Legal Question in Consumer Law in California
Recording phone calls
I recently ordered table pads from a man in Denver who represents a company in Indianapolis. There was a lot of problems getting the pads and I never received the ordered product. I contacted the Better Business Bureau of Indiana and filed a dispute with my credit card company. Between the BBB and VISA they had the charges reversed for me. In the meantime, I received a letter from the man that I originally contacted in Denver who stated that he recorded our phone calls during the dispute. My question is: Is it legal to record phone calls without letting the person that you are recording know that they are being recorded?
2 Answers from Attorneys
Re: Recording phone calls
In California, it is illegal to record a phone call without permission is the parties reasonably expect the conversation to be confidential. Given this is a commercial transaction, I do not know if you had a reasonable expectation.
Re: Recording phone calls
Agree with Mr. Kreuzer. The question is did you have a reasonable expectation of privacy in your conversations. Penal Code 632 prohibits recording of confidential conversations and can subject a person up to a fine of $2000 and/or imprisonment. Information obtained in violation of the statute is inadmissable.