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Jonathan Gill – 904321596

6/16/2009
Field Study – Log #1

I. Daily Entries

Monday June 8th, 2009


Hours: 6

I browsed over the state of New Jersey’s Consumer Fraud Act to familiarize myself with
the regulations that govern industry and commerce within the state. Dawn Brown, the
assistant director delegating the work I do, gave me several case files to look over. The
case files contain formal complaints against various businesses. They also contain copies
of any pertinent contracts, receipts, and other related documents. After reading over the
files, I worked case by case with Dawn deciding what action would be appropriate. She
walked me through the first few cases explaining what she believed to be a good
approach. As we progressed she began asking me what I believed to a good approach
and would either reaffirm or suggest a better way to handle the case. Each case is unique
so there is no protocol as to the steps to be taken or the order in which to take them.
After going through several cases she gave me another stack of files to look over and this
same process was repeated. She then showed me how the online complaint database
works. Basically, you type in a case number and retrieve information about that
particular case. The database is used to keep track of any action taken by fraud
investigators. For example, if a call is made to the consumer to ensure that the complaint
has not been resolved in the time that has elapsed since it was initially filed, a note is
made in the database describing this phone call.

Wednesday June 10th, 2009


Hours: 6

Dawn assigned me 4 cases of my own today. I am the primary investigator for these
cases. The complaints were filed against a swimsuit company, a pet store, a Laundromat,
and a cellular phone service provider. Tasks included making phone calls to the
consumer and the business, drafting letters, sending emails, and using the database to
keep notes on all of this activity. For example, in the case of the pet store, I contacted the
business to make them aware that a complaint has been filed against them. I then briefly
described the nature of the complaint (in this case a dog was deemed unfit for sale at the
time of purchase by a licensed veterinarian and the consumer is requesting a full refund)
and gave the name of the complainant. I then asked for the manager’s side of the story to
see if there were any discrepancies and made the appropriate notes in the database. After
reviewing the regulations for pet stores and speaking with the consumer I discovered that
an election of options form was not filled out. This is considered a violation of
regulations and could be used against the pet store if they choose to not refund the
customer’s money. I attempted to contact the consumers and businesses for all four
cases.
Friday June 12th, 2009
Hours: 6

After speaking with the consumer who filed the complaint against the swimsuit company
I learned that she had received the refund she was asking for. This occurred in the time
that elapsed between when the complaint was initially filed and when I received the
complaint (we are about 2 months behind). Since the consumer got her money back I
was able to close the case. Since it was the first case I was closing Dawn walked me
through the process of closing a case. I followed up on the other cases I am working on–
made phone calls, drafted a letter, etc. I also had to get my parking pass from another
department within the building so that I do not have to pay for parking any longer.

Monday June 15th, 2009


Hours: 6

I was able to close another case today. The consumer who filed the case against the
Laundromat was determined to be unjustified in his complaint. This particular case
involved swipe cards used to purchase time on washing machines and driers. The
consumer wanted to be reimbursed for the remaining balance on his card, but since the
cards are refillable and reusable, the Laundromat is not obligated to do so. I received
three new cases today. The complaints are against a foot & ankle center, a clothing store,
and a furniture store. I began work on these three cases–I read over the files, contacted
the consumers, and contacted the businesses.

Wednesday June 17th, 2009


Hours: 6

I am finding that some cases are more easily closed than others. After working on the
foot & ankle center case I realize that this will require more work than the others. On one
hand I have a disgruntled consumer claiming that his insurance claim was improperly
processed by the doctor’s billing center. On the other side I have the billing center’s
supervisor telling me that the claim was indeed processed correctly. I may contact the
insurance company to find out for myself what the story is. The clothing store complaint
appears to be a case of miscommunication between a sales representative and the
consumer. After speaking with the business owner I am not sure the consumer is going
to get her money back since she has no proof to support her side of the story and the
business owner is firmly opposed to giving a refund. With no documentation it is
difficult to prove anything and the consumer tends to lose. I am learning very quickly
that it is important to get things in writing.

I am more hopeful for the consumer who filed the complaint against the furniture store,
as the store is part of a major retail chain. The floor manager I spoke to seemed to be
eager to resolve the matter quickly. I am confident the consumer will get what he is
asking for. It seems that smaller businesses are less willing to negotiate unless there is a
strong case against them. It appears that larger businesses and corporations tend to be
more willing to negotiate as they can absorb a certain amount of loss and would prefer to
avoid the negative publicity (all complaints are open to the public for a period of three
years).

Friday June 19th, 2009


Hours: 6

Today I followed up on the correspondences I have going with the clothing store, the
furniture store, the cell phone provider, the pet store, and the foot & ankle center. Today
I also received my photo ID so I no longer have to sign in and out whenever I enter and
leave the building. In addition to making calls and drafting letters, I made copies of cases
that are being transferred to another state. When there are numerous complaints against
the same entity sometimes the attorney general will file a lawsuit against the company.
When this occurs, the A.G.’s office typically handles any complaints against the business
as it helps build their case.

Monday June 22nd, 2009


Hours: 6

I closed another case today. I attempted mediation with the case against the clothing
store to no avail. I filled out the paperwork filed away the case folder. Since the other
four cases were at a stand still (I was awaiting letters or phone calls from either the
consumer, the business, or both) Dawn gave me three more cases to begin working on.
One is against a restaurant, another is against a lawn service provider, and another is
against a contractor. The case against the contractor involves the largest amount of
money of any case I have investigated yet–somewhere around $4,000. I am having a
difficult time tracking down the owners of the restaurant as they have closed. I learned
today that one can send a letter to the postmaster for a given city or town and the
postmaster will tell you where mail is being forwarded for a particular address. I filled
out the form with the restaurant’s address and sent it to the postmaster. Another tactic
fraud investigators use to track down a business owner(s) is to contact the tax assessor’s
office for the respective municipality and find out who owns the building that the
business operated out of. The owner of the building may have contact information or
know the whereabouts of the business owner(s). Another useful tool investigators use is
a website called superpages.com. Superpages is like an online phone book, but with
additional features. For example by doing a reverse lookup one can search by phone
number to find the name and address of the business or residence that uses that phone
number. Superpages.com is proving to be quite useful.

Total Hours: 42
II. Appraisal of Skills

A situation that had an effect on me is one involving a case against a contractor. I needed
to contact the contractor to inform them that a case was pending against them; I also
needed to determine who was in charge and who was responsible for the work that was
done (or more specifically the work that was not done). There were two numbers in the
case file. The first time I called the first number there was no answer; the first time I
called the second number there was an answer and I spoke to one of the individuals
working for the contractor. I explained that I was an investigator with the Middlesex
County Department of Consumer Affairs and that we have a complaint filed against the
contractor stemming from work that was done incorrectly a couple years ago. I had the
name of the person with whom the complainant made a verbal agreement with and asked
to speak with that individual. The person on the phone explained that he was the brother
of that individual (I will call him George) and that George was no longer running the
business. I asked if he was familiar with this particular job and he said that he was not.
Since I needed to speak with George I asked the man if he could find George and tell him
to contact our offices.

Some time passed before I decided to call again. I tried the first number again hoping I
would get in contact with George himself. This time it was George’s cousin that
answered the phone. After explaining who I was and why I was calling I asked if he
knew George’s whereabouts. He said that he George is still working for the company. I
asked him to tell George that he needs to call consumer affairs as soon as possible. After
more time passed I felt as though I was getting the runaround. So I decided to draft a
letter to the contractor outlining the nature of the complaint and requesting a response. I
have yet to hear back from anyone. I should note that I confirmed with my supervisor
that it is best to speak with the person with whom the complainant directly dealt with, as
they are more informed on the situation and better suited to answer questions.

I chose this event because it allowed me to realize that in certain situations drafting a
letter first and then calling to follow up could be a better approach. My reasoning is that
a letter is a more formal way of expressing an idea. Also, a letter can be referenced in the
future if there is any question as to what contact was made or attempted to be made (we
keep copies of all letters and faxes in the case folder). In retrospect, I feel that I could
have been more assertive with the two individuals I spoke with over the telephone.
While it is important to not be threatening, as this behavior tends to inspire defensiveness,
it is important to be assertive and direct. I believe I was direct, but I also believe that I
could have been more assertive. Perhaps if I did so I would not have gotten the
runaround, but then again, maybe I would have gotten the same response–one can never
know. I do know that a bit more assertiveness may not be a bad thing if I feel I am being
brushed off.

I believe that not being assertive enough can be a weakness in some situations. I feel it
depends on the personality with whom you are communicating with. Some individuals
may respond undesirably and feel that they are being threatened. Others may recognize
the importance of the situation if they pick up on an assertive tone of voice. There is a
balance to be achieved and a unique balance with each unique person. This is a skill I
believe I can improve upon. Particularly, having the emotional intelligence to know what
degree of assertiveness will yield the greatest result.

III. Information about the Organization

Structure

1. The Middlesex County Department of Consumer Affairs was founded in 1976.

2. See document entitled “Diagram of Organization”

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