“BOILER ROOM” The Untold Story Behind My Call Center Experience

Sanfelli Marius Michael C. Hortelano
URL: http:// shortelano.blogspot.com

Over the past decade, the call center business blossomed like ice selling pancakes in a spring cookie jar. All of a sudden, a massive production of call center agents sprouted like tulips in the middle of strong winter. Personal trainings for such business are added in various school curriculums to meet the demands of production. In loved with the proposition and the guarantee of employment, I parked myself in to get myself counted.

CALL CENTER TRAINING. The training delved on the development of our English communication skills replicated under the IELTS formula. It eventually gave me the enlightenment of learning the language itself by making me aware of my heinous grammatical mistakes. Eventually, within the ten day training, we were taught of marketing strategies especially rebuttals that can leave a customer no choice but to say “yes”. We were taught on how to choke the customer in each given call. After a series of elimination and all sorts of “American Idol” nights, I passed the training with flying colors. In fact, I was immediately promoted as team leader with thirteen people under my leadership.

DECEMBER 8, 2009, At last, all our training sweats will be put to use. WELCOME TO THE BATTLE FIELD. With our individual computers set, 1.3 million tri byte server on the go, calls are ready to be accepted from of course, our American clients. I am working in an inbound call center whose campaign is focused on housing financials. Our devotion is to help interested clients market, sell or purchase Real Estate and offering professional and high quality service. We will represent our clients through the entire transaction to ensure commitment and an expeditious and cost effective approach to selling or purchasing Real Estate. Total client satisfaction is our goal. I was so overwhelmed of the job and of my speedy promotion status. Back then, I stood up in graveyard shifts in order to cope with the American time zone. I was on the floor, supervising my men taking calls from various customers from the U.S.A.

We are connected with our affiliate website, www.housing financials.com, a real estate website which caters clients who want to get hold of pre-foreclosed or foreclosed properties to their ownership. We, as agents of housing financials, shall act as mediators in order for the parties to have a binding agreement. The catch is at least; our clients are safe of paying expensive brokerage fees. For just $49, our clients are guaranteed a home to rent or to own. The said monetary consideration serves up the whole package. Stated otherwise, we are going to get credit card information from prospected clients, slash $ 49 in exchange of listings of foreclosed properties in a specified state.

As a law student, I was thought about foreclosures as a matter of a special proceeding. To my knowledge, it is the bank that has possession of foreclosed properties for prior failure of a mortgagee to satisfy a mortgage debt. Real estate, like houses and lands are placed as collateral (through Torrens Title). Failure to satisfy the loan gets the property foreclosed after exhaustion of the necessary redemption period. Thus, only the bank has information of such properties for which, they also have the widest discretion to advertise it for the public for sale. In our case, it is our company, housing financials who is never a party to the mortgage transaction who is advertising and negotiating for a sale.

Out of my curiosity, I browsed the internet and went to our website, housingfinancials.com. To my demise, I cannot access it. You have to pay $49 first to access it. Worse, our address is at San Diego, California with complete postal address 3873 Ingraham St. San Diego, Ca 92109. I am a call center agent living and working in the Philippines. Why are we addressed at California? This is where my doubts began as to whether my job is legitimate or a scam.

DECEMBER 13, 2009. In order for us to have inbound calls, advertisements through postings and blogs are done at Craigslist.com consisting of real estate information of houses for rent and rent to own. The many postings we do, the more calls we have and the more money we will get. In doubt, I verified the posted information on Craig’s List and discovered that the advertisement was a fake --- everything is only a product of pure imagination and misused talent. The postings on Craig’s list were designed as a marketing strategy to trap opportunistic customers who want to have a home the easiest way. Thus, the postings made have no legal basis.

As I dug deeper by doing the Craig’s list postings myself, the more doubt engulfed. We were thought and required to change and reroute our IP addresses every three postings. In a startling occurrence, I automatically concluded that the IP rerouting was purposely devised for stealth mode purposes, deliberately suppressing any trace of our alleged legitimate transactions. It is a settled fact that IP addresses are intended for identification but why the habitual IP rerouting?

Now I am sure that I am working on a pure scam business. For sure I do not want this.

Scammers we are and scammers we shall be but not for me. The ridicule of my work situation is so intense for me to ignore and very much conscience boggling for me to play dumb with. I have to make a difference --- a holy rebellion for truth, honesty, integrity and good faith. For this reason, I told my fellow agents about what I have seen and the probability of FBI intervention but they did not listen. They continued until now leaving me a stamp as the antagonist.

I went on with my life and considered myself retired for the business. I cannot afford to earn dirty money at the expense of deceiving others. I chose not to continue making people believe our unholy cause. Much more, I cannot afford to feed my family out of it. It is just too unholy for me to do and to unrighteous for me to ask. It is not just me.

On this premise, let this literature serve as a warning to all and a testimony to those who have been victims. The very reason why call center scams are confident in this game is because American law plays no application in our place. By principle of international law, sovereign states have no jurisdiction over the other thus giving immunity to scammers who are making American innocent as preys. In addition, no American victim would file a case in a foreign country for a money claim of $ 49. It’s just simply a waste of time and air fair for a useless cause.

Be wise. Choose to be vigilant. Better neglect an opportunity rather than suffer the consequence of deception.