Quote:
Originally Posted by djturnz
What if you say "I'm recording this call" and they don't respond?
I've recorded calls with bill collectors before. I figure that since they have the recording that says "calls will be monitored" that they are already giving consent by working the phones.
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If you tell them that you are recording the call before they say anything (you want the tape to begin with "OK, I'm now recording this") and they continue with the call, then they have consented by implication. Make sure that your notification is on the same tape, prior to them talking.
I'm not sure how it works if you record a call that they have told you is being recorded by themselves. My
guess is that all parties have consented to
some sort of recording, the fact that you have your own copy shouldn't violate the law; but I have no case law on this point, so do so at your own risk.
Legitimate bill collectors shouldn't have a problem with recording. That's a good way to discourage the bottom-feeders who rely on lies to collect bad debt: tell them that they are being recorded, and they will hang up. Dishonest bill collectors have been known to promise that if you pay $100, they'll forgive the other $5000 that you owe from 1995. The problem is that your 1995 debt is probably too old to be enforceable, unless you do something dumb like make a new payment. Then it's revived ("reaffirmed") and collectible again, and the collector will swear that he never said anything about forgiving any debt. That's why the crooked collectors don't like to be recorded.