AutoHound

SMS Opt-In Process

Last updated August 30, 2026

This page documents how end users consent to receive SMS text messages sent through AutoHound on behalf of their collision repair shop. Because consent is collected in person and recorded inside the shop-facing application (behind staff login), both the consumer-facing disclosure and the recording flow are reproduced here for carrier and campaign-review verification.

The disclosure customers are shown

Before opting in, every customer is shown the following disclosure at the front desk (it is also printed for the counter and available at /legal/sms-consent-card). This is the exact Call-to-Action language the consumer sees:

Text updates for your repair — optional.

If you opt in, your repair shop (via AutoHound) will text you about your own vehicle repair: status updates, a “ready for pickup” notice, appointment and drop-off reminders, balance-due reminders, and an occasional post-repair review invitation.

  • Message frequency varies with your repair — typically a few messages per repair.
  • Message & data rates may apply.
  • Reply STOP at any time to cancel; reply HELP for help.
  • Consent is not a condition of any purchase or service.

Terms: portal.autohound.io/legal/sms-terms · Privacy: portal.autohound.io/legal/privacy

How consent is collected — two paths, both optional

Consent is collected in person at the shop or on the shop's secure check-in portal — never by keyword, short code, or any text-to-join mechanism. Two paths exist, and each presents the disclosure above first, is optional, and is unchecked by default:

  1. Front desk, recorded by staff. At vehicle drop-off, staff present the disclosure and ask the customer whether they would like text updates, reading a standard script (below), then record the answer via the consent checkbox on the customer record.
  2. On the secure check-in the customer reviews and signs. Using their own private check-in link, the customer ticks the SMS-consent box themselves. It appears in a separate optional section headed Text updates, outside the block of repair authorizations the check-in requires: unchecked by default, after the same printed disclosure, and the check-in completes with or without it. Declining does not affect check-in, authorization, purchase, or repair service.

The front-desk script staff read aloud:

“We'd like to text you updates about your repair — message frequency varies, message and data rates may apply, reply STOP anytime to cancel. It's optional and not required for service. OK?”

If the customer agrees, staff record it using the consent checkbox on the customer record, shown below. The checkbox is optional and unchecked by default — the customer record saves, and every repair service proceeds identically, whether or not it is checked. Consent is not a condition of service, account creation, or any purchase; customers who decline simply receive no text messages.

AutoHound customer form showing the optional, unchecked SMS consent checkbox with the read-aloud script
How staff record the customer's consent in AutoHound after presenting the disclosure. This is the staff record of an answer the customer already gave to the printed card above. It is not a consent surface, and the customer never sees it.

These are the only ways consent is obtained. There is no keyword, short code, or other text-to-join path: a customer who texts the shop's number without an opt-in already on file opens a two-way conversation thread for staff to answer, and that inbound message does not grant consent or enable any automated messaging.

What is recorded

Each opt-in stores the date and time consent was given and the staff member who recorded it, with an entry in the shop's audit trail. This record is retained per customer and applies specifically to repair-related messaging from that customer's shop.

Enforcement

The platform blocks all outbound SMS to any customer without a recorded opt-in — staff cannot send a message until consent is on file. Replying STOP immediately blocks further messages; START re-subscribes a customer who had previously opted in and then stopped, and has no effect for anyone else; HELP returns assistance information. Sends are also restricted during nighttime quiet hours.

Related policies

See the SMS Terms & Conditions and Privacy Policy. No mobile information is shared with third parties or affiliates for marketing or promotional purposes.