before running their advertisements, placing certain links on their websites, or coordinating with celebrity endorsers or new media outlets.

Marketers using compensated endorsers should not overlook the further possibility that state attorneys general will also use the FTC’s revised guidance on endorsements and testimonials in their enforcement actions. Because every state has a “Mini-FTC Act” outlawing deceptive and unfair trade practices, the FTC's new rules on endorsements could shape the enforcement of those state laws as well. 

The full text of the updated endorsements guide is attached and is available at the Federal Trade Commission website, http://www.ftc.gov/os/2009/10/091005endorsementguidesfnnotice.pdf. The text of the Guides starts at page 55 of this file.

Update from the Hill -- Last Wednesday, the House Judiciary Committee approved legislation on telephone spoofing. The bill (H.R. 1110) would make it a federal crime to transmit phony caller ID numbers with the intent to defraud, gain access to something of value or otherwise do harm. Violators would be subject to prison sentences of up to five years.

Source: Edward R. McNicholas
Sidley Austin LLP

To Marketers who sell into New York State by phone AND MAILERS selling service contracts

A new law went into effect in NYS recently (A1627C/ S.3331-B) that prohibits anyone “from deceptively soliciting vehicle warranty policies to owners of motor vehicles” and makes it illegal to make misleading solicitations for a motor-vehicle warranty where the solicitor erroneously implies there is a current warranty relationship with the consumer. This applies “directly or indirectly representing in any manner, whether written or telemarketing…” The laws stated purpose it to prohibit companies from “soliciting a consumer for automobile insurance coverage implying that the consumer's current coverage is expiring with that company as that practice is misleading and fraudulent when the consumer does not have a current policy with the solicitor nor is the consumer's policy expiring.” This bill makes this practice illegal and creates civil penalties for engaging in this practice. [NOTE: Members of the VPA Marketer’s Council were apprised of this on October 2nd. If you did not receive this info, contact Larry Hecker, VPA Executive Director,
re: FREE Council membership.]

The following holiday restrictions have been verified for November:

  • Outbound calling is prohibited in Alabama, Louisiana, Mississippi, Rhode Island and Utah on Wednesday, November 11, 2009 in observance of Veterans Day.
  • Outbound calling is prohibited in Alabama, Louisiana, Mississippi, Rhode Island and Utah on Thursday, November 26, 2009 in observance of Thanksgiving Day.

Virginia makes modification to state law regarding prerecorded telephone calls:

Modifications to Virginia's law covering prerecorded telephone calls (Virginia Code § 59.1-518.2) now allows use of an "automatic dialing-announcing device" so long as the calls are to customers who have given express consent or are established customers.

Source DNC.com

Red Flag Rule – Effective November 1, 2009

Recently, your editor received a request for information on the Red Flag Rule that goes into effect November first.

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Galexia publishes international analysis of Do Not Call Registers - 8 September 2009

Do Not Call Registers have grown in popularity and are starting to deliver real privacy benefits for consumers. After some initial teething problems, they appear to be working well, with large numbers of registered consumers and numerous examples of enforcement action.

Chris Connolly and Amy Vierboom have published a comparison of the Do Not Call Registers of Australia, Canada, India, Spain, the United Kingdom and the United States. The article compares the functions and sizes of these Registers, and highlights emerging best practices and issues affecting their operation.

See full article at: http://www.galexia.com/public/about/news/about_news-id167.html

Complimentary Call Center Optimization Best Practices Resource Library

You're invited to download several educational resources, white papers and research reports to helpyou learn about best practices of leading call centers and find out how to apply them in yourorganization. For complimentary access to the resource library, visit http://www.VPIcorp.com/Library and use the promo code LINKEDIN.

Source: Amanda Marsh
Contact Center Specialist at VPI - Voice Print International