With few exceptions, recording telephone calls in California is illegal without two-party consent and can land companies in serious legal trouble if they are caught recording conversations without customers’ knowledge.

California residents have been recently complaining about certain companies for possibly violating state privacy laws, with Dermalogica included on this growing list of companies.

Dermalogica is a professional skin care company that started in the Los Angeles area in 1983, and now consists of at least 100,000 skin therapists.

However, Dermalogica may be one of the companies who violated California privacy laws by recording customer service calls without customers’ consent.

Recording telephone calls in California is only legal if all parties involved in the conversation give their consent, which is covered under the California Invasion of Privacy Act.

This rule, which is also known as “two party consent,”applies to both the caller and recipient of the call.  The statute applies to all “confidential communications,” which means customer service calls to or from companies are included.

Overview of California Call Recording Disclosures

Like many other companies, Dermalogica has a designated customer service line dedicated to inbound and outbound inquiries for consumers.

Whether these calls pertain to different products or services the company sells or includes personal information such as name, phone number, or credit card numbers of customers, these calls cannot be recorded legally without proper disclosure.

These disclosures typically explain to customers that their conversation may be recorded for different reasons, which will then ask for customers to either stay on the line or press a number on their number pad to indicate consent.

It is important to note that under California privacy laws, staying on the line gives implied consent and any potential call recording after that is legal. This disclosure is normally given at the beginning of calls in an automated voice, but this is not always the case and customers should be vigilant in listening for it.

Customers who find themselves recorded without being asked may feel as though their privacy was violated. Overall, recording telephone calls in California must be conducted under strict guidelines and provisions in order to avoid legal trouble.

It is important to note that a number of companies operating in the state of California have already landed in legal trouble for this, with several multimillion dollar settlements already paid. Companies that violate this statute can face up to $5,000 per violation or three times the amount of any damages suffered.

Customers who are considering filing legal action for California call recording violations should log important details about the calls in question including:

• Date and time of call
• Purpose of call
• Whether call was inbound or outbound
• If call recording disclosure was given
• Whether or not consent to call recording was given
• Summary of call

Customers should log this information because it could be useful in any potential legal action that could follow after filing, including maximizing their chances of success with the help of their lawyer.