Hi @canahost,
I don’t have answers to your questions, but you’ve showed admirable persistence in dealing with these people. I just wanted to say that I think basically nobody likes to be recorded, and I wouldn’t ask for permission in this case - I’d just go ahead and do it. I’d first check the local law about this, just to be sure, though it’s hard to imagine anyone taking legal action if someone is recording them. Also, I’m unclear what use you plan to make of these hypothetical recordings.
I think this is a good idea myself. In fact, I recently purchased a sound recorder, the Zoom H5, for the express purpose of recording people’s conversations. But I haven’t really used it for anything yet. I suppose for a phone conversation, you would just use your phone, though you’d need to figure out where the recording is stored, and copy it to a safe place.
And I see I made similar comments in a post about a year ago…