Safe Harbor Provisions

Under the Do Not Call Rules there are provisions called Safe Harbor Provisions to assist a business in protecting itself from lawsuits brought to enforce the Do Not Call Rules and Registry.  In order to take advantage of the Safe Harbor Provisions, your company must be able to show that as a matter of “routine business practice” you are doing the following:

            1.         You have adopted a written policy or procedures to comply with the Do Not Call Rules and Registry.  An example of that would be the sample office policy provided by the Illinois Association of REALTORS® modified to meet the specific business practices and decisions of your company.  Not only must you show that you have adopted such a policy, but that you are implementing the policy and monitoring compliance with the Do Not Call Rules.  That policy is directed primarily to your sponsored licensees.  You will need to have internal policies in place to make sure your company is doing its part to be in compliance.

            2.         Your company will need to show that it has trained its individuals who would be making cold calls or be engaged in telemarketing as to your company’s policy and complying with the Do Not Call Rules and trained your staff to make sure lists are updated properly.

            3.         Your company will need to demonstrate the procedures established for the maintenance of a company Do Not Call List.

            4.         Your company will need to demonstrate that it is updating the list of telephone calls from the Do Not Call Registry on at least a quarterly basis.  This would include documentation to show that you are accessing the Do Not Call Registry to maintain your company records.

            5.         Your company will need to show that it is down-loading the Do Not Call Registry only for itself for compliance purposes and that your company alone is paying the cost of accessing the Do Not Call Registry for your own company’s purposes.

            More information concerning Safe Harbor Provisions is available from the Federal Trade Commission Web site or the National Association of REALTORS® Web site.