Complaint Review: Discover Card - West Valley City Utah

I was employed by Discover Card for 11 years.  I started as a Merchant Fraud Prevention Secretary, in Columbus, Ohio.  I had a need for evening hours, so I transferred to Recovery Collections.  I also worked as an Agency Placement Liaison.  I transferred to Open File Collections at the Eastland Operations Center after I married and moved closer to that facility.  At that time, I was well warned that the Open File collectors don't like Recovery Collectors moving in on their territory, and many thought I would soon want to be transferred back to Recovery.

There was some truth to the rivalry, but that was the least of the problems. I was more concerned about events happening after DCSI became Morgan Stanley Dean Witter & Company, starting with the railroading of the Company's founder, Tom Butler.  Promotions were given to the young, under qualified, inexperienced employees, rather than the more qualified Long-Term Employee(s), hereinafter referred to as 'LTE'(s),  with proven skills and years more experience.

I am witness to the constant monitoring of many LTE's.  Managers, Supervisors, or designated co-workers watched over us, just waiting for one of us to slip up.   Any little mistake or minute glance or mistaken word, would be embellished and the employee escorted out the door.  One by one, I watched them go.  Those of us LTE's remaining were then grouped into special work "Units".  The managers would take us out for a long breakfast or lunch.  We would be gone for hours.  That was a nice tactic to get rid of us.  If we aren't there, we can't work.  Therefore, we would all fail to meet the monthly goal, then we would be terminated.  I decided not to go on those special "Unit Luncheons", so that I could continue to work and achieve my monthly goal.  So, instead of writing me up for not achieving goal, I was written up for "not being a 'team player'.  At that point I knew my efforts were futile.  I was destined to suffer the same fate as the other LTE's.

I took the option to resign, was escorted out the door into the dark abyss of over 40 and unemployed to live among the RailroaDEAD of Morgan Stanley, Dean Witter, Discover and Company. 

I telephoned my former Mill Run Recovery Unit Manager at home one evening.  She told me that she quit because she took her Unit out to breakfast to reward them for a good month.  They were 2 minutes late to work, so she did what she and all of the other managers had always done before--clocked them in manually.  However, this time she was verbally reprimanded and handed a written "Job in Jeopardy" warning to to be placed in her permanent file, after her signature.  She was so appalled, she refused to sign it.  She told them that she didn't even need a job since her husband made more than enough for them both, and she certainly wasn't going to be treated that way.  She walked out, having given them over 20 years on the job. I had to laugh at the irony as I told her that, near that same day, our Unit Manager took our entire Unit out to lunch, then manually clocked us back in 2 HOURS late! 

Now, going back to my position in Recovery Collections, I will address another issue that falls under the "Whistle Blower" category:  I submitted an "Employee Suggestion" to the Legal Department to approve a form letter I had written for the Skip/Trace unit to send on accounts with no telephone contact.  All collectors were required to have 20% of their goal in house in the form of post-dated checks, but there was no way to solicit post-dated checks on Skip/Trace accounts, since most were either 'cease and desist calls' or had no phone number at all.

I had received awards previously for my Employee Suggestions--but not this time!  I received a letter from the Legal Department stating that my suggestion was denied because "it is illegal to solicit post-dated checks". I took the letter to the Department Manager and asked, "How can you make something illegal be a part of our monthly job requirement?"

Well, I was certainly hushed very quickly.  Oh, by the way, I still have all the documentation about this.  That's why I didn't give my real address or my current last name or location, however, the telephone number on file is correct.