8 ms·

Did you end up suing them?

matt_wulfeck 11y ago
I was prepared to take them to small-claims court. I recorded my phone conversation (and warned everyone I spoke to that I was doing so). Eventually it came down to me saying that I'm canceling my account and I don't agree to the ETF fee. The person I spoke to (the manager's manager I believe) said he's canceling it but I will be issued an ETF. Ultimately the ETF never came and I went month-to-month. By the way, mentioning that you're recording the phone conversation changes drastically how a CSR treats you.
- aceofspades19 11y ago
  I've worked as a CSR for a wireless company in Canada for a short period of time and as tech support for a large north american PC manufacturer for awhile and nothing I did ever changed just because a customer was recording the phone call. I still followed whatever the company policy was on the issue and spoke in a professional manner. Not saying you were wrong in anyway of course but if a CSR is doing their job properly they shouldn't be phased at all by a customer recording the phone call.
  - CaptSpify 11y ago
    I think this depends on a lot of factors. In my experience, ISP CSRs know that their company docs are complete BS and will change their tone immediately.
    - aceofspades19 11y ago
      Why? its not like they have anything to lose by having a customer record their call as long as they are following company policy and not doing anything ridiculous like swearing at the customer. Most of the time unless you are talking to a higher level, the CSRs can't really do a whole lot besides listen to you anyways so what are they going to do differently?
      - CaptSpify 11y ago
        IME, they don't really follow company policy, they just do what they can to get you off the phone. They know that the company doesn't care, as long as they aren't liable. I've done CSR work before, and it's a BS game for sure.
        aceofspades19 11y ago
        Well there is definitely some BS to it, as there is with any customer facing job. I'm sure you know though, after dealing with people's BS all day long, someone saying they are recording their call isn't going to phase you much, and if it were me I would be even less helpful since you've already started the call on an aggressive note and put me on the defensive.
- HelloMcFly 11y ago
  Most of the automated call centers tell you the conversation may or will be recorded prior to getting a human. I would assume this would be de facto consent for you to record the conversation, yes? Not that there's much reason to not just state it outright, but I'm curious whether I have to give notice that I'm recording a conversation if notice of recording has already been given to me.
  - eridius 11y ago
    The laws on whether you're allowed to record conversations and whether you have to inform the other party vary from state to state. It's reasonable to expect that if the other party informs you that they're recording it, it's probably safe for you to record it too, but it's worth checking up on your local state's laws.
    - mgkimsal 11y ago
      > "The laws on whether you're allowed to record conversations and whether you have to inform the other party vary from state to state" When I call up a company and they say the call may be recorded... they've just given me permission to record the call.
      - chipperyman573 11y ago
        >When I call up a company and they say the call may be recorded... they've just given me permission to record the call. No. "Some states currently require that all parties consent to the recording: California,[18] Connecticut,[19] Florida,[20] Hawaii (in general a one-party state, but requires two-party consent if the recording device is installed in a private place),[19] Illinois (debated, see next section), Maryland,[21] Massachusetts[19] (only "secret" recordings are banned[22]), Montana (requires notification only),[23] Nevada,[24] New Hampshire,[25] Pennsylvania,[26] and Washington (however, section 3 of the Washington law states that permission is given if any of the parties announces that they will be recording the call in a reasonable manner if the recording contains that announcement).[27]" https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Telephone_recording_laws#United_States https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Telephone_recording_laws#Unite...
- Altay- 11y ago
  I used a fee change of a few pennies to get out of an ETF on a Verizon Wireless contract on two subsidized Blackberries back when smart phones first starting to blowing up. The best part is, I didn't even have the credit for the subsidy so I had to give them a 2 year deposit on the full price of the phones. But since THEY (technically) changed the contract by raising my monthly fee from 5 cents to 8 cents or something, I GOT THE DEPOSIT BACK! I sold the phones on eBay and made a lot of money (for a high school kid). I think the charge was called 'federal universal service charge' and there was a whole guide on how to use it to your advantage. You had to sound really confident and have your contract open to the relevant clauses so you could confidently read it to them over and over.

I was prepared to take them to small-claims court. I recorded my phone conversation (and warned everyone I spoke to that I was doing so). Eventually it came down to me saying that I'm canceling my account and I don't agree to the ETF fee. The person I spoke to (the manager's manager I believe) said he's canceling it but I will be issued an ETF. Ultimately the ETF never came and I went month-to-month. By the way, mentioning that you're recording the phone conversation changes drastically how a CSR treats you.

aceofspades19 11y ago
I've worked as a CSR for a wireless company in Canada for a short period of time and as tech support for a large north american PC manufacturer for awhile and nothing I did ever changed just because a customer was recording the phone call. I still followed whatever the company policy was on the issue and spoke in a professional manner. Not saying you were wrong in anyway of course but if a CSR is doing their job properly they shouldn't be phased at all by a customer recording the phone call.
- CaptSpify 11y ago
  I think this depends on a lot of factors. In my experience, ISP CSRs know that their company docs are complete BS and will change their tone immediately.
  - aceofspades19 11y ago
    Why? its not like they have anything to lose by having a customer record their call as long as they are following company policy and not doing anything ridiculous like swearing at the customer. Most of the time unless you are talking to a higher level, the CSRs can't really do a whole lot besides listen to you anyways so what are they going to do differently?
    - CaptSpify 11y ago
      IME, they don't really follow company policy, they just do what they can to get you off the phone. They know that the company doesn't care, as long as they aren't liable. I've done CSR work before, and it's a BS game for sure.
      - aceofspades19 11y ago
        Well there is definitely some BS to it, as there is with any customer facing job. I'm sure you know though, after dealing with people's BS all day long, someone saying they are recording their call isn't going to phase you much, and if it were me I would be even less helpful since you've already started the call on an aggressive note and put me on the defensive.
HelloMcFly 11y ago
Most of the automated call centers tell you the conversation may or will be recorded prior to getting a human. I would assume this would be de facto consent for you to record the conversation, yes? Not that there's much reason to not just state it outright, but I'm curious whether I have to give notice that I'm recording a conversation if notice of recording has already been given to me.
- eridius 11y ago
  The laws on whether you're allowed to record conversations and whether you have to inform the other party vary from state to state. It's reasonable to expect that if the other party informs you that they're recording it, it's probably safe for you to record it too, but it's worth checking up on your local state's laws.
  - mgkimsal 11y ago
    > "The laws on whether you're allowed to record conversations and whether you have to inform the other party vary from state to state" When I call up a company and they say the call may be recorded... they've just given me permission to record the call.
    - chipperyman573 11y ago
      >When I call up a company and they say the call may be recorded... they've just given me permission to record the call. No. "Some states currently require that all parties consent to the recording: California,[18] Connecticut,[19] Florida,[20] Hawaii (in general a one-party state, but requires two-party consent if the recording device is installed in a private place),[19] Illinois (debated, see next section), Maryland,[21] Massachusetts[19] (only "secret" recordings are banned[22]), Montana (requires notification only),[23] Nevada,[24] New Hampshire,[25] Pennsylvania,[26] and Washington (however, section 3 of the Washington law states that permission is given if any of the parties announces that they will be recording the call in a reasonable manner if the recording contains that announcement).[27]" https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Telephone_recording_laws#United_States https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Telephone_recording_laws#Unite...
Altay- 11y ago
I used a fee change of a few pennies to get out of an ETF on a Verizon Wireless contract on two subsidized Blackberries back when smart phones first starting to blowing up. The best part is, I didn't even have the credit for the subsidy so I had to give them a 2 year deposit on the full price of the phones. But since THEY (technically) changed the contract by raising my monthly fee from 5 cents to 8 cents or something, I GOT THE DEPOSIT BACK! I sold the phones on eBay and made a lot of money (for a high school kid). I think the charge was called 'federal universal service charge' and there was a whole guide on how to use it to your advantage. You had to sound really confident and have your contract open to the relevant clauses so you could confidently read it to them over and over.