RECORDING A DEBT COLLECTION CALL

If the debt collector has ignored your written request to discontinue contact, has been calling you names, embarrassing you, threatening you, contacting your neighbors and family and disclosing your debt or violating the fair debt collection practices act in some other way, you should consider recording the contact. 

Recording phone calls without disclosure is not allowed in every state, however.  If it is allowed in your state, you should make sure that the collector is in your State as well.  You should speak to your attorney no matter what state you live, in before recording.

FIVE STEPS TO RECORD 

1.   Always seek the advice of a competent attorney before taping a debt collection call.  It is a federal crime to record if you are not a party to the call, and recording a call as a party may be a crime in your state.  Read "Can We Tape? - A practical Guide to Taping Phone Calls and In - Person Conversations in the 50 States and D.C."   a guide to current state law on recording.  Again, always verify the information with a competent attorney before recording.

2.  Buy a digital or old fashioned tape recorder. The  digital is more expensive and are easily erased.  The old fashioned type are foolproof, cheaper and easy to obtain.

3.  Buy a stereo patch cable - this is the stereo patch cable needed in order to digitize your tape recording onto your computer.

4.  Get some digitizing software - Once you have the tapes recorded the best thing to do is to "digitize" them so that they can be emailed to others or posted on the web.  www. polderbits.com sells a windows based tape digitization software. This software will allow you to transfer the tape over a cable and them turn the recording into an .mp3 file.  It costs about $20.00.

5.  Digitize the tape - remove the small plastic recording tabs on the tape you want to digitize before you put in in the recorder.  This will prevent accidental erasure.  Connect the stereo patch cable to the earphone or out jack on the recorder.  Connect the other end of the patch cable to the sound card mic or input jack on the computer.  Turn the recorder volume to low.  Start polderbits recording then press the play button on the recorder.  Some adjustment will be necessary dependant on the recorder. 

Contact me if you need more instruction on how to record a call from an abusive collector.