Is there a way to find a record of an outgoing phone call from a coin-operated pay phone without special equip
I am trying to prove that I made a call from a pay phone in Berkeley. CA in early 2005. I have been told by someone at the phone company that if you use only coins, no phone card, that there is no record of outgoing phone calls from pay phones. (This is incredible–what if a terrorist makes calls with coins from a pay phone–no way to figure out who he called?) The pay phone I used is owned by Pacific Bell/SBC (now AT&T). It is a standard Elcotel Series-5 which has no recording capability. So if there is a record, it has to be in some part of the phone company’s data storage, right? The other end of the phone call was made to a phone at the City Manager’s office in the City of Berkeley, California. The phones in the CIty Manager’s office have Caller ID. Would there be a record of incoming calls? I have been falsely accused and this is my only proof (it has to exit somewhere!)
Filed under: Call Recording
Good question.
Lets try to sort this out.
I believe that every phone call is documented by all phone companies.
It is true that if some one made a call with a credit card, there would be computer documentation as to what "credit card" was used and the owner of the credit card.
If you used coins to make a phone call from a Public Telephone, the Phone company has a record that a call was made from the public phone booth to a specific number and that the call costs "X" dollars and the call had a duration time of "Y" minutes.
However, there is no record of who made the telephone call, unless the phone booth was "tapped" and the calls recorded for a specific legal reason…ie…drug sales, prostitution. A court Order would be required to tap that specific phone boot.
I suggest that you call your States Attorney Generals office for a Definite legal explanation. The states and the Federal government regulate the Phone companies…MCI, Verizon, Att and T.
If you are not satisfied with the explanation from the AGs office, consult with an attorney.
Best of Luck to you. The Laws are to protect Innocent people.