Update on Police Solicitations
April 19, 2006 | Life
Re: the solicitations and implications. Got a call from the Chief of Police. Turns out this was an International Brotherhood of Police Officers union project, which was not cleared through the town administration. The complaints started coming in, and finally today they went down to the telephone "boiler room" and read them the riot act on using the Town's name. Two union guys were fired (for not clearing the project). Mine wasn't the first complaint, and the Chief is spending quite a bit of time on it this week. Quote: [Sigh] "Having one employee is one too many." The Town did something like this ten years ago and decided never to do it again – little of the money stays locally. It's not the way the Town or the Police department operates, he apologized for the trouble, and if it happens again call him directly.
Can't really ask for more than that.
Looking backward, who would have thought 25 years ago that the Chief of Police and I would be on the same side of any issue? Maturity, I tell you. Hopefully this buys me some slack the next time I'm out raising hell and have a run-in with the local law.
Comments
who would have thought 25 years ago that the Chief of Police and I would be on the same side of any issue?
You might need to elaborate on this, Mr. J.
;)
Posted by: hilllady at April 19, 2006 03:40 PM
Sorry, once the statute of limitations expire it gets written as a novel. Much too involved for a blog post.
Posted by: Michael J. at April 19, 2006 04:06 PM
That's interesting. About what I expected, actually, from the little information you provided.
But Nick probably still even sugarcoated it all a little for you. I once worked briefly for a company that does the actual calling and money collecting -- that was, putatively, for the Hartford Fire Department -- and I've never encountered a sleazier operation. I doubt that there was a single aspect of it that was entirely legal.
Most employees were paid under the table and were -- excuse my intensity and language here -- the scum of the earth. The job site seemed, though I never asked, to be a squat. There was no record keeping of any kind, and no indication that businesses who bought ads actually got them printed.
The way it works is that a group -- fire department, church, whatever -- contracts with one of these so-called companies. The company's telemarketers then proceeds to harass by phone, as you experienced, every business within a gazillion miles, saying whatever it takes to sell an ad. Then a driver goes out to collect the money that very instant, out of the quite reasonable fear that the check might not be available for very long.
The whole thing is invariably presented as a charitable effort, supporting the best of causes. In fact, somewhere between 75% and 90% of the money collected stays with the contract slimeballs; only the tiniest sliver goes to the hiring organization. Of the money that goes to the contractors, chunks (10% or so) of what's collected go to the telemarketers and drivers, as their pay. The rest is pretty much pure profit for the collecting company.
Eh.
In short, don't ever give out money to anyone over the phone. No matter on whose behalf they say they're calling.
Posted by: cboone at April 21, 2006 02:06 PM
Thanks for the background. I think he did sugarcoat it – there was a point where he started to say something, then said, "Nevermind; let's just say that not much of the money stays locally."
Posted by: Michael J. at April 22, 2006 09:47 AM
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