Telemarketing Bonds
Telemarketers who place solicitation calls are required to be bonded in each state where they operate, and not just the state where they are physically located. If your business makes calls to multiple states, you must get a telemarketer bond in each applicable state.
Currently, Alaska, Colorado, and Connecticut are the only states that do not require professional solicitors to obtain a surety bond to conduct business.
In Montana, this requirement is often referred to as a telemarketing registration bond.
Most states differentiate between solicitors (companies contacting consumers to sell or promote goods and services) and debt collectors. In most cases, debt collectors are exempt from telemarketing license requirements and do not need this particular surety bond. However, they may be required to carry a collection agency bond instead.
We offer the following Telemarketing Bonds:
Filter Bonds
Cost of a Telemarketing Bond
The premium of a telemarketing bond is based on your credit and can range from 1% to 15% of the bond's liability amount. Different states require varying bond amounts that can range anywhere from a minimum of $10,000 in Texas to as much as $100,000 in states like California.
NNA Surety Bonds offers telemarketing bonds in several states with premiums as low as $500.
Why Call Centers Need to Get Bonded
Telemarketing regulations are often complex and vary across states, necessitating phone solicitor bonds to help limit regulatory oversight and negligence in telemarketing practices.
Since call centers frequently handle consumers' personal and financial information, a telemarketing bond protects consumers in the event that telemarketers do not act ethically with their information.
How Telemarketer Bonds Work
Surety bonds encourage telemarketers to do two important things at the same time:
- Follow both state laws and industry regulations within each state where they operate.
- Protect the public from solicitors who violate these regulations or who engage in fraudulent practices.
A telemarketing bond works by acting as a legal contract between three parties:
- Principal: Telemarketer or call center
- Obligee: The local, county, state, or federal authority requiring the surety bond
- Surety: Company that issues the bond to the telemarketer
Should you (the call center operator) violate a law or regulation or commit a fraudulent act, a claim can be made against your bond, and the claimants can be compensated.