The USA PATRIOT Act, passed in 2001, brought charitable solicitations by for-profit telemarketers within the scope of the TSR. As a result, most of the TSR’s provisions now are applicable to “telefunders”—telemarketers who solicit charitable contributions.
Telefunders are required to:
- make certain prompt disclosures in every outbound call.
- get express verifiable authorization if accepting payment by methods other than credit or debit card.
- maintain records for 24 months.
- comply with the entity-specific Do Not Call requirements, but are exempt from the National Do Not Call Registry provision.
Telefunders are prohibited from:
- making a false or misleading statement to induce a charitable contribution.
- making any of several specific prohibited misrepresentations.
- engaging in credit card laundering.
- engaging in acts defined as abusive under the TSR, such as calling before 8 a.m. or after 9 p.m., disclosing or receiving consumers’ unencrypted account information, and denying or interfering with a consumer’s right to be placed on a Do Not Call list.
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