Recorded call without consent and payment dodge!
Hi Guys
Hopefully somebody can give some good advice for me. I run a small business providing services. A new customer needed urgent help at Christmas so we gave them £1000 credit as their new debit card was in the post and hadn't arrived in time.
So we carried out our service and the customer was really pleased. It's now two months and they've not been returning calls or emails to my requests for payment.
I was worried they had folded and ceased trading so I called another company in the same building to ask if they knew if this company was still trading and still at the address. The woman who answered the phone was very cagey and wouldn't answer my question unless I told her why, so I said they owe us a lot of money and I want to make sure they've not knocked us and are still there.
The woman I spoke to were part of a big chain and they record all of their calls. She's gone down to the company that owe us money and given them the recording of the call to listen to.
The bad payers are now using this as a further excuse to not pay saying it's slander. I looked at the Oftel laws and I need to know if this woman had any right to share this recording as it was not related to their business in any way. Also there was no warning the call was being recorded.
Please could somebody help? If I start a money claim against this company can they use this recording against me?
You have a claim against the
You have a claim against the company for the money that is owed.
The recording can be made, but should not have been transfered, and it was a private conversation as should have been treated as such (unless notified of the recording)
The recording will work in you favour to show that you were not paid.
Defemation will depend on the judges decision, personally as you were stating facts then it may be ignored.
Alternativley write some letters and inform the company that you will remove the installed device or a letter that you will isue procedings in x days.
Your claim against your
Your claim against your customer is valid - it won't be affected by your phone call to their business premises. Issue your claim at www.mcol.gov.uk.
It is standard practice for many businesses to record their calls - they should inform you of this as soon as they answer the phone and before you say anything - if they do not inform you then they are not at liberty to share that recorded call with anyone without your prior consent. But, in reality, there really isn't a whole lot that you can do about the fact the recording was shared. Did you say something other than what you have stated here?
Your customer can say it's slander if they wish, though technically they are wrong anyway, as it's recorded, it would be libel - but they're not likely to take you to court for it for a couple of reasons, a) it would be very expensive to do so, in excess of 5 figures (they haven't paid you 1k, so not likely to spend 10k+ on legal fees!) and b) you've got a defence: truth, given that you said they owed you money, which they do.
I doubt you have anything to concern yourself with over the recorded call (unless you said things that were untrue or defamatory in some way), and you should go ahead and issue your claim for payment of services rendered.