recording calls

[ImLostAgain]

I know that businesses tell you that they are recording your call for training purposes etc but is it a legal requirement that you tell them that you are recording them?

[kempie]

The recording and monitoring of telephone calls is governed by a number of different pieces of UK legislation, which includes;

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

The limited set of circumstances in which a business may record or monitor your call (which they need not inform you they are doing) is listed here...

http://www.veritape.com/LegalityUK.html

It is also not illegal for individuals to tape conversations providing the recording is for their own use, under the Regulation of Investigatory Powers Act 2000 (RIPA).
It is a civil, not criminal, matter if a conversation or e-mail has been recorded and shared unlawfully. If a person intends to make the conversation available to a third party, they must first obtain the consent of the person being recorded.

[ImLostAgain]

Good answer kempie, but going off your last sentence, if Im recording as an individual for security reasons or whatever and later decide to take some sort of action against the caller, should I have told them I was recording in the first place?
Also although you say it is not illegal for individuals to tape conversations, should I as a matter of law, tell them I am doing so?
The site you gave was very imformative but seems to be the law as given to businesses not to individuals.

[kempie]

It is the disclosure of the recording to a third party (i.e. someone who was not one of the participants in the call) without consent of the call participants that is illegal, not the recording itself. This means that you do not need to tell the other person that you are recording the call provided that you never intend to let anyone else hear it.

If you want to disclose the recording, you will need the permission of the other participants. This permission could be obtained before, during or after the call. An exception is where there is a public interest at stake. For example, if a reporter suspects a company of giving bad advice over the phone, it would be pointless warning them that they were being taped before getting evidence.

It is not, however, a criminal offence to share the conversation unlawfully - rather a civil wrong which can redressed with a claim for damages.

[ImLostAgain]

Thanks again kempie that clears that up.