Note that the information contained in this article is provided for informational purposes only, and should not be construed as legal advice.
Too long; Didn't read:
Per cell carrier restrictions, businesses cannot text consumers without first obtaining their consent.
Consent cannot be collected by text, but rather must be collected via email, lead web forms, property management agreements, or lease agreements.
Penalties and legal liability can be serious:
Loss of approval to text
Fines up to $10,000 per violation, levied by the carriers
To reduce your liability and ours, LeadSimple will be requiring documented consent for contacts, starting on August 31st.
If someone texts you at your LeadSimple phone number, this is automatically recorded as consent, unless they later opt out.
If you collect consent via your property management and lease agreements, you can indicate that you already have consent to text your Owners, Tenants, etc, by updating your PMS integration in LeadSimple.
If your web forms collect consent, you can indicate which of your lead sources properly collect consent.
If you don't yet have consent, you can email your contacts asking them to confirm their communication preferences using a form hosted by LeadSimple.
To-dos for you:
Document any consent you have already received from clients by updating your PMS integration in LeadSimple.
Update your lead web forms, PMA's, and lease agreements to collect consent going forward and document that you updated them in order to continue texting through LeadSimple.
Gather consent from current leads and clients via a web form sent via email from LeadSimple.
We're here for you and want your feedback:
Additional tools for consent collection and documentation may be available in the future. Please let us know what would be helpful to you.
What are the Text Message Consent Requirements and Why are They Being Enforced Now?
Cell phone carriers are now enforcing new restrictions to prevent SMS spam going forward. These restrictions apply to all businesses and all SMS communications.
These new regulations include business registration (learn more here) and an enforcement of the express consent requirements.
This means that businesses cannot text consumers without first obtaining their consent through a different channel (ie verbal or written consent via email, web forms, or paper agreements).
Note that there is a serious legal liability and penalty connected with texting without prior express consent:
Loss of approval to text
Fines up to $10,000 per violating text
This means that businesses need to be careful to collect proper consent before sending text messages to consumers.
LeadSimple is here to help you navigate the new regulations by helping you document the consent you have and gather it if you don't have it yet. In the near future, we will require documented consent to send text messages to protect your sending reputation.
What Do I Need To Do?
In order to continue texting your contacts in LeadSimple after August 31, you need to:
Confirm in LeadSimple that you have collected express consent to text current contacts (both leads & clients)
Update your web forms, Property Management Agreements, and Lease Agreements to collect express consent from your future leads and clients
Collect express consent from your current contacts if you have not already (both leads & clients)
Note that you may not assume consent until a contact opts-out. Instead, you must gather consent prior to texting a contact, and cannot text a contact to obtain consent from them. Check out the next section to learn how to collect consent.
Ways to Collect Consent
NOTE: You may not text a contact to obtain consent to text them. You must have prior consent first. Texting a contact to obtain consent is a big red flag for the cell carriers and could open you up to an audit.
Instead, consent can be obtained by:
An inbound text from the contact - if a contact texts you first, this implies implicit consent to receive replies and automatically updates the phone number to have positive consent in LeadSimple
Web Form - when you are collecting leads via a web form, include text on the form to the effect of "By providing your mobile number you are consenting to receiving text messages from ABC testco. Reply STOP to opt out. Msg & data rates may apply."
Property Management Agreement/Lease Agreement - include a paper form gathering consent in your PMA's and lease agreements. Example here.
LeadSimple consent form - send LeadSimple's consent collection form to your current clients via email to gather express consent.
How Do I Document Consent If I Already Have It?
If you are already collecting consent from your contacts, here are the ways to document that consent in LeadSimple:
Inbound texts - if someone has texted you after January 1, 2023, we automatically register consent for their phone number. You won’t have to do anything here and can continue to text the contact, unless they later opt out
Property Accounting Software Integration - you can indicate that you already have consent to text. Note: you still need to document this consent via your PMA or Lease Agreement, in case consent is challenged in an audit or in court.
Go to the settings for your PAS integration and indicate which contact groups you currently collect consent from: Owners, Tenants, etc.
LeadSimple will document this consent setting on all contact groups you select.
On Your Lead Sources - Update your web forms and then indicate in LeadSimple how you are collecting consent to text
Upload a screenshot or pdf of the form containing the consent language
Example language: "By providing your mobile number you are consenting to receiving text messages from ABC TestCo. Reply STOP to opt out. Msg & data rates may apply."
LeadSimple will document this consent on all contacts imported through this source going forward.
We're here for you
We understand that these changes are new for our industry, and we're here to help you navigate them.
We want to hear your questions and feedback. New tools for consent collection and documentation may become available in the future. Please let us know if you have any suggestions.
FAQ's
Are any of my contacts already marked as having consent?
If you have received an inbound text from a phone number since January 1, 2023, we automatically register consent for their phone number. You won’t have to do anything and can continue to text the contact, unless they later opt out.
Why can't I manually update my contacts as having provided consent?
LeadSimple's consent tools are designed to protect you from liability in the event of an audit, when documentation of express written consent is required.
How can I tell how whether a contact has opted-out?
When you attempt to text a contact, you will see a warning if you do not have consent to text them at the selected number.
You can also click on a contact's name and click the text message icon to view the consent status of the contact.
How can contacts opt out? What happens?
Contacts can opt out by texting one of the following opt-out keywords: STOP, STOPALL, UNSUBSCRIBE, CANCEL, END, or QUIT.
When they opt out, you will receive their opt out text message as an email, and LeadSimple will respect the opt out going forward. All future text messages in a workflow will be downgraded from automatic to manual tasks and will not allow you to send them manually.
You will also not be able to text the contact manually and will see a warning when attempting to text them.
Contacts can opt back into receiving texts by replying START, YES, or UNSTOP.
Can I keep contacts from opting out?
No. Consent and opt-out is not only common courtesy, it is a legal obligation. LeadSimple will respect all opt-out requests automatically, and let you know when a contact has opted out.
Note that this also applies to your delinquency/late rent collection process.
What about contacts with only phone numbers? How can I collect consent from them?
To collect consent from contacts who do not have email addresses, you still cannot text them to collect consent. Note again that texting contacts without prior consent opens you up to liability.
You must instead call them to either:
Collect their email address and then send the email web form to collect consent
Or ask them to text your LeadSimple number - an inbound text implies implicit consent and updates their contact automatically