Below are some of the more asked queries about Record Your Call. If your question doesn't appear here, please take a look at the Knowledgebase or Contact Us to find out more.
Click on a question below to reveal the answer.
Record Outgoing Phone Calls
Q How do I record my outgoing phone calls?
- From any phone, call one of our access numbers (as found on the main page of this site) and when prompted, enter the number of the person you want to call followed by the hash (#) key.
- Just as the call goes through, write down the PIN we give you and keep it safe.
- Have your conversation as normal and simply hang up once complete.
To download your call from our web site, simply login and select 'Add Recording', using the PIN we gave you along with the phone number you called. The recording is then added to your account for download.
Q What are the costs for recording outgoing calls? Do I get a bill from you?
Calls to our 0872 access number cost 13p per minute plus your phone company's access charge.
The price you pay is inclusive of the cost to call the destination, so there are no other charges. It's free to register an account on our web site and download your recordings. You pay the cost of the call through your phone bill as you would any other call, so expect to see a charge on your phone bill for the duration of the call. You won't receive any bill from us.
Please note that some International regions can only be contacted from our 070 access number, which is charged at 50p per minute from a BT Landline, plus network extras. Other landline operators may charge more for calls to 0871/2/3 and 070 access numbers and may also include network extras. Calls to 0871/2/3 and 070 numbers may cost considerably more from mobiles.
To check which access number you need to dial to reach an International number, simply use the tool available on the main page of our website.
Q I make a lot of calls using Record Your Call; can I get the calls any cheaper?
For heavy users, we do have a pro package that offer half-price recording and long-term storage - you can see more details on these by going to our business packages page here.
Q What format are my recordings saved as?
This depends on how the call was recorded. If an inbound call is recorded, it is available to download as a .wma file. If you are recording an outbound call, the recording is available to download as an .mp3 file. Both formats can be played on most media players. If you cannot play the recording, you can contact our Support Team who will be able to help.
Q What happens if I forget my call recording PIN?
If you know the time and date of the call, and the number you've called, or the number of the person calling you if it was an inbound call, contact our support team to see if we can retrieve it. We have a private basket of unclaimed recordings whereby people who have not added a recording to their account get put into a secure list that our support team can search through. Although we might be able to find the call on our system, we won't be able to listen to it for you. As every call is encrypted, our support team can only find a recording and add it to your account. This helps to make the system as secure as possible. To avoid this in the future, you might want to verify your number with us so that your call recordings automatically appear in your account.
Q Can I hide my phone number when making outgoing calls?
Yes. When logged in on the website, select 'View Your Account' in the top right hand corner of the site and select the 'Privacy' option under 'Numbers I Call From', then click on 'Update Numbers'. Your number will then show up as 'Withheld' on the Caller ID of the phone you are calling. Please note that this function is only available once you verify your phone number with our system, and will not work if you withhold your number when you dial the call recording access number.
Q When does the call recording begin?
By default, call recordings start once the call is connected after the ringing. If you want to start the recording right after you have entered your number (i.e. you want to record how many rings it takes before the call is connected) then log in to your account and select 'View Your Numbers' in the top right hand corner and select 'RBC' (Record Before Connecting) next to the number you will be calling from, then select 'Update Numbers'. Please note that this function is only available once you verify your phone number with our system, and will not work if you withhold your number when you dial the call recording access number.
Q When do I start paying for a call?
When the message "Welcome to Record Your Call" is played to you. You pay for the call whether or not you get through to the person you want to speak to, so you are advised to hang up if you hear the engaged tone or after a short period if there is no reply.
Q Can I interrupt any of the Record Your Call messages?
Yes, as soon as you hear "Welcome to Record Your Call" you may start to enter in the number you wish to dial, without waiting for instructions.
Q What is the PIN for?
When you record a call, we give you a unique PIN for that recording which helps you (and only you) to retreive and download the call recording from the web site later on. You can also use this to listen to the call recording from anywhere where you have access to a phone (but perhaps not a computer and internet connection) by calling our telephone Replay service.
If you use the service quite a lot from the same phone(s) then you can register these phone numbers on your account and each time you call the service we'll know that it's you calling and assign the recording to your account automatically, without reading your PIN down the phone to you. Unless of course you want us to, so that you can also use the Replay service.
Record Incoming Phone Calls
Q How do I record my incoming phone calls?
To record your incoming calls, first ensure you have registered for an account with us - then login and go to 'My Incoming Numbers'. Pick a number of your choice and route this through to your phone. Give out your Incoming Number when you want to record your incoming calls, and recordings will appear in your account automatically. To find out how incoming numbers work, see below.
Q What are incoming numbers and how do they work?
Incoming numbers effectively 'sit on top' of any existing phone you already have. It can be a landline, mobile or even international number. Incoming numbers don't interfere with your existing phone line or mobile phone account. You can sign up for an incoming number (most are free of charge) within your account and connect it to your existing phone number.
When someone calls your incoming number the call will simply come through to you as usual, and neither you nor your caller will notice any difference. Once you hang up, you will find that the call was recorded and automatically added to your account.
You can change the destination of your incoming number free of charge and at anytime, instantly - just login to your account to change.
Q When taking a call with an incoming number, can I put the caller on hold or transfer them?
Yes, when receiving an incoming call you can put people on hold and/or transfer them to another destination. Full instructions and the setting to enable this are in the incoming number settings as found in your account.
Q What is the caller display feature for on an incoming number?
As you may notice no difference when an incoming number is dialled by your caller, it can be hard to tell when a caller is ringing your Incoming Number and know when that call is being recorded (as the caller might have your direct number also). To help with this, we've added a feature called 'Caller Display'. If you change the setting for this on your incoming number in 'My Incoming Numbers', you can set the Caller ID (the person's number which is displayed when calling you) to that of your incoming number.
If you add this into the phonebook of your phone or Caller ID device as something like "Recorded Call", then each time your caller rings your incoming number, "Recorded Call" is displayed on your phone to help you determine if the call is recorded or not.
Other Questions
Q Why do I need to call your 0872 number to verify the number I'm calling from when adding a new number to my account?
For security reasons, we ask customers to first verify the numbers they call from before allowing them to automatically add recordings to their account. This is only used when you want to avoid using PINs and tell Record Your Call which number(s) you call from so future recordings are added to your account without having to do anything else. As we won't know that number is yours, you need to ring our verification line and enter the PIN given on the screen (when you first enter the number) before we allow it in your account.
Q What does the Whisper feature do on an incoming number?
The whisper feature (if enabled within your account) asks callers for their name before the call rings through to your phone. Once you answer, the caller's name is played to you so you can decide if you are able to take a call from that person, or reject the call. This feature allows you to screen your incoming calls simply.
Q What does the notify feature do on an incoming number?
Due to legal reasons as detailed in our legal section, you might want to tell callers that you are recording that call. Once you've enabled notify, a message is played to callers before the call comes through to you, telling them that "calls are being recorded for quality and training purposes" ultimately satisfying the legal requirements for call recording within the UK. You can switch this setting on and off whenever you like.
Q Why allow recording to be switched off in the settings of my incoming numbers?
You can turn off the recording feature at anytime by simply unticking the record button. It may sound pointless having a number then, but you can do this feature whenever you still want to take calls, but don't want them recorded. It could be because you want to keep certain calls private or take personal calls, for example.
Q On my incoming numbers page in my account, why does it say my number will expire at set date?
In order to preserve the amount of numbers available to customers and to keep the service free, we ask that you use your incoming number at least once every 6 months. The expiry given will show you when your number is due to expire if you don't use it. Don't worry - 30 days before the 6 month expiry, we will send you an email asking if you still want the number. We won't just snatch it back!
*TIP* - Just make a call to your number for a few minutes every 6 months to avoid it expiring!
Q Why do you have to choose between several different types of incoming numbers, can there not be just one?
Our customers each have different requirements and therefore we have to offer different numbers according to those. Although there is a difference in the cost to call our 0871 and 070 numbers, we are able to accommodate to different customer needs - some of our customers are businesses that are happy to utilise a low-cost 0871 number, whereas individual users may like 070 as it appears as a more personal number. You can select numbers from whichever number set you deem necessary - just be aware of the difference in price.
Q What are tags and how do I use them?
Tags are able to help you to add details to each recording in your account, helping to easily identify and categorise each recording. In 'My Recordings', simply click on the tag icon next to a recording, then enter each tag separated by either a comma or space. These single word tags are then searchable at the top of the page, helping to easily group together related recordings and manage large amounts of recordings.
Q Is it OK to record credit card details in recordings?
If you are giving credit card details over the phone DO NOT record that part of the conversation. Please hang up and call them back to give card details.
Making a recording of credit card numbers is against the PCI/DSS regulations that are in place to protect consumers from harm. We would ask that you do not record these details in case they fall into the wrong hands; the same goes for bank details. Please refer to our Knowledgebase if you have believe you have recorded any confidential payment details on your account.
Q Can you or your support team listen to any of my recordings?
No. Recordings are kept compressed and encrypted using a combination of your User ID and password, recording pin number (for outbound calls) and the number you called or the caller's number (for inbound recordings), along with the time and date. The recordings are also stored on a different server and physical location than our support staff. Even if we wanted to in order to give you better support, we cannot access recordings. See our Knowledgebase for more details.
Q Can I record a call to any number?
You can record a call to most UK landlines and mobile phones and selected international destinations. Record Your Call does not record calls to:
- Emergency & other operator services
- Personal Numbers (starting 070)
- Premium Rate Services
Q Why should I use Record Your Call when I can use call recording phone apps for free?
Although call recording mobile applications are popular, they do have some setbacks compared to our service:
- Recordings are less likely to be valid as evidence - call quality is lower and the user can modify the recording
- They can only be used on smart phones with the application installed
- Some apps record using VoIP, which uses up mobile data
- Recording quality isn't guaranteed - the audio may be unlistenable, or not saved at all
- Confidentiality isn't guaranteed, and phone recordings may not be secure
- Some apps require the user to make unsecure modifications to their smartphone ('rooting' or 'jailbreaking')
With Record Your Call, complete security and quality of your recordings is assured. It can be used from any phone which can dial our access number, and there is no additional hardware or software needed. Because the recordings are made and stored by an independent party, recordings through Record Your Call are more admissible as evidence. We also offer a wide variety of customisable features not available on mobile applications, including automatic call recording notifications and inbound call whisper.