• This topic has 16 replies, 12 voices, and was last updated 6 years ago by wynne.
Viewing 17 posts - 1 through 17 (of 17 total)
  • Right to a transcript of recorded phone conversations
  • wynne
    Free Member

    Morning hive mind. My annoyance with virgin mobile continues. I can 100% recall that in one of my many conversations with them I was promised a free repair of my phone. They are now denying this and said it is not something they would ever offer. They are also accusing me of making this up. I’ve done a bit of googling and it seems like data protection laws should allow me access to transcripts. I just wondered if anyone could confirm this and the exact bit of legislation that might entitle me to this.

    Thanks
    Rich

    Jakester
    Free Member

    Data subject access request under s7 of the Data Protection Act 1998:

    https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/1998/29/section/7

    legend
    Free Member

    Are phones companies legally obliged to record and store every phonecall?

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    twicewithchips
    Free Member

    Subject access as noted, but be prepared for:
    “i’m sorry, we appear to have lost that particular day’s recordings”

    wynne
    Free Member

    Thanks very much for the information. Person I spoke to yesterday claimed to have listened back to my call so they can’t (reasonably) claim to have lost the recording, unless he was lying as well – which I am coming to realise is standard procedure for Virgin mobile.

    Cougar
    Full Member

    If it were me I’d be getting them to honour my statutory rights rather than fannying about with something someone might have said once. You get your proof, they say “yeah, they were mistaken, sorry about that,” then what?

    What’s the circumstances?

    edlong
    Free Member

    Not just a transcript – the audio file itself falls under the scope of the DPA and so you should be able to have access.

    The transcript may not be accurate…

    IHN
    Full Member

    Are phones companies legally obliged to record and store every phonecall?

    No, but if they do, they are obliged to make a copy of the recording available under a Subject Access Request as above.

    oikeith
    Full Member

    I’d expect all calls to be recorded which they can then listen to and create you a transcript from.

    edlong
    Free Member

    They may create a transcript, and if they do you’ll be entitled to access it, but you also have a right to access the audio data itself.

    Depending on how much you trust the transcribing skills of Virgin..

    fasthaggis
    Full Member

    “Your calls may be recorded”

    unovolo
    Free Member

    “Your calls may be recorded”

    More like

    Coyote
    Free Member

    Had similar issues with Vodafone <spits>. Stick to your guns, correspond in writing and if the situation cannot be resolved then threaten the ombudsman. My issue ended up going to the ombudsman in the end and they agreed with me and Vodafone <spits> lost.

    bennyball
    Free Member

    As above make a DSAR to them in writing. Just be aware that they are also entitled to charge a fee for such information (normally in the region of £10)

    wynne
    Free Member

    Thanks all for the replies. I have in writing requested a DSAR. They say it could take up to 60 days for me to get the transcripts.

    The issue, in a nutshell:
    1 I fall in river with waterproof Sony phone in a zipped coat pocket. Camera on phone stops working.
    2 Phone Virgin to see what my options are in terms of fixing/replacing phone. Told my only option was to pay off my remaining six months on my contract and then start a new one.
    3 Contact STW forum for advice – told there is a common problem of these phones not being waterproof and that mine should still be under warranty.
    4 Phone Virgin back, explain that I am very unhappy with the information given first time I called. After a while nice lady tells me that because service was so bad first time round then they will fix my phone for free. Phone booked in for repair.
    5 I send phone off, get a call a few days later saying phone case is damaged and that this is not covered under warranty. Apparently there is a hairline crack front to back on the side of the phone. I had never noticed it as the phone had always been in a rubber protector. I am told I have two choices – pay £66 to have it repaired or have it sent back to me unrepaired. I say that I am unhappy with this choice and that I had been promised verbally that my phone would fixed free of charge to make up for my poor experience on my first call. Bloke says I can’t have been offered this as it isn’t something that they offer.
    6 Later the same day I get a call from Virgin Repair bloke’s manager saying that he’s listened back to my calls and I was indeed promised a free repair. He starts hedging around it with all sorts of caveats that allow him to weasel out of the promise. He tells me that if the experts open up the phone and find that it is going to be too expensive to repair (beyond economic repair ie beyond 80% of the cost of the phone) then my phone will be sent back to me unrepaired.
    7 Surprise surprise this morning I receive a message to say that my phone is beyond economic repair, and that he has honoured the promise of a free repair by taking me through the assessment process only for my phone to ultimately fail to meet the criteria for repair…

    And so here I am. Beyond the fact that I can’t understand how this git can say that he honoured the promise of a free repair, what baffles me is that two days ago it was going to cost £66 to repair my £200 phone and today it is deemed beyond economic repair.

    I don’t even like phones, or computers for that matter.

    legend
    Free Member

    5 I send phone off, get a call a few days later saying phone case is damaged and that this is not covered under warranty. Apparently there is a hairline crack front to back on the side of the phone. I had never noticed it as the phone had always been in a rubber protector. I am told I have two choices – pay £66 to have it repaired or have it sent back to me unrepaired. I say that I am unhappy with this choice and that I had been promised verbally that my phone would fixed free of charge to make up for my poor experience on my first call. Bloke says I can’t have been offered this as it isn’t something that they offer.

    You’re expecting them to fix the non-warranty part, that they didn’t know about in advance, for free? Could the crack also then have led to the water issues?

    Starting to see where the phone company are coming from. Even if you get the recording, there was damage to the phone beyond the issue described. I don’t think you’ll be getting anything

    wynne
    Free Member

    It’s a fair point, but I was told unequivocally, that as a good will gesture to make up for a very poor service, my phone would be fixed for free. No caveats, no clauses etc were offered with this.

    There is also a broader point that several of Virgin’s people accused me of lying, and then backtracked after listening to recordings. I honestly couldn’t have been more open about the cause of the damage or what their staff had said to me.

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