Telephone..recording...Is it possible..?

[bluedog2]

Hi ALL!

 

I have been perusing/reading loads of threads on the the forum and noticed a lot of people refer to "taping the call" or telling them that it is being recorded...

MMMM....my question is. How can you record a call...?? (say that you have been being harrased and you need to tape it)?

 

Is there a cheap way to do it.. (I have an answering machine...no idea if I can tape a call live so to speak)...

Would a dictaphone do it?

Any thoughts suggestions welcome...

 

I would just like to point out that at the moment I am not having any problems with phone call harrassment...

 

But I feel it may be helpful to others on this Forum.. I have noticed that quite a few threaders have said that they've been having problems with intimidating calls etc and I just thought someone may be able to help...

Or I am just waffling and no one thinks that it is worthy of time etc to see if it's possible...

[ICY]

You are fine as long as you declare at the start of the phone call that you are recording the call, this then gives the caller the option to not continue with the call, there is equipment you simply attach to your phone although i am not sure where to buy these or how expensive/cheap they are.

I believe it is unlawful to record a conversation without prior warning to the person you are recording.

[Weird Al Yankovic]

You are fine as long as you declare at the start of the phone call that you are recording the call, this then gives the caller the option to not continue with the call, there is equipment you simply attach to your phone although i am not sure where to buy these or how expensive/cheap they are.

I believe it is unlawful to record a conversation without prior warning to the person you are recording.

 

I don't think you have to tell the caller it is being taped actually. I believe it is explained as such somewhere on this very site.

[ICY]

That actually depends on its use, if the recording is used or will be heard by any third party to the phone call then permission needs to be sought before the call can carry on.

 

If it is simply for your own use and you will not be using it as evidence or to back yourself up then you dont need to declare.

[BankFodder]

That actually depends on its use, if the recording is used or will be heard by any third party to the phone call then permission needs to be sought before the call can carry on.

 

If it is simply for your own use and you will not be using it as evidence or to back yourself up then you dont need to declare.

Sorry but I don't agree with this at all.

 

It is a common misconception that warnings need to be given.

There may be some limitations on the uses to which recordings obtained without warnings an be put. However, using recordings as evidence in a harassment trial to show wrongdoing is very clearly for one's own use.

 

There is so much debate and urban mythology about this topic that we have commissioned a professional advice from Counsel which should be completed by September and we shall be posting the results on this site.

 

As we I have previously posted elsewhere in the Debt Action Group forum, we will then be looking round for some suitable harassment cases to pursue and to support at our own expense in order to send a clear shock message to any members of the debt-collection/finance industry who think that they can bully people and get away with it.

I hope that there will be blood on the walls.

[BankFodder]

I should add that there is quite a reasonable uptake of the CallBurner software which is being sold through this site.

 

I hope that this means that people are putting my advice to carry out routine recording of phone calls into practice

[ICY]

Just looked up the Oftel guidlines and they say similar to my post above, have come across with this before at a company i used to work for, who put recording equipment in and had to take it out pretty soon after, following legal advice because they were not willing to warn people that calls could be recorded.

I would think it would be different if you have told a company to stop harrasing you and they continue, then i would send them a letter warning about the harrassment and tell them that any further calls will be recorded as evidence, then you would be covered, but not for everyone calling, However this is just how i interpret the regs and what i personally would do and i appreciate i may not be correct and am willing to be corrected, these are the rules as I understand them.

 

Do I have to let people know that I intend to record their telephone conversations with me?

 

No, provided you are not intending to make the contents of the communication available to a third party. If you are you will need the consent of the person you are recording.

[BankFodder]

Oftel's guidelines are intended to provide advice to businesses in order to safeguard privacy under the HRA.

 

Firstly the guidelines apply to calls made in the course of business. Secondly they deal mainly with "third-party" where neither of the parties to the call are aware that they are being recorded - telephonic eavesdropping. Not at all applicable to the situations which we are dealing with on this forum.

 

Finally because we are protection of privacy under the law of confidence, one has to bear in mind that "there is no confidence in iniquity" (Lord Denning - Margaret, Duchess of Argyll's case 1953). Where there is wrongdoing such as harassment then any protection under the law of confidence would fall by the wayside.

 

There are also certain exceptions for law enforcement purposes as well.

 

But we will have a more formal and more authoritative view in September

[ICY]

Like i said i was basing my knowledge on what we were advised at previous company, i didnt realise there would be any difference, and i apologise if i have misled anyone (although if i have it was purely unintentional) if any information i have given out is wrong i am the first to admit it, thanks for clarifying matters for me, always good to know true facts.