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Adding a safe harbor for entities, including financial institutions, acting in good faith to meet requirements of the Telephone Consumer Protection Act is one way to alleviate concerns of class action suits, a hearing witness told a House Energy and Commerce subcommittee Thursday.

The Communications and Technology Subcommittee heard testimony Thursday from Richard Shockey, principal at Shockey Consulting, who said good-faith provisions for financial institutions that are trying to reach their consumers for valid reasons should have a safe harbor from lawsuits.

Shockey added that it is very difficult for smaller firms to protect themselves against class action suits because of the way the law is written, even with the Federal Communications Commission's recent initiatives to clarify and modernize the TCPA.

NAFCU outlined similar concerns in its own letter and a joint statement that were both entered into Thursday's hearing record. The FCC's recent order on the TCPA has "hindered consumers' ability to receive important notifications and timely updates about financial developments that have the potential to impact their existing accounts, on both mobile and residential phone lines," wrote NAFCU Vice President of Legislative Affairs Brad Thaler.

Subcommittee Chairman Greg Walden, R-Ore., echoed NAFCU's concerns in his opening statement, saying that "attempts to strengthen the TCPA rules have actually resulted in a decline in legitimate, informational calls that consumers want."

NAFCU has long urged the FCC to reconsider its action relative to credit unions. The association is part of a suit seeking a review of the FCC order.

The FCC order allows a narrow exemption for certain autodialed calls to address potential account fraud or identity theft. However, NAFCU is asserting the order is too broad in its definition of what qualifies as an autodialer. Oral arguments in the suit are slated Oct. 19.

Thursday's hearing also noted the ambiguities surrounding the definition of robocalls and the issues entities are having with reassigned numbers. Members of the subcommittee were asking for specific ways the TCPA could better match with the different methods of communications and consumer wants available today.