CASL and texting customers: a guide for Canadian car dealers

What CASL covers

CASL has been in force since 2014. It covers commercial electronic messages: emails, text messages and direct messages on social media sent to people in Canada. A message is commercial when one of its purposes is to encourage a commercial activity, such as coming in for a test drive or booking a service appointment.

A text that only answers a question the customer asked can still carry a commercial purpose if it also invites them in, so the safe habit is to treat every text from the store as covered.

The three things every message needs

Consent

You need the recipient's consent before you send, either express or implied (explained below). If anyone asks, the burden of proving it is on the sender.

Identification

The message has to say who is sending it and give contact information, such as the business name, a postal address and either a phone number or an email address. When a message is short, as a text is, the rules allow some of the detail to sit on a page the message links to. Ask your lawyer how to set up your standard text.

A working way to unsubscribe

Every message needs a free, working way to say no, and a request must be honoured promptly and in any case within 10 business days. For texts, replying STOP is the usual method.

Express consent and implied consent

Express consent means the person clearly agreed. It has to be an opt-in: a box that is already ticked does not count. When you ask, say who you are and what you will send.

Implied consent comes from an existing relationship. For a dealership, the two that matter most are:

• Two years after a purchase or lease: a customer who bought or leased from you in the last two years.
• Six months after an enquiry or application: a shopper who asked about a vehicle in the last six months.

Implied consent expires on its own. A customer you last saw three years ago is no longer covered, and you need their express consent before you text them again.

Common dealership situations

These show how the rules generally apply. They are examples to talk through with your lawyer, not rulings.

A shopper submits an AutoTrader or website enquiry

You can generally reply about what they asked for during the following six months. Asking for express consent on your own web form, with the wording stored, gives you stronger footing and lasts longer.

A customer bought a car 18 months ago

The two-year window is still open, so messages such as service reminders are generally covered until it closes.

A customer bought three years ago and has had no contact since

The window has closed. Get express consent before sending a text.

Someone replies STOP

Stop all commercial texts to that number, confirm once if you wish, and record the date. Do not let another salesperson or a bulk campaign text them later.

A list bought or copied from elsewhere

Do not text it. You would need to show express consent from each person that covers your store, which a bought list rarely shows.

Keep proof, not just permission

Because the burden of proof is on you, a yes that nobody wrote down is worth little. For each person, keep:

• When consent was given, to the minute.
• Where it came from: which web form, which phone call, which signed sheet, who took it.
• The exact wording the person agreed to.
• If the consent is implied, the date of the purchase or enquiry it rests on, so the expiry can be worked out.
• The date and source of any withdrawal, such as STOP.

For consent given by phone, a note is not enough on its own. The CRTC accepts a complete, unedited audio recording kept by the sender, or verification by an independent third party.

What is at stake

The CRTC is the main enforcer of CASL's rules on commercial messages, and penalties can reach $10 million per violation for a business and $1 million for an individual. A complaint that you cannot answer with proof is how an investigation starts.

What your CRM should do about it

• Store consent on the customer's page with its source and time.
• Show consent status right where the salesperson types, so nobody has to remember to check.
• Check consent before a text is sent, not after.
• Honour STOP at once, and for every salesperson.
• Let you show a customer's consent history when asked.

DealerStation records consent with its source and time, checks it before a text goes out and respects STOP. It is built around CASL and PIPEDA, and it does not replace advice from your own lawyer.

Official sources

• Government of Canada: Canada's anti-spam legislation