We bought a list the vendor said was clean. Does that matter?
Not as a defence. A vendor’s assurance is not a consent record or a scrub report. What matters is whether, for each listed number, you can produce written consent in the FCC’s form or a registry scrub within 31 days of the call.
It matters for your claim against the vendor. It does not matter as a defence to the person who was called. The TCPA does not have a "we were told it was fine" exception. What a court looks for is evidence: for a marketing call made with an automated system to a cell phone, prior express written consent in the form 47 C.F.R. § 64.1200(f) describes; for a call to a number on the National Do Not Call Registry, a scrub against a version of the registry obtained within the previous 31 days, or written consent, or an established business relationship within the rule's limits. A vendor's statement that the list was clean is none of those. Why the claim still runs against you is explained in is my business liable if a vendor made the calls.
What "clean" has to mean
| The vendor said | What would actually need to exist |
|---|---|
| "Scrubbed against the DNC" | A scrub report dated within 31 days before each call, against the registry for the area codes called |
| "All opted in" | A consent record per number: form as rendered, your business named, automated-contact disclosure, timestamp, signature or equivalent |
| "TCPA compliant" | Both of the above, plus calling-hours controls and honoured opt-outs |
What to do now
Write to the vendor today for the consent record and scrub report for every number in the letter, with a date before your deadline, and give notice under the contract's indemnity. What comes back decides the matter. Consent in the right form for a number removes it from the count. Nothing, or a spreadsheet with a column that says "yes", means the item stands and the cost is yours to recover from the vendor later, if you can. See does a web form count as consent.
People also ask
What does "scrubbed" actually require?
Under 47 C.F.R. § 64.1200(c)(2)(i)(D), the version of the National Do Not Call Registry used must have been obtained no more than 31 days before the call. A scrub from three months ago does not count for a call made today.
The vendor says the leads were "opted in". Is that enough?
Only if they can produce the opt-in: the form as the person saw it, naming your business, with the automated-calls disclosure, the number, a timestamp and a signature or equivalent. "Opted in" without the record is an assurance, not consent.
Can I sue the vendor for selling me a bad list?
Possibly, under the contract. That is a separate claim and does not reduce what the person called can recover from you.