What the FTC's Telemarketing Sales Rule means for debt relief fees — and why it shapes how you work leads.
What the rule says
Under the FTC's Telemarketing Sales Rule, debt relief services sold through telemarketing may not charge or collect any fee before the provider has settled or altered at least one of the consumer's debts and the consumer has made at least one payment under the new agreement.
Why lead buyers should care
The ban applies to the provider, not the lead vendor — but it shapes your funnel. You cannot collect upfront fees from a consumer you enrolled from a purchased lead, so your unit economics must work on backend fees. Model this in the ROI calculator before setting your max CPL.
Claims you can't make
The TSR also prohibits misrepresenting material terms: no invented settlement percentages, no implying a private program is a government program, and no unrealistic timeframe promises. We enforce the same rules on our lead sources.
Your responsibility
Buying a compliant lead doesn't make your sales call compliant. Licensing, state registration and TSR compliance stay with you — see our compliance page for how we handle the vendor side.