I daresay the CA fired Saiz to show they have procedures and policies. He was promoted for doing his job well, and to heck with the law, then gets sacrified by the CA because he did his job in a way the CA wanted but would not admit publicly they wanted.
The CBE Group says the former supervisor violated the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act when calling debtors.
By CLARK KAUFFMAN
REGISTER STAFF WRITER
July 1, 2007
A Des Moines bill collector who insulted and belittled people while demanding payments for their creditors has been fired.
Justin Saiz, 29, was a supervisor in the debt collection department of the CBE Group, a company that helps corporate clients, such as credit card companies, collect money from borrowers.
Saiz worked for the company from January 2005 through April of this year when he was fired for violating the federal consumer protection law known as the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act.
According to testimony at a recent public hearing dealing with Saiz's request for unemployment benefits, his bosses had frequently asked him about his tactics in attempting to collect payments though telephone calls made to people owing money.
After receiving a complaint about one call handled by Saiz, a company official listened to tapes of some of Saiz's other calls.
At the recent benefits hearing, Ken Braddock, senior director of operations for CBE Group, said the tapes documented several tactics that violated company policy and federal law:
- Saiz told a man who owed a creditor $1,804, "You are not a wealthy man ... You are screwed with this $1,804."
- At one point, Saiz began mocking the man, saying, "You sound like Goofy: yucka, yucka, yucka." Saiz then told the man to "stop flapping your gums."
- During another call, Saiz told the debtor, "All bets are off ... It's our way or no way ... You get it?"
- Saiz instructed one man to go get a pen and paper to write down some information. The man complied, and Saiz then said: "All right, listen very, very carefully. I need you to pay attention here." Saiz paused, shouted "Get off my phone, debtor," and slammed down the phone.
Saiz admitted to the conduct cited by Braddock, but he testified that such behavior had always been tolerated, if not encouraged, by managers who wanted him to "stir things up."
He claimed his "naturally aggressive nature" was responsible for his promotion to a supervisory position with CBE Group, where he handled some of the more difficult accounts.
He testified that the company received "countless - 20, 50 or 100" - complaints that he had harassed, pressured or belittled debtors he had called.
Those complaints, he said, resulted in discussions with his superiors but no instructions to modify his behavior.
"I imagine that I received numerous, numerous, numerous complaint entries against me," he testified at the recent hearing.
"No action has been taken against me to imply that I'm doing the wrong thing."
Saiz said managers were aware of his actions as he often stood up in the call center and spoke loudly to debtors when he was on the phone.
When asked about the man he hung up on, Saiz described his actions as a "psychological tactic" intended to show that he was controlling the conversation.
Braddock testified that Saiz's actions damaged the company's reputation and that of its clients.
Administrative Law Judge Bonny Hendricksmeyer ruled in favor of the CBE Group, saying she disagreed with Saiz's contention that his conduct was normal and appropriate. She denied Saiz's request for unemployment benefits.
"He was demeaning and condescending - mocking and ridiculing the individual on the phone with him," Hendricksmeyer ruled.
"This is not acceptable conduct."
Saiz, who recently obtained an unlisted telephone number, could not be reached for comment.