*Pages 1--1 from C:\Pdf2Text\Ready4Text_in\pdf\51556.pdf* 126 KNOLLWOOD DRIVE POST OFFICE BOX 1051 SPARTANBURG. s. c. 29304 Spartanburg: (864) 574- 1160 Wats: 1- 800- 874- 2615 Fax: (864) 587- 4790 ,\ ugust 30, 2005 Office of the Sccretary A" IT: OCBO Federal Communications Commission 445 121h Street, S. W. Washington, DC 20554 RE: Request for colnment regardinK possible revision or elimination of rules under the J.~ egulatory Flelibility Act DA- O5- 1~ 24 My name is John B. B'ackwe", and I am thc C. E. O. ofC. B. A., ltlC. located in South Carolina. I am the owner of a small business that has been substantially harmed as a result of tile Fcdclul Comm\ mications Commission's rcgulatory decision under thc Tclephonc Consumer Protection Act (" TCPA") that small businesses, such as mine, cattllot \ISC predictive dialers to call wirclcss numbers when attempting to rccovcr delinquent payments for goods or scrviccs rcccivcd by consumcrs. I 8m nwar~ tI) at AC. t\ International (II ACA ") lias filed n wrillcn colnmcllt willi thc Commission regarding tltis isstle in respollSe to thc Commission's rcqucst for comments on the possiblc rcvisiol~ or elil11ination ofrulcs under thc Rcgulatory Flcxibility Act, 5 U. S. C. § 610 (" It FA "), in procccding DA- O5- 1524. Scc FCC Sccks Commcnt Regarding Possiblc Rcvision or Elimination of Rules Under the RcgulatoryFlexibility Act, DA- O5- 1524 (May 31, 2005). I fully support ACA'scomment and the relief the Associationseeks, including ACA's charactcrization of the hann visited upon small businesses as a, rcsult oftl'leCommission's rule. To U1C extent that my company uses predictive dialers, we do so to complctc trallsactions for which consumcr! havc obtnincd a bencfit without payment. We do noitclomarkct. 1110 Commission. should not pcnnitits regulations tobc llscd as a shicld tocnCollragc thcnon. paymcllt of debts. Doing so harms small busincsscs, thc ccollomy. as wcll as COllsumcrs. As it stands today, rl1Y c~ pilny fa-.: c53criou8 financial hardship due to .the Commission's regulatory reversal thatcrCditors anddcbt coJlcctors catlnot ~scprCdictive dialers to call a wirclcss numbcr to attempt to rc<: ovcr outstanding paymcnt obligations. The Commission's rule rcquires small co~ panics, at grcat cost. to fundamcntallyaltcr our busincssmodcls to rcducc or removc our rcliancc on prcdictive dialers. It also nccdlcssly subjc<: ts us 10 fcdct; al cnforccmcnt and private litigation risk, even though Congrcss never in. tcndcd suchan outcome. . For thcsc rcasons, J cncouragc thc Commission to promptly~ larify that autodialer calls to wirclcssnumbcrs to attempt to rccovcr payment obligations arc not ~ovcrcd by thc TCPA rcgulations for the rl~ '\ sons cxprcsscd by ACA. .. A Collection Agency C. B. O. C. B. A., Inc 1