I was threatened!

Yesterday at work.

First thing in the morning, I was dealing with this 'treat' of a client. I work in insurance so it's normal that people are upset, but this guy crossed a line.

I was being nice to him, just telling him what might be happening with his claim. (His car wasn't worth anything, but to everyone their car is worth thousands more than it actually is)

Anyway, I hadn't even told him the final outcome, I was just preparing him for what I thought might happen.

And he went off. Said he was coming down to my office and that he was part of an organized crime ring, eff this eff that.

So I hung up on him. He kept calling every few seconds and left me three very rude and VERY upsetting messages which I saved.

He then called my assistant and also told her he was coming down to our office.

I have never had this happen before, most people act like humans even when they are upset.

So my company takes this stuff very seriously, and we ended up having the cops in and now we have a security gaurd for the next three days to make sure this guy isn't coming in. The police told him he is not allowed to come to our office and if he does he will be charged with trespassing.

So yeah it was a scary day for me.

Oh dear me, that is awful Nat!! I do not know how you stayed so calm when talking to him and then just cutting him off.

It's scary to think that he would threaten you like that over a car!

That is scary. We have had one person call in where I work and make a bomb threat. We think it was a former employee since it came in on our sick line.

But we have had people so upset that they said they were coming down to blow us up, even though they do not know which location we are in. We have to report it and from what I understand, the FBI comes knocking at their door. Though we are a private company, we are contracted by the US Dept. of Education and they take any threat seriously.

That must have been an awful experience, and it's fortunate the company is taking it seriously.

Why wasn't he arrested for threatening you?

That doesn't make any sense. You have all of his contact information, and if he's been recorded making a threat, yet alone repeat ones, then that should be cause enough to have him arrested. Did the police ask if you, your coworkers, or company wanted to press charges? In most states you can file as either a misdemeanor or a felony, and it doesn't matter whether or not they intend to or attempt to carry it out. Both can get imprisonment, and if a felony conviction is made its a strike against them, which if they already have others can get them locked away for good.

All our calls are recorded by our IP phone software, and while I haven't had any criminal threats against me, I did get an employee fired once, as he kept on even when I reminded him that the conversation is being recorded. No reason to let people like this victimize us, and if he's making repeat threats to y'all, he's probably doing it to others as well.

Nat, how terribly scary . The good thing is that you do have all of his information, right? He could be help accountable for his threats and you could follow through. I am sure the cops already told you of your options though. Still, such a worry. Glad you have that security guard posted!

Oh hon, how scary!! I work in collections, so unfortunately I've had the same thing happen to me... just keep your boss informed and save any messages the guy leaves- and keep records of how often he calls and at what time! That will help the police make a case.

How horrible, no one should have to deal with that.

I'm so sorry that happened to you!! I had trouble with a couple clients when I was teaching. One girl, in anger, told my co-instructor she wanted to punch me. But my co-instructor kind of snapped her out of it and she actually came to me and apologize.

The other was actually more serious. This woman had to be removed from my program by my boss and her counselor as well as myself and the other instructor. She was mentally unstable and known for her marksmanship... After she left we were under strict orders to call the police if we even saw her car near the building, to lock doors, etc. Fortunately she never came. She is one I hope I NEVER run into in public. Part of me hope she decided to move out of state...or country.

Oh wow, how awful! Thank heaven your company takes that sort of thing seriously. Can he be arrested for threatening you?

Seriously, if this guy told you he was in organized crime, the police ought to be doing a lot more than this. And who knows whether three days is enough? You shouldn't have to go to work in fear for your life!

A good year ago one co-worker older female) who also worked part time upset a younger male co-worker. I can't remember what exactly happened but the younger male co-worker who is a great person always exceeding job expectations told the other older female co-worker ( a slacker) just what he thought of her. It was kind of scary (for him) as he thought he was going to get fired. I told him not a chance as he was well respected by the owners.
One of the owners then called her on her day off to come in and chat and when she came in she walked pass me and in front of others said it was my fault!!
What I had recently happened is the owners gave me more of her hours as she really wasn't contributing much.
So she quit probably seconds before she was going to be fired.
I was concerned as several months before she pulled out of the parking lot right after I left and followed my vehicle for a bit.
I had an escort to my vehicle for several days as she (about 20 yrs ago) had been in the military. Thankfully nothing came of it.
My male co-worker: like me was promoted to mgmt over a year ago.

So Nat what I would do just to be on the safe side is do not take the same way home, perhaps go to a highly visible store (with a friend) just in case.

It's hard to believe how much emotion people can invest in a material possession like a car. At the beginning of the summer I got my dream car that I had been wanting for over 30 years but I wouldn't go to that extreme if something happened to it. In the end, as much as I have wanted it for a very long time, it is still just a car. Hopefully he is like my ex-husband was, just lets his emotions get the best of him and says things that he never follows through with.

*hugs* I'm sorry you went through that

He was likely just blowing off steam, but still! That's no excuse for making threats to do harm. And there are so many disturbed people out there that you just don't know if he is crazy enough to act on his threats!

I'm glad the company is taking it seriously and posting a guard!

Originally Posted by CarolPetunia

Seriouly, if this guy told you he was in organized crime, the police ought to be doing a lot more than this. And who knows whether three days is enough? You shouldn't have to go to work in fear for your life!

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Amen, that sounds like lazy police that didn't want to do the required legwork or at least didn't appreciate the gravity of the situation. Think they need a shove, as that's not cool.

Originally Posted by Rockcat

Why wasn't he arrested for threatening you?

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They said he didn't directly threaten me. He would have had to say something like "I am coming there to shoot you with a gun".

The police also said the guy isn't part of organized crime and that he was just shooting his mouth off. They checked his record and he is involved in fraud, but not organized crime.

That is scary!

does he know what you look like?

It does sound like the guy was just shooting his mouth off and trying to be Mr. Tough Guy. But he also sounds like an idiot and you don't take chances with those people. You just don't. Be alert and, if you feel uncomfortable going back and forth to work or you feel something is wrong, go back to the police. And travel with a friend for awhile, if you can.

I'm really sorry.