The ATA (American Teleservices Association) recently announced it’s condemning of auto warranty scams and pledged its full resources to support the Anti Fraud Enforcement and urged Congress to address the issue at the earliest as it has nationwide repercussions for thousands of consumers.

The ATA has announced that it is very much against the new trend of some companies setting up spam ‘robocalls’ nationwide, which basically warn people that their warranties are about to expire and suggest them to sign up to a new service plan.

The contact center industry has vehemently opposed this practice and sought for the immediate stoppage of this alleged “fraud.” The ATA and industry leaders have asked their state representatives as well as the Attorney Generals to focus on anti fraud enforcement. The ATA were also reportedly in touch with the Federal Trade Commission (FTC (News - Alert)) and have reinforced their support for fair trade practices in the contact center industry and safeguarding consumer interests.

The ATA believes that legally it is not permissible to use a legitimate mode of customer contact, such as the telephone, to propagate acts of criminal nature. The ATA, to this effect, have brought out concise and comprehensive guidelines for the benefit of the consumers to assess whether a given call is authentic or a scam.

“The American Teleservices Association and its members stand beside the federal government and its agencies in the fight against fraud,” said Tim Searcy, CEO of the ATA.

Consumer complaints with respect to car warranty schemes officially lodged with the FTC amount to over 10,000; an estimated 140,000 complaints have been lodged with local Better Business Bureaus and overall, the national tally is expected to be almost 300,000 as reports suggest. The FTC has already launched massive enquiries into the companies suspected of making these fraudulent calls and also providing an electrical link to facilitate consumers to file complaints faster.

The ATA wants to reinstate the belief of consumers in the telephone as a cost effective means to facilitate commerce. Tim Searcy, CEO of ATA, states, “As long as consumers continue to use their common sense and consumer guidelines with telephone solicitations as they would with any other channel of marketing or communication, they will be able to avoid the defrauding that has occurred. The American Teleservices Association has taken its own measures toward self-regulation and enforcement of fraudulent activities within the teleservices industry.”

The ATA has previously created a self regulatory organization (ATA-SRO) and brought put a contact center self regulatory standards and certification program. It also offers a comprehensive accreditation process for contact centers to ensure compliance with federal and state regulations.