The short answer
An agency calling for clients shares liability with them. Under the Telemarketing Sales Rule the client is the seller and the agency the telemarketer, and both answer for Do Not Call violations unless records are split in writing. Run every campaign with registry checks, client-specific consent and full recordings.
Who answers for the call
When an agency calls for a client, the Telemarketing Sales Rule treats the client as the seller and the agency as the telemarketer. Both have duties. The seller must pay for Do Not Call registry access for the area codes being called before any calls are made. Anyone who accesses the registry for that seller must identify the seller and use the seller's own account. One subscription shared across clients isn't allowed.
Liability doesn't stop with the agency either. The FCC's 2013 DISH ruling held that sellers can be vicariously liable for calls made on their behalf under ordinary agency principles. That covers actual authority, apparent authority and ratification, where a seller accepts the benefit of calls it knew were made improperly. How far that liability reaches is still argued in court, but the practical result is clear. Good clients now ask agencies how they dial, how they screen, and what records they keep.
Records, and who keeps them
The rule requires five years of records: who called and on whose behalf, the numbers called, the time and duration of each call, the scripts, the caller ID used, the outcome, the consent records and any do-not-call requests. The seller and the telemarketer can agree in writing which of them keeps what. If there's no written agreement, or it's unclear, both are responsible for all of it.
Put the record split in every client contract. Then make the records easy to produce. In GrowOutly every call carries its outcome, notes, caller ID, timestamp and recording on the contact, so a client audit becomes an export rather than a scramble.
B2B and B2C campaigns differ
Most appointment-setting agencies call businesses, and that changes the rules. The Telemarketing Sales Rule exempts most business-to-business calls, except the bans on misrepresentation and false statements. The TCPA's rules on autodialed and prerecorded calls to cell phones still apply, though, and many owners of small businesses answer on a personal mobile.
Consumer campaigns, such as home services, solar, insurance or legal intake, carry the full set of rules: Do Not Call screening, prior express written consent for autodialed or prerecorded telemarketing, calling hours of 8 a.m. to 9 p.m. in the recipient's time zone, and an abandonment rate at or below 3%. When a consumer opts out, FCC 26-67 confirms the request covers the calling entity and anyone it calls for, so it has to reach your client's suppression list too.
Dialing hard without dialing recklessly
Agencies are paid for meetings, which pushes them toward the most aggressive dialing they can find. A GrowOutly round rings up to three numbers, only for a setter who is already on the line, and screens every number against DNC lists and an attempt limit before it rings. That's enough throughput for cold B2B lists. It also avoids the abandoned calls and repeat dials that turn a client campaign into a complaint. Our explainer on power and predictive dialing sets out the trade-off.
Running client campaigns in GrowOutly
- Keep each client's lists and scripts separate, and give a client its own number where your plan's allowance permits, so prospects see a consistent identity and reporting stays clean.
- Load the client's own suppression list next to the automatic registry and litigator checks.
- Build territory lists with Google Maps lead scraping when the client sells to local businesses.
- Record every call and agree in writing who keeps the recordings and consent records.
- Book meetings into the client's calendar on the call, and report dials, conversations and booked meetings from the same data your client can audit.
For agencies weighing tools, our list of outbound sales software covers the wider options.