Mortgage Bankers Lose in Push for TCPA Exemption
The FCC Consumer and Governmental Affairs Bureau rejected a petition by the Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA) asking for an exemption from the prior express consent requirement under the Telephone Consumer Protection Act for autodialed or prerecorded “mortgage servicing” calls to…
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wireless phones. In August, the bureau sought comment (see 1608030032). MBA had argued that the benefits of mortgage servicing calls “far outweigh potential privacy interests,” the bureau said. “MBA maintains that the exemption is necessary to ensure that the TCPA does not restrict mandated, timely communications with residential mortgage borrowers that are required by other federal and state laws or regulations.” The CGB disagreed. “Applying Commission precedent and in light of the record, we find that MBA has not shown, as a threshold matter, the exempted calls would be free of charge to called parties,” the bureau said in a Tuesday order. “Separately, we find that MBA has not shown that it should be able to make or send non-time-sensitive robocalls, including robotexts, to consumers without first obtaining consumer consent.”