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On the record: Recording calls with clients

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23rd Aug 2011
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Jon Wilcox takes a brief look at the legality of recording telephone conversations with clients, and what technological options are available for those looking to do just that.

When AccountingWEB member ShirleyM posed an Any Answers question about telephone call recording, the community responded with a barrage of comments and answers. 

Shirley asked whether any members warn incoming callers the call is being recorded, and also if so do they notice it acting as a deterrent for existing (or potential) clients from calling.

While some said they did not record calls at all because (in reference to Orwell’s literary classic) it is not 1984, others like member Albert Camus, shared stories of when they wished they had done just that. AccountingWEB member TopCat said he thought it was “extremely foolish” if calls weren’t recorded at all!

“Make sure you have a system that is switchable - we would rarely record a client unless we expected trouble, which fortunately is rare,” he advises, before revealing his practice records every call made with HRMC, as it has proved “invaluable on many occasions”.

Furthermore, TopCat claimed: “There is absolutely no requirement to inform HMRC that you are recording them as HMRC themselves record all calls so their staff know they may be recorded. All you are doing is making your own duplicate copy which is totally admissible in court.”

According to Ofcom, the legality of recording telephone conversations is raised in several pieces of UK legislation, including the following

  • Regulation of Investigatory Powers Act 2000 (RIPA
  • Telecommunications (Lawful Business Practice)(Interception of Communications) Regulations 2000 (LBP Regulations)
  • Data Protection Act 1998
  • Telecommunications (Data Protection and Privacy) Regulations 1999
  • Human Rights Act 1998

Avoiding the complicated legalese, the bottom line is this: Users of phone recording equipment do not have to tell people their call is being recorded for personal use. However, if the content of the call is to be shared with a third-party, then the caller should be made aware that a recording is being made and permission should be sought.

So with that in mind, here’s a breakdown of the possible technological options open for people wanting to record their telephone calls:

Dictation recorders

For occasional use, there’s perhaps no better way of recording telephone calls than to use a digital dictation device. The handheld recorders can be plugged into a telephone with adaptors found in electrical stores both online and across the UK for a little over £10. Users can then back up their recordings by plugging the device into a PC with a USB cable (although some have built-in USB ports) and copying the files across for safe keeping. Amazon.co.uk features some typical devices.

VoIP

For some of the more progressive readers of AccountingWEB another possibility is Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) technology on their PC. The most famous of which, is of course the recent Microsoft acquisition Skype, though there are alternatives from companies such as Swyx. Using VoIP to record calls is especially useful when cutting out the middle-man of a dictation device, saving calls directly onto a PC hard drive.

However, since VoIP relies on having an internet connection to make calls, the quality of the recording can be seriously affected, making callers sound like their talking in a fish task full of water.

Mobile

The advent of the iPhone, Android-powered smartphones and the BlackBerry may have spawned an explosion of apps covering every aspect of personal and professional life, there are very few practical solutions for call recording.

Searching the smartphone app stores reveals some options, but even on the ‘open’ Android mobile operating system, some of the apps are only tailored to worth on specific smartphone models. For iPhone and Android devices there are some apps that allow call recording, but only if users dial a premium rate number – which doesn’t make it the most cost-effective route to take either. BlackBerry apps like Yodal, meanwhile, can record voice conversations - but not while they are taking place on the phone itself.

For practitioners looking to record their calls with clients (and even HMRC) there are certainly some options to choose from, though it goes without saying it is vital to stay within the letter of the law and notify callers when a conversation is being recorded. However, the mobile space still lags behind other phone and transcription technologies; it will be interesting to see how mobile recording develops as more business is done on the move and on mobile devices.

Replies (11)

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By ShirleyM
23rd Aug 2011 11:06

Very useful and interesting

Thanks Jon. Extremely good timing for us, as we are shortly replacing our phone system.

This has given me enough information to decide that call recording could be very useful to us. Even if we cannot disclose the recording to a third party, it would enable a transcript of the call to be made.

We use Skype for outgoing calls (unless they are free 0800). Is there an add-on that anyone has experience of, and can recommend?

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By chatman
23rd Aug 2011 11:25

@ShirleyM: Pamela Call Recorder for Skype

Pamela Call Recorder for Skype is what I use. It is quite unreliable and their support is useless, but I have not found anything else.

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By jeffreyward
25th Aug 2011 11:05

Call recording

Take a look at http://www.natterbox.com

Financial firms require FSA compliant recording from 14th November 2011. There's a white paper on the Natterbox website www.natterbox.com http://www.natterbox.com/pdf/NB_ComplianceFSA%20_1.0.pdf

 

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By ccowan
25th Aug 2011 14:47

Call Recording Guide

Hi there, great discussion.  If you want to look more at call recording at a practice level (rather than just the individual) then this guide on CallCentreHelper might be of interest  - Call Recording and Speech Analytics Guide  Hope its of use.  Charlie

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By RogerNeale
25th Aug 2011 11:28

Swyx

I would like to take issue with the comment that VOIP requires an internet connection.

VOIP and Swyx in particular does not need to have an internet connection. The VOIP bit can, if you wish, be purely run on the internal network with ISDN-2E or ISDN-30 wired connections for the actual phone call ensuring that calls are as high a quality as possible.

One of the main benefits with Swyx systems is that they also have a mobile (Blackberry, Windows Mobile & Symbian) application which can also be used in conjunction with the office system making recording of mobile phone calls possible. This can be very important if you often give business advice to clients while using your mobile phone. I am not aware of any other telephone system that has this feature.

I would be interested in talking to anyone who is looking for such a solution.

 

Roger Neale
Perkeo Computer Systems Ltd
www.perkeo.co.uk
07714 670789

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By sue scherzo
25th Aug 2011 12:34

call recording

State of the art has arrived for this.A brand new APP , easy to use and well tested is now available.

Conatct [email protected] to get a full description of this excellent package.

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By waltere
25th Aug 2011 14:19

In most cases, surely a warning IS required

 

Jon, you write that "Users of phone recording equipment do not have to tell people their call is being recorded for personal use."  but I think this may give people a misleading impression.  The Ofcom website actually says that you don't have to let people know you intend to record their telephone conversation "provided you are not intending to make the contents of the communication available to a third party." A sole prac making a recording purely to help them remember the details of a phone call would be fine, but what about for other purposes, and what if one of your staff made the recording?  In the event of a dispute with the client, it's inevitable that the staff member would have to make that recording "available" to you, perhaps to a professional body, even potentially to HMRC.  Surely it's disingenuous to pretend that s/he is making the recording purely for their own personal use and, consequently, shouldn’t callers always be advised that they may be recorded, or explicitly advised when they are being recorded, if this is what you want to do?

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By Club Talk
25th Aug 2011 14:30

Telephone Call Recording

As a business 'call recording' is becoming an essential part of your day to day applications, it should be viewed in a similar way to anti-spam software or your cctv system. What I mean by this is it should always be running in the background so that when the need arises you can call on it to help with things like staff training and feedback, customer disputes or maybe just to record minutes for conference calls or customer support lines!

You can run call recording solutions as part of your new or existing phone systems, or alternatively you can use an external call recording solution such as  Number4Life.

Which ever way you proceed, make sure your recordings are secure and backed up off site.

If you would like to have a play here is a demo site set up Number4Life

Use the following login details

Client ID = 112959

Username = admin

Password = password

Click on 'number search' / click on 'search' / click on '08448589169' / place your landline number that you would like to receive the call into the 'Route calls to' box / place your email address that you would like to receive the .wav recording in 'Email recordings to' box / click on 'Update'

Please NOTE we have restricted international and mobile destinations for this demo!

we can on further demos show you how to record and retreive recordings via online servers

Now call yourself on 0844 858 9169 or get someone else to call you and have a brief conversation, once you end the call our systems will convert and send your conversation to you via email.

I would always recommend notifying callers that calls are being recorded, this covers both legal and moral concerns!

I hope this allows you to understand a little of what is acheivable, if you prefer can call me as a demo on 01249 47 00 90 and I will send you a copy of the conversation.

regards

 

Christopher Benson

Key Accounts Manager

Club Talk Ltd

www.clubtalk.co.uk

 

 

 

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By chatman
25th Aug 2011 14:42

You can record your own conversations as far as I am aware

I was under the impression that there was no restriction on recording your own conversations, so as long as you are a participant in the conversation, there is no problem.

In any case, I think even a transcript can be very useful if the recording is not allowed in court. Quoting sections of a call word for word sounds much more authoritative than the other side saying " we talked about x and y but I cannot remember exactly the words that were used".

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By Club Talk
26th Aug 2011 16:40

Call Recording setup in just 15 minutes for any business system!

If you have tried the call recording demo above and would like it set up for your business we can set it up in just 15 minutes once we know your destination number and email address (no set up fee).

Email [email protected]

Call recording can be set up for any business, anywhere and with any telephone system.

If you would like to discuss this further please give me a call on 08448 80 60 90 or send me a message and I will reply asap.

regards

Christopher Benson.

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By [email protected]
31st Aug 2011 15:10

Call Recording is a specialist subject where there are many solutions available but are they right for your specific requirements?

Don't rush into anything until you have spoken to a consultant who deals in this type of software and equipment.

 

Brendan McGrath

ComputerTel Limited

01474561111

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