Every day, as many as 100,000 cell phone numbers are reassigned — this adds up to more than 36 million reassigned numbers every year. Each reassigned cell phone number is more than just a potential missed connection, more than just failing to inform a customer about an offer or an important account update. Every call to a reassigned cell phone number potentially exposes your company to liability. TextIQ™ from Solutions by Text is a product solution that increases your company’s likelihood of contacting your intended customer.
The beauty of TextIQ™ is the ease with which it proactively monitors your company’s database of cell phone numbers. Companies using this product are notified of cell phone numbers that have been ported to another carrier, deactivated, or reassigned to a new individual. Knowing this before sending an opt-in request to your database is invaluable. There are many benefits that TextIQ™ can offer companies that engage with their customer bases via text messaging — before, during, and after individuals become customers.
- TextIQ™ customers can check an applicant’s cell phone number before extending or increasing credit or funding a loan, allowing the lender/creditor to review the cell phone number’s porting and deactivation events over a desired period of time. For lenders and creditors who are considering applications from individuals who used to be customers but have been inactive for a prolonged period of time, TextIQ™ can help show all of the porting and deactivation events during the period where the customer was not active.
- Before reaching out to an individual with an offer or communication, TextIQ™ customers can check cell phone numbers to make sure they have not been deactivated or reassigned. If a cell phone number has been deactivated or reassigned, the consumer – whether the individual is a new customer or an existing one — can be unsubscribed before any messages or offers are sent, reducing the liability risk of reaching the incorrect party.
PROTECTION AGAINST THIRD-PARTY DISCLOSURES
The CFPB’s forthcoming Regulation F provides safe harbor protection against an improper third-party disclosure under certain circumstances if a debt collector utilizes a “complete and accurate” database to check for reassigned cell phone numbers.
There are many other risk management benefits to using TextIQ™ for companies of any size or shape. Consumers have identified text messaging as their communication channel of choice, and texting is likely to remain the top preference for the foreseeable future. Deploying solutions that make it more likely to reach the correct person while mitigating litigation and compliance risk is a no-brainer for any company that wants to keep in touch with their customers.
Phone databases are living, breathing documents. Numbers change and get disconnected every day. A database that is pristine and up to date today will not be that way tomorrow or a week from now if it is not meticulously maintained. A tool that automatically manages a phone database for reassigned or deactivated numbers is going to help executives sleep better at night and will help them stay in touch with their customers. This is where TextIQ™ can serve as an incredibly important resource for companies in any industry.
TextIQ™ offers several flexible options to help companies maintain the integrity of their phone databases. Companies can receive customized reports via email, or they can be updated directly into your system using an API integration.
Sending a text message to the wrong individual is a missed opportunity at best and a lawsuit or compliance violation at worst. Avoid calling one of those 100,000 people every day whose phone numbers are reassigned. The duration of time between when a cell phone number is deactivated and when it is reassigned to someone else is shrinking, increasing the chance your company is contacting the wrong individual. Avoid that eventuality by using TextIQ™ from Solutions by Text.
