Messaging Policy

This Messaging Policy for Collection Attorneys USA LLC (doing business as CA/USA)(“we,” “us,” or “our”) applies to SMS, MMS, Chat, and WhatsApp messaging channels.  As fellow citizens, we all expect that the messages we want to receive will reach us, unhindered by filtering or other blockers. An important step to make that expectation reality is to prevent and eliminate unwanted messages.  To that end, we strive to work with you so that messages are sent with the consent of the message recipient, and that those messages comply with applicable laws, communications industry guidelines or standards, and measures of fairness and decency.

This principle is central to CA/USA.

Questions or concerns? Reading this messaging policy will help you understand our intentions.  If you do not agree with our policies and practices, please do not use our Services.  If you still have any questions or concerns, please contact us at info@causallc.com.

MESSAGING

This Messaging Policy applies, regardless of use case or phone number type (e.g., long code, short code, or toll-free), to all Application-to-Person (“A2P”) messaging from our platform and sets forth rules and/or prohibitions regarding:

• Consent (“Opt-In”);
• Revocation of Consent (“Opt-Out”);
• Sender Identification;
• Messaging Usage Limitations;
• Messaging Policy Violation Detection and Prevention Evasion; and,
• Enforcement.

This policy applies to anyone using CA/USA’s messaging channel including, for example, any Independent Software Vendor (“ISV”) messaging on behalf of CA/USA.

1. CONSENT (“OPT-IN”)

What Is Proper Consent?
Consent can’t be bought, sold, or exchanged. For example, we can’t obtain the consent of message recipients by purchasing a phone list from another party without more.

Aside from two exceptions noted later in this section, we will meet each of the consent requirements listed below.

If you are a software or platform provider messaging on behalf of CA/USA, you must adhere to these same requirements.

Consent Requirements
Prior to sending the first message, we will obtain agreement from the message recipient to communicate with them. This is referred to as “consent.”

We will make clear to the prospective recipient that he/she is agreeing to receive messages of the type we intend to send.

We will keep a record of the consent, such as a copy of the document or form that the message recipient provided, or a timestamp of when the customer consented electronically.

If we do not send an initial message to that consenting individual within a reasonable period after receiving consent (or as set forth by local regulations or best practices), then we will reconfirm consent in the first message we send to that recipient.

The consent received applies only to the specific use or campaign that the recipient has consented to. We will not treat a consent as a blanket consent allowing us to send additional messages for other uses or other campaigns.

Proof of opt-in consent will be retained as set forth by local regulation or best practices after the end-user opts out of receiving messages.

Alternative Consent Requirements: The Two Exceptions
While consent is always required and the consent requirements noted above are generally the safest path, there are two scenarios where consent can be received differently:

A. Contact initiated by an individual
If an individual sends us a message, we are free to respond in an exchange with that individual. For example, if an individual texts our phone number asking for our hours of operation, we can respond directly to that individual, relaying our open hours. In such a case, the individual’s inbound message to us constitutes both consent and proof of consent. We will remember that the consent is limited only to that particular conversation. Unless we obtain additional consent, we will not send unrelated messages.

B. Informational content to an individual based on a prior relationship
We may send a message to an individual where we have a prior relationship, provided that individual provided their phone number, has taken some action or inaction to trigger the potential communication, and has not expressed a preference to not receive messages from us. Examples of action might include a button press, alert setup, appointments, or order placements. Examples of acceptable responses to such action might include appointment reminders, receipts, one-time passwords, order/shipping/reservation confirmations, drivers coordinating pick up locations with riders, and repair persons confirming service call times.

Our messages will not attempt to promote a product, convince someone to buy something, or advocate for a social cause.

Periodic Messages and Ongoing Consent
If we intend to send messages to a recipient on an ongoing basis, we will confirm the recipient’s consent by offering them a clear reminder of how to unsubscribe from those messages using standard opt-out language (defined below). We will also respect the message recipient’s preferences in terms of frequency of contact. We will proactively ask individuals to reconfirm their consent as set forth by local regulations and best practices.

2. REVOCATION OF CONSENT (“OPT-OUT”)

The initial message we send to an individual will include the following language: “Reply STOP to unsubscribe,” or the equivalent using another standard opt-out keyword, such as “STOPALL,” “UNSUBSCRIBE,” “CANCEL,” “END,” or “QUIT.”

Individuals will have the ability to revoke consent at any time by replying with a standard opt-out keyword in every subsequent message.

When an individual opts out, we may deliver one final message to confirm that the opt-out has been processed, but other subsequent messages are not permitted.

An individual must once again provide consent before we will send any additional messages.

3. SENDER IDENTIFICATION

Every message we send will clearly identify us as the sender, except in follow-up messages of an ongoing conversation.

4. MESSAGING USAGE LIMITATIONS

Content We Do Not Allow

The key to ensuring that messaging remains a great channel for communication and innovation is preventing abusive use of messaging platforms.  That means we will never allow some types of content on our platform, even if we receive consent from recipients for such content.

We prohibit sending any content that is illegal, harmful, unwanted, inappropriate, objectionable, confirmed to be criminal misinformation, or otherwise poses a threat to the public, even if the content is permissible by law.

Other prohibited uses include:

• Anything that is illegal in the jurisdiction where the message recipient lives. Examples include, but are not limited to:
• Cannabis. Messages related to cannabis are not allowed in the United States as federal laws prohibit its sale, even though some states have legalized it.  Similarly, messages related to CBD are not permissible in the United States, as certain states prohibit its sale.  We define a cannabis message as any message which relates to the marketing or sale of a cannabis product, regardless of whether or not those messages explicitly contain cannabis terms, images, or links to cannabis websites.
• Prescription Medication. Offers for prescription medication that cannot legally be sold over-the-counter are prohibited in the United States;
• Hate speech, harassment, exploitative, abusive, or any communications that originate from a hate group;
• Fraudulent messages;
• Malicious content, such as malware or viruses; and,
• Any content that is designed to intentionally evade filters (see below).

Age and Geographic Gating

Although we our messages will not contain any such content, we acknowledge that sending messages in any way related to alcohol, firearms, gambling, tobacco, or other adult content, must comply with additional restrictions.  In addition to obtaining consent from every message recipient, we would also be required to ensure that no message recipient is younger than the legal age of consent based on where the recipient is located.

We will also ensure that our message content complies with all applicable laws of the jurisdiction in which the message recipient is located and applicable communications industry guidelines and standards.

We will also maintain records to prove we have in place measures to ensure compliance with these restrictions.

5. MESSAGING POLICY VIOLATION DETECTION AND PREVENTION EVASION

We will not evade a telecommunications provider’s unwanted messaging detection and prevention mechanisms.  Examples of prohibited practices include:

• Content designed to evade detection.  As noted above, we will not allow content which has been specifically designed to evade detection by unwanted messaging detection and prevention mechanisms.  This includes intentionally misspelled words or non-standard opt-out phrases which have been specifically created with the intent to evade these mechanisms; and,
• Snowshoeing.  We do not permit snowshoeing, which is defined as spreading similar or identical messages across many phone numbers with the intent or effect of evading unwanted messaging detection and prevention mechanisms.

6. ENFORCEMENT

When we identify a violation of these principles, where possible, we will work with responsible parties in good faith to return them to compliance with this policy and, if not successful, escalate remediation up to, and including, legal action with limited notice in the case of serious violations of this policy.