e-mail and sms communications - why not in the U.S?

Both of these communication methods already have or will soon become SOP in the Far East due to the extreme low cost and fast turnaround. One of the reasons these methods have been accepted in that region is due to the fact that the communications carriers have been able to bill the sender, rather than the receiver of the message. These tools are but two of an entire suite of customer contact tools which should be available to collection companies.

Does anyone have any updates as to whether or not the large U.S. based carriers have plans to implement this bill-back arrangement and, if not, why not?

Tags: email, sms

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Permalink Reply by Shawn Yates on August 5, 2009 at 11:37am: I know of two individuals who have entertained direct discussions with FTC officials and they absolutely stated that the main concern is the cost to the debtor. Having said that the next issue is our famous decision with Foti. Consumer attorneys are harping that a text message is a "message" and as such a communication as thus means you must have the required elements on any message left. Since you only have 145 characters (the SMS company need the other 21 for required FETU lang) you just do not have enough room. I have actually developed a concept for this that could alleviate this concern but at this point it is just too risky to try.; ▶ Reply to This

Permalink Reply by John Gallagher on August 5, 2009 at 11:44am: I wonder why the text space is such an unusual size? It may prove to be a "Drop dead" issue unless the full message can be contained within a single communication.

I think it bears investigation further.

Thanks for the update.; ▶ Reply to This

Permalink Reply by John Gallagher on August 5, 2009 at 11:48am: I wonder if a concatenated SMS schema would be the logical answer, as long as the user actually sees only one message. IT would allow a full message to be sent, in compliance with FOTI.

Any experience with this protocol type?; ▶ Reply to This

Permalink Reply by John McNamara on August 5, 2009 at 12:01pm: FDCPA does not address or preclude email or SMS. My main concern has always been TCPA. Joffe v. Acacia Mortgage established that an SMS message regardless of who pays for it is a call to a cell phone by an ADD. That's at TCPA violation without prior consent.

I have to ask, with all the hype around SMS, with Twitter, etc. it seems like we might be counting too much on this SMS mini-in box. I use SMS as a primary communcition tool for my kids. If it filled up with all sorts of other messages, I would howl in outrage.....and I'm a bill collector. How will the average consumer react? Am I a curmudgeon, or does anyone else feel that way?; ▶ Reply to This

Permalink Reply by John Gallagher on August 5, 2009 at 12:16pm: Excellent points - curmudgeonly or not. Wish we knew the correct answers.; ▶ Reply to This

Permalink Reply by Daniel Doherty on August 7, 2009 at 9:15am: Yes, John, you are a curmudgeon, but despite that, good points all.; ▶ Reply to This

Permalink Reply by Chris Baggett on August 5, 2009 at 12:16pm: http://golivesms.com/products/fteu/; ▶ Reply to This

Permalink Reply by John Gallagher on August 5, 2009 at 12:19pm: Good link - but who will test this without deep pockets coupled with a nature which is not risk averse?; ▶ Reply to This

Permalink Reply by Jack Gordon on August 5, 2009 at 12:28pm: After the initial communication, the only "required element" in any communication is that you identify yourself as a debt collector. Logistically, texting could work quite nicely, if we could only get those pesky laws sorted out.; ▶ Reply to This

Permalink Reply by John Gallagher on August 5, 2009 at 12:59pm: Agreed .. maybe a "Cash for Revising Clunky Laws" plan might work.; ▶ Reply to This

Permalink Reply by Neal Cropper on August 5, 2009 at 1:27pm: We have had clients using these technologies for years in our international markets. These have proven to be very effective tools for communication.

With a FTEU (Free To End User) solution here in North America you could easily use this solution for consumers who are cooperating with you. Send them an SMS to let them know your going to cash a check or to follow up on a missed payment.

These are not appropriate tools for use during initial communication but beyond that I do not see why we have such late adoption in North America. 96% OF SMS messages are read by the end user, do your mail or email campaigns have that level of readership? I doubt it.

If they text you back you know they are at their phone :)

We partnered with golivesms.com and have an integrated solution with them today. I do understand the cautious approach in the litigious society we live in however I think adoption of these tools is happening in spite of this.; ▶ Reply to This

Permalink Reply by John Gallagher on August 5, 2009 at 1:51pm: Agreed on the international market - we see no problem there as there are already many solutions in place. It is in the U.S. where the regulatory issues have stopped people. I'm trying to find out if there are companies who have implemented these technologies in the states without suffering through legal issues.; ▶ Reply to This