Ontario Laws For Recording Customer Phone Calls
Recording customer telephone calls can be a tricky business because the last thing any business wants is to run into legal trouble with a potential or current customer. Because recording telephone calls can involve the collection of personal information, there are a number of rules and regulations in Canada set forth by PIPEDA (Personal Information Protection and Electronic Documents Act) that companies must abide by.
This article will take you through some of the guidelines set by PIPEDA to help you comply with Canadian law in your workplace. At Network Telecom, we can provide a number of telecommunications products and services. If you’re part of a business that has a current telecom supplier, fill out the form and you could be eligible to win a $100 gift card! Click the button below for more!
Things To Consider
Before deciding whether or not you’d like to participate in recording your customer’s phone calls, there are a few things you should keep in mind:
- These guidelines apply to both calls initiated by the customer and those initiated by your business
- If you’re a business that deals in contracting out call centres, telemarketing, or any services similar to these, you must also ensure that any third party acting on their behalf must comply with PIPEDA as well
- Recording of phone calls can be used to gather more information than simply the content of the call. For example, a worker or customer’s tone of voice can be used in legal proceedings and can be used to infer information about those in the call such as ethnic background or age
How To Comply With PIPEDA
PIPEDA is a Canadian law relating to data privacy that was brought into action in the year 2000 in order to govern how the private sector collects, uses and discloses personal information during the course of personal business. There are a few regulations you must have set in place in order to fully comply with PIPEDA. Most of these may seem like common sense, but it’s very important to follow through on all of them. Here’s the current list of regulations you must follow through to comply with PIPEDA.
- Your recording must be done for a specified purpose
- The purposes for the recording must meet the reasonable person test
- You must inform the individual that the call may be recorded and make a reasonable effort to ensure that the individual understands the purposes for the recorded information and how it will be used
- Recording must only take place if you have the individual’s consent
- Any information collected must only be used for the purposes already specified to the individual
- Organizations must ensure they comply with all other provisions of PIPEDA with respect to matters such as safeguards, access, retention, and disposal
Though these regulations are to be followed through on almost every case there are some cases where consent is not necessary under PIPEDA. This would include cases such of debt collection, investigating potential fraud cases or other cases where knowing a call is being recorded could potentially damage an organization’s ability to obtain important information. If you’re unsure whether or not consent would be necessary for your organization be sure to contact a legal expert and inquire their advice before making any decisions.
The Proper Legal Procedures
In order to stay within the regulations of PIPEDA, there are steps for each call that you’re expected to follow through on to ensure you fully comply:
- Ensure that the individual is informed that the conversation is being recorded at the beginning of the call. Some of the best ways to do this is to have an automated recording set up to inform the individual they’re being recorded
- The individual must be told about the purposes of the recording. The organization must be clear about the purposes; be specific and state all purposes for the recording. There are a number of ways you can inform the individual of the purposes for the recording – verbally, by pressing a number on the keypad (in the case of automated messages) or with clear messages on monthly statements (For example: If you have any questions about your bill please call 1-800-XXX-XXXX. Please note your call will be recorded for…). If the individual proceeds after learning that the conversation is going to be recorded then there is implied consent on their behalf
- If the caller objects to the recording, the organization should provide the caller with meaningful alternatives. Some of these alternatives could include not taping the call; visiting a retail outlet; writing a letter; or, conducting the transaction over the internet
If you’re looking for any more additional information on PIPEDA and the laws regarding recording phone calls in Ontario you can contact the Office of the Privacy Commissioner of Canada here: https://www.priv.gc.ca/cu-cn/index_e.asp
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