Bill collector faces assault charges

A collection agent who allegedly got overly aggressive while trying to collect a debt has been bound to the grand jury and charged with assault for intimidating a debtor while she was on the job at Waffle House.

The defendant, Dewayne Ramsey, was bound to the grand jury Tuesday by Judge Larry Ross following preliminary hearing in General Sessions Court on the charge of assault. He is charged with assaulting Waffle House employee Rochelle Anderson while trying to collect a debt owed to World Finance.

According to Anderson, she was going about her work in the crowded restaurant when she was approached by Ramsey, who began saying they needed to talk about the debt she owed World Finance. Anderson reportedly said she had been followed and harassed by bill collectors before concerning her debts, admitting she does in fact owe the finance company money.

Anderson testified Tuesday she had no time to talk and asked Ramsey to leave her alone but he persisted, even while she was trying to serve customers. At one point, Anderson said the collector got physical.

‘He grabbed my arm and pulled me toward the door,’ Anderson recalled. ‘He told me I was going to talk to him about this.’

Anderson said Ramsey finally left, but the scene he caused has created trouble at her job.

‘I was told (by management) to do something or lose my job,’ Anderson testified. ‘I need my job. I have children.’

The defense for Ramsey pointed out Anderson waited four days before taking a complaint against the collector, suggesting she was not placed in immediate fear for her safety as required by the assault law, but instead only took warrants to pacify her employer.

Judge Ross said he found enough probable cause to bind Ramsey to the next term of the grand jury. The court has, in the past, found bill collectors guilty of assault and harassment for using strong-arm tactics against debtors.

Last year, a collection agent for Coffee County Bank was sentenced to 48 hours in jail for causing a scene while trying to intimidate a woman at her place of work while looking for a car the bank planned to repossess.