CASL consent wording kit for car dealers
Consent to text a customer has to be clear, and you have to be able to prove it. Here is sample wording for the common places you ask, and a checklist of what to keep. It is a starting point, not legal advice: have your lawyer review the wording before you rely on it.
Replace every [square bracket]. These examples are written for Canada's anti-spam law (CASL).
On a web form
A checkbox that is not ticked until the visitor ticks it
Yes, [Store legal name] may text me at the number above about my enquiry and about vehicles and offers from [Store]. I can withdraw my consent at any time by replying STOP, or by contacting [Store legal name], [postal address], [phone number or email].
On a phone call
Said by the salesperson, with the answer noted
This is [Store legal name], [phone number], [postal address]. Is it alright if we text you about this vehicle and about other vehicles and offers? You can withdraw your consent at any time by saying stop or by contacting us. [Wait for the answer. If yes, record the date, time and who took it, and keep a recording or have it verified by an independent third party.]
On a paper form in the showroom
A line above the signature
I agree that [Store legal name] may contact me by text message and email about vehicles, service and offers. I can withdraw this consent at any time by contacting [Store legal name] at [postal address], [phone number or email], or by replying STOP to a text.
On the first text
The end of the first message you send
When someone replies STOP
One confirmation, then no more commercial texts
You are unsubscribed from [Store] texts. We will not text you again unless you ask us to.
What express consent needs to say
When you ask for express consent, the request has to include four things: who is asking, what the consent is for, how to contact the person asking, and a statement that the person can withdraw their consent. Each written example above includes all four, and the phone script says them aloud: on a call, give the store's legal name, a phone number and a mailing address as well as the purpose and the right to withdraw.
Do not use a box that is already ticked, and do not bury consent inside terms and conditions that someone has to accept to buy a car.
What to record for every person
- The date and time consent was given.
- Where it came from: which web form, which phone call, which signed sheet, and who took it.
- The exact wording that was shown or said.
- For implied consent, the date of the purchase or enquiry it rests on.
- The date and source of any withdrawal.
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.
Because the burden of proof is on the sender, this record is what you will be asked for if there is ever a complaint.
How long implied consent lasts
- After a purchase or lease
- Two years from the date of the purchase or lease.
- After an enquiry or application
- Six months from the date of the enquiry.
- After either
- The window closes by itself. To keep texting, get express consent before it does.
Common mistakes
- A pre-ticked consent box.
- Texting a bought or borrowed list.
- Assuming that a phone number in your system means the person agreed to be texted.
- Not keeping a record, so a yes cannot be shown later.
- Not acting on STOP at once, or acting on it for one salesperson only.