Can I use a Dictaphone in the Bank?

[jo5h54]

My bank are incompetent. They put a fraud check on my account and left me stranded without money. When I asked them about it they came back with the very helpful reply "If you don't want a fraud check on your account don't use your bank card." I changed banks.
To safeguard myself against similar situations and to show the evidence to my lawyer I carry a dictaphone in the bank.
My bank manager told me that it was illegal to record conversations in the bank without her permission - is this correct?

[atticus]

It is not illegal, but you will find that the bank manager will not wish to speak to you in those circumstances and can ask you to leave the premises.

[jo5h54]

It is not illegal, but you will find that the bank manager will not wish to speak to you in those circumstances and can ask you to leave the premises.

Do I have to inform her that I am recording her?

[atticus]

People seem to get away with covert recordings.

Something for you to read: https://www.12kbw.co.uk/covert-recor...briefing-here/

[jo5h54]

People seem to get away with covert recordings.

Something for you to read: https://www.12kbw.co.uk/covert-recor...briefing-here/

Thanks for replying it was interesting

[R0b]

It is a common misconception but the answer is that it is not illegal to record someone in secret (with the caveat below) and I am not aware of any exception in relation to a bank. The activity of recording someone would amount to processing personal data of that individual and therefore subject to the Data Protection Act 2018 and the UK GDPR.

You are exempt from the UK GDPR obligations if the recording is for personal or household activities. That means you cannot use the recording for a commercial benefit or some other reason that is not purely a personal matter. For example, if you recorded the conversation and then shared that recording with the media, that is unlikely to be considered a personal or household activity and you could be sued for breach of data protection laws. Equally, EU case law has held that creating a website about someone which identified them did not fall under the domestic purpose exemption.

You may record the conversation, and share that with your lawyer for the purposes of contemplating legal proceedings but sharing with a third party who has no relevant connection to the matter (even if it were to friends and family) would amount to a breach of the law unless you can show that the UK GDPR did not apply by relying on one or more of the exemptions.