I saw quite a few threads here which advocated taping phone calls. Rather than correct them all, I'm putting some info here: There are two types of laws regarding taping phone calls: one-party consent, and two-party consent. In a one-party consent state, only one party to the conversation needs to consent for taping to be legal. In a two-party consent state, ALL parties (not just two) must consent for taping to be legal. If ANY state involved in the conversation is a two-party state, ALL parties must consent, e.g., you are subject to ALL laws on ALL ends of the conversation. Twelve states require (for the most part) the consent of all parties to a conversation: California, Connecticut, Florida, Illinois, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Montana, Nevada, New Hampshire, Pennsylvania and Washington. Also, the state of Nevada has a one-party statute, but it has been judicially interpreted to be two-party. I do NOT guarantee the complete accuracy of this list. Laws change. For the most part, it is also illegal to disclose the contents of an illegally intercepted call or communication, which means that it would be inadmissable as evidence in any case. Violating any of these laws subjects you to both criminal and civil sanctions. SO: If you WANT to tape, you must ask permission up front, unless you are in a one-party state and you KNOW FOR A FACT that their call center is also in a one-party state. (If someone calls and announces that they are taping, they have given consent, and you can go ahead.) You can use the tactic of saying "thanks for the tape" at the end of a conversation even without taping. There's no law against lying to a CA or OC. Just don't produce the actual tape when asked unless you know it's OK.
I have posted on this subject before but it is also permissible if you have a device that emits a "beep" tone at regular intervals(eg: every 15 seconds). In this case the "notification" requirement is satified by the "beep"at regular intervals. I am the manager at a stock brokerage and all our calls are recorded. Imagine the CA who thinks they are lucky enough for me to tell them to only contact me at work, and when they call they hear the beep and suddenly they don't want to talk to me anymore. from: http://www.rcfp.org/taping/ The FCC requires that an individual notify other parties to a call before using a tape recorder in an interstate call. The rule requires that the individual either get consent from all parties before making the call, notify the participants at the beginning of the recording, or use a "beep tone" that is repeated regularly throughout the call. WALLST
