The actual reason you have to notify an advisor at the start of the call is to do with DPA, VM notify customers they are being recorded on the understanding the the recordings are kept secure and protected by data protection law.
If a customer records an advisor then there is no guarantee the recording is kept safe and in accordance with DPA regulations. But if the advisor agrees to the recording being made and the way it will be used then they can put a legal request to the customer for a transcript if they wanted to so it falls within their personal data protection.
Its nothing to do with Virgin Media being funny about allowing recordings. Its about the personal rights of their front line staff under UK law. And staff can terminate a call for this reason or abusive customers.
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Kushan
Indeed, not a lot if they can only phone. At least with Virgin, you can get help via other means, it's just less effective.
Not so, the problem is that both sides are aware that one side is recording, but not the other. The law says nothing about "if you record a phone call, you have to allow someone to record you as well". After all, it's about sharing that phone call with a 3rd party and chances are, both sides will want to share their recordings with a different 3rd party.
This is one of the trickier aspects of the law that I'd really love some clarification on. As mentioned, the law is aimed at stopping abuse from those in power against individuals, but when you record a call to Virgin, are you recording Virgin the company, an employee of Virgin or an individual person who happens to work for Virgin? They may well sound like the same things, but there's a distinction there, a subtle one, that can't be overlooked. In the case of the latter, yes Virgin is actually the 3rd party. Confusing, yes.
Something else to add to the mix - Virgin's message, last I recall hearing it, was something like "Just so you know, we sometimes record these calls for training purposes". Other companies say similar things.
This raises a question. If it's for training purposes, surely that doesn't involve a 3rd party? Surely that's within Virgin themselves. In that case, why do they need to tell you that they're recording? Are Virgin just covering their backs?
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And the recording is "to give you the best customer service possible" not training purposes.