Right-Party Contact Strategies

What is Right Party Contact?

Right Party Contact (RPC) occurs when you speak with the specific individual you intended to reach. RPC rate is calculated as:

RPC Rate = (Conversations with Intended Person / Total Live Contacts) × 100

High RPC rates are critical for:

• Collections — FDCPA requires contacting the right person
• Sales — Reaching decision-makers, not gatekeepers
• Healthcare — HIPAA-compliant patient contact
• Financial services — Account holder verification

Causes of Wrong-Party Contacts

Number Reassignment

When someone disconnects a phone number, carriers reassign it to new customers. The old owner's information remains in your database, but a different person now has that number.

• ~35 million numbers reassigned annually in the US
• Wireless numbers reassign faster than landlines
• VoIP numbers may reassign within days

Shared Numbers

• Family members sharing phones
• Business lines with multiple users
• Landlines in multi-person households

Data Entry Errors

• Transposed digits
• Wrong area codes
• Incomplete numbers

RPC Improvement Strategies

1. Check LRN Activation Date

LRN Activation Date reveals when a number was last ported or activated. If the activation date is after your last contact with the customer, the number may have been reassigned.

# Detect potential reassignment
last_contact_date = customer.last_contact
activation_date = lookup_result['lrn']['activation_date']

if activation_date > last_contact_date:
    # Number likely reassigned - verify before calling
    flag_for_verification(customer)

2. Use CNAM Verification

CNAM returns the caller ID name registered with the carrier. Compare against your records:

# Compare CNAM to customer name
cnam_name = lookup_result['cnam']['name']  # "JOHN SMITH"
customer_name = customer.full_name  # "John Smith"

if not names_match(cnam_name, customer_name):
    # Possible wrong party - flag for verification
    flag_potential_wrong_party(customer)

3. Implement Verification Scripts

Train agents to verify identity before discussing sensitive information:

• Confirm full name and address
• Verify last 4 of SSN or account number
• Ask security questions

4. Track Wrong-Party Outcomes

When agents identify wrong-party contacts, update your database:

• Flag the number as potentially reassigned
• Do not call again without verification
• Attempt to obtain updated contact information

Compliance Considerations

FDCPA (Collections)

• Discussing debts with third parties violates the law
• Wrong-party contacts can result in lawsuits
• Documentation of verification attempts is essential

TCPA

• Consent doesn't transfer with reassigned numbers
• One wrong-party call to a reassigned number can be a violation
• Safe harbor requires reasonable procedures

HIPAA (Healthcare)

• Protected health information cannot be disclosed to wrong parties
• Verification is required before discussing patient information

Implementation Checklist

1. Add LRN Activation Date to your lookup workflow
2. Store last_contact_date in your CRM
3. Flag numbers where activation_date > last_contact_date
4. Implement CNAM matching for high-risk records
5. Train agents on verification procedures
6. Track wrong-party outcomes and update records
7. Re-validate periodically to catch reassignments