Telephone Answering Service Vs Answering Your Own Calls

There are many benefits of using a professional call answering company to answer your business calls. Some businesses believe that by answering their own calls it saves staff costs and is therefore better for the business. This is true in some respect, yes it does save costs but by answering your calls yourself you are opening yourself up to an array of potential issues such as:

* Missed calls and not having a number to call your customer back on - It all sounds good, answering your own calls but it can be surprisingly difficult and frustrating at times especially when you are bombarded by sales or marketing calls whilst you are in the middle of something important. A call answering company can filter all your unwanted sales calls leaving you free to concentrate on running your business and getting work done.

* No log of calls and enquiries- It can be very frustrating for any business to receive a voicemail or missed call on their phone, you then attempt to phone the number back only to realise it was withheld or unavailable (especially when it is a potential new lead or sale ). You may also be on the go and have no means of writing down what the call was regarding or callers name/details etc.

* Unwanted background sounds/noises if answering on the go - As a potential customer it can be very off putting when you phone a company landline number expecting to speak to someone on reception only to find that your call was in actual fact re routed to a mobile phone which can come hand in hand with poor reception and background noises such as passing cars, other peoples conversations etc. A virtual receptionist can answer your calls in a dedicated office environment at all times eliminating this problem.

* Giving the impression of a one man band - When we phone a company, although it is nice to speak to the owner it can also make us feel a little uneasy knowing that that is your only point of contact should any problems arise or you need to speak to someone straight away. There is always some comfort in knowing that your supplier has a dedicated office and receptionist.

By paying as little as 0.80p per call in some cases, you can have all your calls answered professionally and promptly each and every time by a trained PA who knows and understands your business. By doing this, you can ensure that firstly you never miss an important call, plus it gives you the time to call back the customer at a time that suits you best. Because the call has already been answered and your client or customer has already spoken to someone representing your company, they are then very unlikely to move on to one of your competitors. This in turn can lead to more sales leads than if you were to try answering the calls yourself.

So the conclusion is, yes it is cheaper to answer your own calls but not as cost or time effective as hiring a virtual receptionist to deal with them for you. A virtual receptionist can most definitely help to increase your revenue and portray a professional image for your business. There are some costs that simply should not be cut during tough times such as the recession we are experiencing, one of these are your marketing costs. Other costs that should not be cut are those that can affect the continuity of your business or damage your company's image in any way. A virtual receptionist is the perfect solution at just the right time. Save costs on staff, free up your own time, increase sales and improve your company image. Perfect!

Professional live telephone answering service and business answering service for UK businesses.Try our call answering services completely FREE - 7 days.

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Telephone Answering Service Vs Answering Your Own Calls

There are many benefits of using a professional call answering company to answer your business calls. Some businesses believe that by answering their own calls it saves staff costs and is therefore better for the business. This is true in some respect, yes it does save costs but by answering your calls yourself you are opening yourself up to an array of potential issues such as:

* Missed calls and not having a number to call your customer back on - It all sounds good, answering your own calls but it can be surprisingly difficult and frustrating at times especially when you are bombarded by sales or marketing calls whilst you are in the middle of something important. A call answering company can filter all your unwanted sales calls leaving you free to concentrate on running your business and getting work done.

* No log of calls and enquiries- It can be very frustrating for any business to receive a voicemail or missed call on their phone, you then attempt to phone the number back only to realise it was withheld or unavailable (especially when it is a potential new lead or sale ). You may also be on the go and have no means of writing down what the call was regarding or callers name/details etc.

* Unwanted background sounds/noises if answering on the go - As a potential customer it can be very off putting when you phone a company landline number expecting to speak to someone on reception only to find that your call was in actual fact re routed to a mobile phone which can come hand in hand with poor reception and background noises such as passing cars, other peoples conversations etc. A virtual receptionist can answer your calls in a dedicated office environment at all times eliminating this problem.

* Giving the impression of a one man band - When we phone a company, although it is nice to speak to the owner it can also make us feel a little uneasy knowing that that is your only point of contact should any problems arise or you need to speak to someone straight away. There is always some comfort in knowing that your supplier has a dedicated office and receptionist.

By paying as little as 0.80p per call in some cases, you can have all your calls answered professionally and promptly each and every time by a trained PA who knows and understands your business. By doing this, you can ensure that firstly you never miss an important call, plus it gives you the time to call back the customer at a time that suits you best. Because the call has already been answered and your client or customer has already spoken to someone representing your company, they are then very unlikely to move on to one of your competitors. This in turn can lead to more sales leads than if you were to try answering the calls yourself.

So the conclusion is, yes it is cheaper to answer your own calls but not as cost or time effective as hiring a virtual receptionist to deal with them for you. A virtual receptionist can most definitely help to increase your revenue and portray a professional image for your business. There are some costs that simply should not be cut during tough times such as the recession we are experiencing, one of these are your marketing costs. Other costs that should not be cut are those that can affect the continuity of your business or damage your company's image in any way. A virtual receptionist is the perfect solution at just the right time. Save costs on staff, free up your own time, increase sales and improve your company image. Perfect!

Professional live telephone answering service and business answering service for UK businesses.Try our call answering services completely FREE - 7 days.

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Stop Harassing Phone Calls With a Reverse Phone Number Search

Have you ever received harassing or annoying phone calls from an unknown number? This is a frustrating but commonly occurring experience, but luckily can be resolved with the use of a reverse phone number search. This search was created to trace a number back to the billing address associated with the number, in effect identifying the crank caller. Many of these searches are available online, but unfortunately there are a large number of fraudulent reverse phone lookup sites. There are many different markers of these scammer sites, but without the knowledge of what to look out for, it is too easy to be tricked by one of the phony sites.

The key to the successful functioning of these sites is enticing advertising. Many of the fake phone search sites will utilize enticing and unrealistic advertising in order to help them draw in customers. It should be stated in advance that because of the nature of a reverse search, it is truly impossible to have "instant" results. That being said, these phony sites will advertise for "instant" or "unlimited" results, when in fact this is the equivalent to admitting their illegitimacy. Many of these phony sites are able to offer instant results simply because of the resources they utilize to procure results. Often times they will use resources that are completely accessible to the public, like the white pages, to identify results. Not only will these search companies use information that you could have accessed through a simple 'Google' search, but they will also purchase outdated databases and sell the results as current information.

Potentially the biggest marker for a phony site, as mentioned earlier, is unrealistic advertising. When searching for a reverse phone number lookup site, evaluate their claims. Do they have bargain basement prices, along with offering instant results? Although it may be difficult, it is necessary to disregard these enticing prices and move on to a realistically priced service. Upon entering a site it is also important to identify the physical location and phone number of the business. Many scammer sites will neglect to post contact information including their phone number and address, not by accident either. These phony sites have mastered evading their disgruntled customers and a lack of or incorrect contact info is very effective way of doing this.

All legitimate private investigation companies that offer this search should have their private investigation license number listed on their website somewhere. Any business that lacks this certification is most likely a phony site, because you must be certified to access the information that is retrieved from a reverse phone number search. Remember to pay attention to the advertising, along with the contact information available. When looking to reverse trace a phone number it is important to find legitimacy, not a bargain price, because you will most likely get incorrect or no results and end up having to pay for an additional service.

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Stop Harassing Phone Calls With a Reverse Phone Number Search

Have you ever received harassing or annoying phone calls from an unknown number? This is a frustrating but commonly occurring experience, but luckily can be resolved with the use of a reverse phone number search. This search was created to trace a number back to the billing address associated with the number, in effect identifying the crank caller. Many of these searches are available online, but unfortunately there are a large number of fraudulent reverse phone lookup sites. There are many different markers of these scammer sites, but without the knowledge of what to look out for, it is too easy to be tricked by one of the phony sites.

The key to the successful functioning of these sites is enticing advertising. Many of the fake phone search sites will utilize enticing and unrealistic advertising in order to help them draw in customers. It should be stated in advance that because of the nature of a reverse search, it is truly impossible to have "instant" results. That being said, these phony sites will advertise for "instant" or "unlimited" results, when in fact this is the equivalent to admitting their illegitimacy. Many of these phony sites are able to offer instant results simply because of the resources they utilize to procure results. Often times they will use resources that are completely accessible to the public, like the white pages, to identify results. Not only will these search companies use information that you could have accessed through a simple 'Google' search, but they will also purchase outdated databases and sell the results as current information.

Potentially the biggest marker for a phony site, as mentioned earlier, is unrealistic advertising. When searching for a reverse phone number lookup site, evaluate their claims. Do they have bargain basement prices, along with offering instant results? Although it may be difficult, it is necessary to disregard these enticing prices and move on to a realistically priced service. Upon entering a site it is also important to identify the physical location and phone number of the business. Many scammer sites will neglect to post contact information including their phone number and address, not by accident either. These phony sites have mastered evading their disgruntled customers and a lack of or incorrect contact info is very effective way of doing this.

All legitimate private investigation companies that offer this search should have their private investigation license number listed on their website somewhere. Any business that lacks this certification is most likely a phony site, because you must be certified to access the information that is retrieved from a reverse phone number search. Remember to pay attention to the advertising, along with the contact information available. When looking to reverse trace a phone number it is important to find legitimacy, not a bargain price, because you will most likely get incorrect or no results and end up having to pay for an additional service.

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Evaluating Calling Card Companies to Make Cheap International Calls

Making long distance calls at economical rates has become very easy these day, but there are few things that need to be well understood before you try to make cheap international calls. There are many companies that claim to be the best providers of international calling cards, but most of claims may be false. The best company is the one that provides you with least calling rates, best voice quality and excellent customer service. To find a such a company, you will not only have to do some research, but also try a few services.

Never fall for false claims! You can ask your friends if they have been making long distance calls through calling cards of a particular company. Instead of trying out a company's services only to be scammed, you can work with a company verified by your friends or relatives. Cheap international call is not a mission of finding the rare bird, but finding a company that provides you with what you exactly need, which can be daunting at times. When you are checking the companies online, always check which countries they provide the best rates in. Some companies provide better rates in some particular countries and other companies have lower rates in other specific calling destinations.

Always check the best option according to your needs. You can now find both rechargeable and one-time usable calling cards. Some people prefer to use the one-time calling cards, as they find it easier to buy a new one every time. There are some who get the rechargeable calling cards, so they don't have to enter a new PIN every time they are going to make a call. If your target is to make cheap international calls, saving time is another important consideration. Nevertheless, it is entirely up to you to choose whichever type of card you prefer.

While you are on a call, make sure that you count the minutes, so you can be certain of getting the amount of minutes you have spent your money for. You for sure have purchased a calling card for making cheap international calls, but if you are not getting the correct minutes, you are making a bad deal. Lastly, make sure that you understand the correct procedure of using a card. If you face trouble understanding the instructions from the card, you can always call the company's customer support team to help you with the steps to dial correctly. An excellent customer service is also what you should get from a company.

Click Cheapest International Calls to opt for various ways of making cheap international calls. In case, you want to call someone abroad from your mobile phone, click Calls from Mobile.

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Cheap Calls: Not Impossible Anymore

In the past, it was a big challenge for people living in foreign countries to talk to their families and relatives, because they had to pay high costs for doing that. Many people from under developed or developing countries migrate to foreign countries in search of career opportunities. Most of these people do the labor work, so they can run their families back in their homelands. Such people make a limited amount of money in which they not only have to meet their own expenses, but also have to send money to their families. They cannot really afford to spend a lot in making expensive international calls. With a tough competition and advancement in technology, making cheap calls to any corner of the world has been made possible for these people.

Cheap calls have become very easy, because there are now many other alternatives available to get in touch with friends and family. People can communicate through emails, use messengers for video and voice conversation, use online text message services, etc. With so many communication alternatives, it has become imperative for almost all telecommunication and calling card companies to offer lower calling rates, so people can stick to the telephone calling.

There are a lot of people who try to avoid calling internationally because of the absolute costs. However, all of these people are not as fortunate. If you have a relative or a friend in Denmark and you need to call them often; how would you make cheap calls to Denmark? Choosing the right company with a good calling plan is the right choice. Thanks to the extreme competition in telecom sector, where various service providers are introducing different great services and plans every now and then. All you need to do is be careful in choosing the most suitable service for you.

While researching for a good calling plan, you may figure out that the international call charges from both the mobile phone and landline companies are too high. If so, the calling cards can be very helpful. If you read the history of international calling, you will surely thank God that you have calling cards available to make cheap calls now. Imagine how people used to carry coins in their pockets in the past to make calls through the payphones. This caused robbery and vandalism problems, which in turn forced some companies to think of an alternative. The cards used to contain a magnetic strip in the past and they still do, but international calling cards often come with an area that can be scratched to reveal a PIN code. This PIN is what you dial as a pass code while making an international call from your landline or mobile phone.

You can purchase the calling cards online or from a retail store. Beware, sometimes the retail store owners charge extra pennies only to earn higher commissions. The commission rate of calling cards has always been an issue between the retailers and the card companies. Make sure that you pay only what is mentioned on the card. People with less knowledge of internet find calling cards as the best solution for contacting their loved ones in foreign countries.

Click Cheapest International Calls to opt for various ways of making cheap international calls. In case, you want to call someone abroad, click Cheap Calls.

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When Is It Legal to Record Telephone Calls?

Recording telephone calls and in-person conversations is a common practice of undercover private investigators as well as aggressive investigative journalists. Such recordings can make or break a case or investigation.

In fact, most private investigators view undercover recording as an indispensable tool in their arsenal. However, others don't use recordings because of the complex legal risks that it creates.

There are important questions of law that must be fully understood before developing a consistent policy about making and using undercover recordings. Both federal and state statutes govern the use of electronic recording equipment. The unlawful use of such equipment can give rise not only to civil lawsuits brought by the "harmed" parties, but also criminal prosecution is possible.

Accordingly, it is critical that investigators, lawyers and journalists fully understand all the laws that may apply to a given set of circumstances, and appreciate what their rights and responsibilities are when recording and disclosing communications.

Although many of the relevant statutes address wiretapping and eavesdropping (i.e., listening in on conversations of others without their knowledge), these same laws may apply to recording of any conversations, including phone calls and in-person discussions.

Federal law generally allows recording of telephone calls and other electronic communications with the consent of at least one party to the call. A majority of the states and territories have adopted wiretapping statutes based on this federal law, although most also have extended the law to cover in-person conversations.

Thirty-eight states and the District of Columbia permit individuals to record conversations to which they are a party, without expressly informing the other parties that they are doing so. These states are generally referred to as "one-party consent" states, and as long as the investigator (or the person doing the recording) is a party to the conversation, it is legal for him to record it.

Twelve other states require, under most circumstances, the consent of ALL parties to a conversation. Those jurisdictions are California, Connecticut, Florida, Illinois, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Montana, Nevada, New Hampshire, Pennsylvania and Washington.

Regardless of the specific jurisdiction involved, it is almost always illegal to record a conversation to which you are NOT a party, do not have consent to tape, and could not naturally overhear in a public place.

Additionally, complex legal concerns can arise when interstate telephone calls are recorded by one of the parties to the call. For example, an investigator located in New York State who records a telephone conversation without the consent of a party located in Illinois would not violate New York State law, but could be civilly and even criminally liable under Illinois law.

A court located in New York State may even apply Illinois' laws, depending on its "conflict of laws" rules. Therefore, an aggrieved party may choose to file suit or a criminal complaint in either jurisdiction, depending on which law is ultimately more favorable to the party's claim (and where jurisdiction lies).

Additionally, federal law may apply when the conversation is between parties who are in different states, although it is unsettled whether a court will hold in a given case that federal law preempts state law.

Therefore, in light of the complex laws governing electronic recording of conversations between private parties, private investigators are strongly advised to err on the side of caution when recording or disclosing an interstate telephone call.

Joseph C. Gioconda, Esq. is an experienced Intellectual Property attorney and consultant, and the founder of the GIOCONDA LAW GROUP PLLC ( http://www.giocondalaw.com/ ), a New York City-based brand protection and anti-counterfeiting law firm. He is also the CEO of RogueFinder LLC ( http://www.roguefinder.com/ ) which finds and targets "rogue websites."

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International Calls That You Can Afford

There was a time when it was a hard task for people living in foreign countries to talk to their friends and family members because of the high charges on international dialing. Now, various companies are providing international calling cards and other means of calling in foreign countries, which have made the lives easier for millions of people. Moreover, with the internet, it takes just few minutes to find a provider for calling cards, packages, etc.

People often wonder that if internet is available, why there is a need for making international calls. Truly, international dialing is still needed in many cases. Not all the people who go to foreign countries have access to the internet and on top of that, you cannot access the internet from everywhere. With international dialing cards and other means, you can contact any of your relatives or family members wherever you are. You might think that internet is "almost" available in all places but once again, not everywhere. We cannot forget that having internet facility has not made us quit using cell phones, has it?

Many people, who go abroad, work in intense conditions and have to do labor work. Laborers do not have access to internet and not all of them are literate enough to use the internet. In short, there should always be various ways for anyone to contact their relatives. If one feels like making an international call and has a cell phone in the pocket, no one should tell the person to wait until internet is available to contact their loved ones. Some people don't even like to go online because they are afraid of the many scams that are going on the internet at all times.

With many competitors out there who are constantly trying to compete and beat each other, people can now make international calls at very low rates. If you do the math and look into the technical aspects, these calls are more affordable than any other means of contacting people in foreign countries. One thing that you should not forget is to try various companies for making an international call because affordability is not the only thing for everyone. Some people don't mind higher rates for international dialing as long as they get good quality of service.

When you need to make an international call to your loved ones, try different companies. You can buy a calling card that can work on your mobile phone or the one that works with the landline. You will find difference in rates when calling an international landline or mobile phone. Check different services to evaluate the voice quality as well. What good is a cheap international calling card if you cannot even hear your loved ones properly on the phone? Keep in mind the affordability, availability and voice quality when exploring companies for international dialing.

Click Cheapest International Calls to opt for various ways of making cheap international calls. In case, you want to call someone abroad from your mobile phone, click International Call.

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International Calls That You Can Afford

There was a time when it was a hard task for people living in foreign countries to talk to their friends and family members because of the high charges on international dialing. Now, various companies are providing international calling cards and other means of calling in foreign countries, which have made the lives easier for millions of people. Moreover, with the internet, it takes just few minutes to find a provider for calling cards, packages, etc.

People often wonder that if internet is available, why there is a need for making international calls. Truly, international dialing is still needed in many cases. Not all the people who go to foreign countries have access to the internet and on top of that, you cannot access the internet from everywhere. With international dialing cards and other means, you can contact any of your relatives or family members wherever you are. You might think that internet is "almost" available in all places but once again, not everywhere. We cannot forget that having internet facility has not made us quit using cell phones, has it?

Many people, who go abroad, work in intense conditions and have to do labor work. Laborers do not have access to internet and not all of them are literate enough to use the internet. In short, there should always be various ways for anyone to contact their relatives. If one feels like making an international call and has a cell phone in the pocket, no one should tell the person to wait until internet is available to contact their loved ones. Some people don't even like to go online because they are afraid of the many scams that are going on the internet at all times.

With many competitors out there who are constantly trying to compete and beat each other, people can now make international calls at very low rates. If you do the math and look into the technical aspects, these calls are more affordable than any other means of contacting people in foreign countries. One thing that you should not forget is to try various companies for making an international call because affordability is not the only thing for everyone. Some people don't mind higher rates for international dialing as long as they get good quality of service.

When you need to make an international call to your loved ones, try different companies. You can buy a calling card that can work on your mobile phone or the one that works with the landline. You will find difference in rates when calling an international landline or mobile phone. Check different services to evaluate the voice quality as well. What good is a cheap international calling card if you cannot even hear your loved ones properly on the phone? Keep in mind the affordability, availability and voice quality when exploring companies for international dialing.

Click Cheapest International Calls to opt for various ways of making cheap international calls. In case, you want to call someone abroad from your mobile phone, click International Call.

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Enjoying International Calls With Various Telephone Service Providers

Calling long distance is becoming more and more convenient, reliable and reasonably priced nowadays. New service providers appear at the telecommunication market and supply connection to and from places that used to be unavailable before. So now you can easily call Cuba, India, North Korea, any Asian or African country from anywhere in the world and be satisfied with the quality of international connection and the cost of your long-distance calls, provided, however, that you have chosen the right phone card. The telephone service providers offer a great amount of prepaid calling cards. They all have different features and offer different calling rates.

Among the telephone service suppliers the most popular one is the AT&T provider with famous for its incredible worldwide connectivity phone card AT&T. Though boasting of the best possible quality of connection and availability from almost any place in the world, the card offers quite high calling rates that do not always meet the customer's expectations.

The ECC provider has gained considerable popularity by means of the cheap and versatile Jupiter, Saturn and Royal Call international phone cards. Low calling rates and amazing quality are the main features of these cards.

The calling cards El Toro, Mozart, Sahara, Everest, Tigris are represented on the market by the IDT phone service provider. These cards are especially convenient for frequent oversea calls to Asia, Africa and South America.

The NTC service provider does its best to make your calls from the USA, Canada, Europe and Asia as cheap and reliable as possible. With the help of the NTC prepaid calling cards Cardinal, Lucky Minutes, Champion, Cheap Call, CheapStreet, FastWorld, Partner, Penny Boss, Bizon, Solaris your inland and foreign calls to any destination always bring you joy and comfort.

One more provider that seems to have a preoccupation with the high quality of international calls and the customer's satisfaction is the NW-IP service provider. It supports the wonderful as to their characteristics, options and features calling cards Continental, Hello from UK, Mariachi, Golden Lotus and Simply. You will save a lot of time and money when using these functional phone cards for you global calls.

Such a variety of prepaid phone cards provided by different suppliers enables constant perfection of long distance connection and reasonability of international calling rates. Needless to say, the customer greatly benefits from it and can always be sure of experiencing a better level of worldwide connectivity.

If you often call long distance, we invite you to visit http://www.callcanada.biz/ and http://www.call-australia.com/. There you can find a lot of useful information about prepaid calling cards for you extremely advantageous international calls.

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Using a Call Announce for After Hours Urgent Support Calls

Many small offices have their calls forwarded to a cell phone or home phone after hours so a caller can reach their physician, insurance agent, IT support, plumber or another person. There are a couple of problems in sending a call directly to a phone that is outside of the office:

The employee who answers the call may not know that the call is for business until they answer.If the employee does not answer then the caller may leave a voice message on that persons personal voice mail.If the caller is expecting a quick response after leaving a voice message the cell phone or home phone voice mail will not be proactive in reaching someone to respond.

The Call Announce feature will solve all of these issues. Call Announce greets the caller with a professional greeting and places them on hold. They listen to music as a call to the staff person is placed. When that person answers the call the Call Announce tells the them

"This is a call for (name of the business here). Press one to be connected or press two to send the caller to voice mail."

This simple alert allows the staff person to know how to answer the call and if they are not in a situation where they can take a business call they have the option to not be connected.

If the staff person elects not to be connected they can just hang up OR if the call goes to the cell phone voice mail the Call Announce system can continue to another person's cell phone in the "hunt" sequence.
They can also elect to send the caller to voice mail by pressing two. This will bypass any other phones in the rest of the "hunt" sequence.

A system including Call Announce can be used in several scenarios. One is for a company who has several IT support technicians that take urgent after hours calls. Using Call Announce, the phone system tries to connect the caller with up to 6 different technicians. The caller listens to music as the system dials each technicians phone.

The best part is that even if the call eventually goes to voice mail (if all of the technicians can't take the call live) then the system can elevate the response to management with proactive voice mail deliveries. No longer does a client leave a voice message on a cell phone that may not get a response in a timely manner.

Call Announce solves many issues in routing calls to phones outside the office directly.

Greg Standerfer is a phone consultant for small business owners and owner of All Call Technologies.
For more information on Call Announce and other voice services for small offices visit Virtual Phone Systems or call 877-659-4999

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When Is It Legal to Record Telephone Calls?

Recording telephone calls and in-person conversations is a common practice of undercover private investigators as well as aggressive investigative journalists. Such recordings can make or break a case or investigation.

In fact, most private investigators view undercover recording as an indispensable tool in their arsenal. However, others don't use recordings because of the complex legal risks that it creates.

There are important questions of law that must be fully understood before developing a consistent policy about making and using undercover recordings. Both federal and state statutes govern the use of electronic recording equipment. The unlawful use of such equipment can give rise not only to civil lawsuits brought by the "harmed" parties, but also criminal prosecution is possible.

Accordingly, it is critical that investigators, lawyers and journalists fully understand all the laws that may apply to a given set of circumstances, and appreciate what their rights and responsibilities are when recording and disclosing communications.

Although many of the relevant statutes address wiretapping and eavesdropping (i.e., listening in on conversations of others without their knowledge), these same laws may apply to recording of any conversations, including phone calls and in-person discussions.

Federal law generally allows recording of telephone calls and other electronic communications with the consent of at least one party to the call. A majority of the states and territories have adopted wiretapping statutes based on this federal law, although most also have extended the law to cover in-person conversations.

Thirty-eight states and the District of Columbia permit individuals to record conversations to which they are a party, without expressly informing the other parties that they are doing so. These states are generally referred to as "one-party consent" states, and as long as the investigator (or the person doing the recording) is a party to the conversation, it is legal for him to record it.

Twelve other states require, under most circumstances, the consent of ALL parties to a conversation. Those jurisdictions are California, Connecticut, Florida, Illinois, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Montana, Nevada, New Hampshire, Pennsylvania and Washington.

Regardless of the specific jurisdiction involved, it is almost always illegal to record a conversation to which you are NOT a party, do not have consent to tape, and could not naturally overhear in a public place.

Additionally, complex legal concerns can arise when interstate telephone calls are recorded by one of the parties to the call. For example, an investigator located in New York State who records a telephone conversation without the consent of a party located in Illinois would not violate New York State law, but could be civilly and even criminally liable under Illinois law.

A court located in New York State may even apply Illinois' laws, depending on its "conflict of laws" rules. Therefore, an aggrieved party may choose to file suit or a criminal complaint in either jurisdiction, depending on which law is ultimately more favorable to the party's claim (and where jurisdiction lies).

Additionally, federal law may apply when the conversation is between parties who are in different states, although it is unsettled whether a court will hold in a given case that federal law preempts state law.

Therefore, in light of the complex laws governing electronic recording of conversations between private parties, private investigators are strongly advised to err on the side of caution when recording or disclosing an interstate telephone call.

Joseph C. Gioconda, Esq. is an experienced Intellectual Property attorney and consultant, and the founder of the GIOCONDA LAW GROUP PLLC ( http://www.giocondalaw.com/ ), a New York City-based brand protection and anti-counterfeiting law firm. He is also the CEO of RogueFinder LLC ( http://www.roguefinder.com/ ) which finds and targets "rogue websites."

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Enjoying International Calls With Various Telephone Service Providers

Calling long distance is becoming more and more convenient, reliable and reasonably priced nowadays. New service providers appear at the telecommunication market and supply connection to and from places that used to be unavailable before. So now you can easily call Cuba, India, North Korea, any Asian or African country from anywhere in the world and be satisfied with the quality of international connection and the cost of your long-distance calls, provided, however, that you have chosen the right phone card. The telephone service providers offer a great amount of prepaid calling cards. They all have different features and offer different calling rates.

Among the telephone service suppliers the most popular one is the AT&T provider with famous for its incredible worldwide connectivity phone card AT&T. Though boasting of the best possible quality of connection and availability from almost any place in the world, the card offers quite high calling rates that do not always meet the customer's expectations.

The ECC provider has gained considerable popularity by means of the cheap and versatile Jupiter, Saturn and Royal Call international phone cards. Low calling rates and amazing quality are the main features of these cards.

The calling cards El Toro, Mozart, Sahara, Everest, Tigris are represented on the market by the IDT phone service provider. These cards are especially convenient for frequent oversea calls to Asia, Africa and South America.

The NTC service provider does its best to make your calls from the USA, Canada, Europe and Asia as cheap and reliable as possible. With the help of the NTC prepaid calling cards Cardinal, Lucky Minutes, Champion, Cheap Call, CheapStreet, FastWorld, Partner, Penny Boss, Bizon, Solaris your inland and foreign calls to any destination always bring you joy and comfort.

One more provider that seems to have a preoccupation with the high quality of international calls and the customer's satisfaction is the NW-IP service provider. It supports the wonderful as to their characteristics, options and features calling cards Continental, Hello from UK, Mariachi, Golden Lotus and Simply. You will save a lot of time and money when using these functional phone cards for you global calls.

Such a variety of prepaid phone cards provided by different suppliers enables constant perfection of long distance connection and reasonability of international calling rates. Needless to say, the customer greatly benefits from it and can always be sure of experiencing a better level of worldwide connectivity.

If you often call long distance, we invite you to visit http://www.callcanada.biz/ and http://www.call-australia.com/. There you can find a lot of useful information about prepaid calling cards for you extremely advantageous international calls.

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Why Record Your Phone Calls?

Verbal transactions cannot be confirmed, they are not worth the paper they are written on.

A call recorder can help confirm verbal transactions or client instructions.  

"I distinctly recall telling your call centre agent I did not want those goods".

Who is right who is wrong? 

Your Call center agent was rude and discourteous, I have spoken to my friends about your company, and we will take our business elsewhere?

Often customer complaints never reach you, customers often taken action by taking their business elsewhere rather than complain to you. Even worse, they influence their friends about your company's poor service.  Without constant call monitoring for quality assurance, poor call center agents may affect your business more than you may realize.

Your business is inherently on the back foot, rightly or wrongly customers seem to see themselves as 'always right'. The cost of legal litigation or lost business is on the increase. Do you wish to be part of that statistic?  

If a Telephone Phone Recorder was installed, the situation may be vastly different.

No longer rely on vague memory recollections or deciphering notes. Furthermore as Technology Ten recorders time stamp recorded calls, this may be used to match instructions with other events e.g. customers verbal instructions to change order quantity placed before or after cutoff time? 

Over the last few years recorders have become an increasingly commonplace piece of equipment in offices globally. 

Recording customer telephone transactions may eliminate the volume of paper work and administration, better for your bottom line and better for the environment.

Not so long ago the use of phone recording was largely restricted to banks, financial institutions and government agencies and Emergency services. While these still form a large part of the recording market, the use of recorders has grown significantly over the last few years into other market areas such as call centers, home business, trades people, security companies, most small, medium and large business, retail, insurance and healthcare, In fact anyone or business that uses commonly a telephone or 2 way radio as part of their day to day communications. 

There are many reasons why an organization might decide to record their phone calls, here are a few:

Legal Compliance: many industries or situations are regulated to record public interactions, such as company takeovers, shareholder information lines, security alarm monitoring companies, etc. It is commonplace for insurance brokers and mortgage companies.

Telephone transactions: it has long been the case that any organization taking financial transactions over the telephone have recorded their calls. The recent growth in telephone sales has been a major driver to call recording.

Performance: the growth of the call center has been another major driver for call recording. Most mid-large call centers will have a call recorder (and possibly adjunct evaluation software) in place to help with training and development of call center agents. 

Security: many public institutions, particularly those with a high profile or controversial reputation opt for call recording.

In short, there are a huge number of reasons why an organization might consider call recording - if there is an opportunity for fraud, compensation or illegal activity, there is a need for call recording.

Darren Slattery
Technology Ten
Call Recorders
http://www.technologyten.com.au/

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