Taping Call-centres

Whenever I phone a callcentre (for whatever purpose - the bank, gas company etc) - I tape the conversation so that in the event of a dispute , I have evidence of what was promised.However someone has suggested that it's a "odd thing" to do, however it seems a perfectly sensible action to me. To ensure that I get what was promised by the company I am dealing with.What do you think? Odd or sensible? Edited by CK, : adding question!

Probably not worth the effort.

It's worked pretty well for me so far - I've had a number of companies promise things and then say "oh we never promised X by X" - when I play the tapes back, they go "oh..em..yeah.. how about two months free?"and so on. Seems to cut through a lot of bullshit.

Makes perfect sense to me. How do you do the taping?

there is a (not sure of the technical term) connection between the phoneline and the phone and the digital recorder plugs into it - I then save the voice files onto my PC.(I have the voice recorder for work - I didn't just buy it to tape random people!)

At least in the US, I believe you are legally obligated to inform somebody that you're recording them, and get their permission, before you begin recording.Have you been asking them for permission? I don't see any reason why they'd decline--a lot of call centers actually let YOU know that you're being recorded as well.Just wondering if you've been asking and, if so, if you've had any trouble getting people to agree to be recorded.Ben

It's not a legal requirement in the UK unless you plan to release the tape to a 3rd party.Sometimes I ask by saying "for training and quality control purposes this conversation will be recorded". Strangely they think this is a joke and nobody asks you to stop.

I believe if you are a part of the conversation you can tape it without informing the other member.Taping constitutes 'interception' of call, court finds - The Reporters Committee for Freedom of the PressEdited by Asgara, : cleared up meaning

One of those things I have always meant to do but have never quite got off my arse and sorted the necessary kit. Perfectly rational in my mind, but that's perhaps not the best recommendation A friend of mine always keeps a dictation device with him at all times and has used it to tape incidents with coppers more than once; has proved itself very handy...

Damn, I gotta move again.

NSA agrees. They think it is such a good idea that they set up operations on both the east and west coasts to log 100% of the traffic.

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Aslan is not a Tame Lion

Not odd - sensible. Some call centres record every call, and will eagerly listen to them in the event of a dispute. This is for two reasons:1) In many call centres the customer turns out to be wrong an awfully large amount of the time, most of the time innocently misunderstanding what was said (which is usually the fault in many ways of the call handler for not making sure things were clear). Sometimes people complain to get concessions and more service than they might be entitled to. This is fraud, and some call centres (financially orientated ones like banks and insurance etc), take that seriously and taping everything is their best weapon.2) In many cases call centres sincerely want to find out who in their business is causing them complaints - since it costs money. Individual call centres that are part of a bigger system often have KPIs, and repeat calls and complaints can affect the wages of the upper management. Upper management often passes these costs down to middle management in the guise of incentives, which then get passed to the call handlers.However, even in call centres where all calls are recorded there are a surprising number of technical issues that surround indexing them all. As a result, finding the calls can prove difficult at times - and sometimes they get lost entirely.As such, recording calls is a smart move. It has positive benefits for both parties. But it goes further, smaller companies (egc estate agents, solicitors, brokers and councils) don't record calls, so it's even more sensible to record those kinds of calls.

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As such, recording calls is a smart move. It has positive benefits for both parties. But it goes further, smaller companies (egc estate agents, solicitors, brokers and councils) don't record calls, so it's even more sensible to record those kinds of calls.

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Ahem - we share (I would guess) the same council - they misrecorded me on the Electrial register.Them: "you must have filled out the form wrong - it's your error"Me: "I'm holding a photocopy of the form"Them: "Cough - I can only offer my apologies on behalf of..."With councils and businesses - it's also handy to photocopy and retain anything you send them.

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In many call centres the customer turns out to be wrong an awfully large amount of the time

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Yes I think it the research shows it's about 70% of the time - that's why it is handy as a customer to tape. You record what you DID say not what you'd would have LIKE to have said Edited by CK, : No reason given.Edited by CK, : No reason given.

... which means that there is no reasonable expectation of privacy for call-center conversations. if they know they're being recorded, does it really matter if you also record them? the privacy has already been broken.

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I worked in a call centre for quite some time and it is a very good idea to record your conversations, especially if you're in some sort of dispute or expect to be. They're just people on the other end of the phone, and a lot of the time they'll tell you what you want to hear rather than whats actually going on.