ICS Merrill - EMSI Management Services EMSI ICS Merrill is the worst company EVER!!! Newark, New Jersey

I am a current employee of the company, and I am leaving the company because the vast majority of the complaints posted here are true. I am sure a lot of people took this job because it was all they could find at the time, I know that is why I took it. But you are expected to do a lot of work off of the clock. You do not get paid for your first hour of travel to or from the case, and you only get paid minimum wage for every hour of travel after the first. You are allotted 2 minutes of report writing/administrative time for every hour of surveillance time completed. You can change the time if the allotted time is insufficient, but if you do your efficiency rating goes down. If it gets too low, you get in trouble. Some Case managers will let you know if something needs to be corrected in an update or report, and some will just change it as they see fit without even discussing it with you. If you bring it to a Regional Manager's attention, as I did, they are just as likely to throw it back in your face and make it your problem. I wonder what their clients would say if they found out the updates or reports they were reading may not be written by the actual investigator on sight. They apparently don't think this creates a legal or ethical problem. There is no proper communication from management to the investigators. The investigators are simply supposed to complete their assignments and not make trouble. You get a vehicle allowance, but it is based on a 40 hour work week. You rarely work a 40 hour week. You might be scheduled for a full eight hour day, but if you don’t see your claimant within the first four hours, or can’t confirm they are home within the first four hours, you have to break off. You still end up driving about the same amount but your vehicle allowance gets reduced, plus you lose four hours of work. There might be some people getting rich at this company, but it is certainly not the investigators. The investigators I work with are great people. They are the ones who ultimately determine the success of this company, but they reap very little of the rewards.

Since leaving the bottom of the barrel TPA world I have worked with two large carriers that often speak really really bad about EMSI/Merrill. When I had say so that was surely not my first choice in vending out our surveillance.  It's sad that a few bad apples give that company such a bad reputation.

No wonder they have been sued numerous of times.  That is readily information available throughout the internet.

I know that I said I wouldn't respond, but you make it too easy, Steve. I promise that I won't reply again. I really mean it this time.

All I can say is, you'll make a great wife someday. 

First of all, I said that I'm making twice as much NOW, not before .......and the point of all of these complaints made by myself and everyone else is that people get into this business for a career and what they get is ripped off. Apparently you can't read very well, Steve. Honestly, it's been almost six years since I left this worthless company and I much as I enjoy stopping by this page from time to time to vent with other people who went through similar bad experiences with EMSI, ICS, ICS-Merrill, or whatever their calling themselves nowadays, I've said everything that I need to get off my chest. So go ahead make your final smug, dumb-a*s attempt at a clever response and I promise that I won't reply.

..so why are you complaining? And if you made twice as much before when you were in advertising, why did you jump ship for a lower paying job? Does not sound like you make the best decisions. 

If this is supposed to be some kind of threat, I couldn't be less worried. I wish you would try something, scumbag

i am sure things are just dandy at mediavest, they must not be keeping you busy if you have time to opine here. see u soon, tick tock, tick tock.

In regards to your report on ICS Merrill, i am an ex employee and creating a news letter I am going to present at an SIU conference soon on comparisons of third party vendors. I have my own views of this company would like to get with you on some certain examples you have had to deal with.
 
Could you please contact me so I can corroborate with you on your dealings with the company? I can be contacted at  (((Redacted))).

Thanks in advance!

Actually, if you read the posts on this thread, you would find that there also complaints from current employees. As for my status as an ex- employee, I can tell you that my original company (Kroll/InPhoto) that was taken over by ICS, named me as their investigator of the month on three separate occasions. Over the course of my five years as a private investigator, I was promoted twice. That may have looked nice on paper, but that doesn't pay for the gas and vehicle maintenance that would eat up half of my paycheck. I haven't worked there in years but the years that were wasted working there can't be given back. The reason all of us are posting is because we don't want the next person to waste their valuable time with this awful company.

And yes I did call you a retard because you claim to be pointing out facts, when all you have done is try to make speculations and pass judgement on all of these people that you've never worked with. When this many people are posting from all over the country with similar complaints, I would say the fact is that this company leaves an overwhelming majority of their employees angry, broke, and disgruntled. These are people who were led to believe that they were hired  for a career that could can support their families. Instead they ended up stuck with a worthless job that barely pays the rent. So even though you haven't list one concrete fact, here are some for you to chew on:

It is a fact that the company laid off most of it's office workers in 2004 and 2005, just to save money by outsourcing their jobs oversees. It is a fact that they switched their employees medical coverage to a second rate health plan that does not even cover ten percent of an employees' hospital costs should they get sick. It is a fact that they falsify reports. It is also a fact that the management has encouraged novice investigators to trespass while videotaping, run red lights and then offer no support if something goes wrong, thereby showing no regard for the legal or physical safety of the employee.    

It's interesting that someone as stupid as yourself would only think of Burger King as the standard "other" job that someone would have to go to after leaving ICS. That just proves that while some people work hard at gaining military or law enforcement experience and a college degree, in order to pursue a serious career as an investigator, ICS will hire any moron of the street (or from a fast food joint) that they can rip off and who will still just be grateful that someone would hire him. Since leaving ICS, I've returned to my previous advertising career that give employees full medical and dental while paying twice as much as the $18 per hour that your laughing all the way to the bank with.  

Yeah, you go and count that small fortune, brainiac. Then see how much of it you're keeping after you've paid for gas, vehicle maintenance, parking / traffic tickets, and the resulting inflated auto insurance rates. Don't worry, though. If you save every receipt and fill out the paperwork for everything, you may see your money reimbursed in a month or two. 

Peace Retard

Hmm, he's a reply to the NY guy. It seems that ALL of these negitive post are from EX employees. I wonder why you are an EX? Theres a reason. Try and figure it out while you are working at the burger joint. Hell, I laugh all the way to the bank each month. But I am sure you have since found your dream job at Burger King huh? There are two kinds of people on this Rip off report, those who have succeeded with our company, and those who have failed. And as far as your "RETARD" comment, I was pointing out facts, you seemed to have wanted this to escalate further. I will consider the source on that comment. I guess its just an honest reflection of what kind of employee you were, huh? Later, I have to go count my money. 

I look forward to the day when you get screwed by these crooks. 

As a current employee, and being with a company for 4 years, I must say 1 thing in looking at this complaint... everyone complains about the hours ,everyone complains about the travel time ,everyone complains about to report writing time..... to all of these people I pose this question.... did you not read the package that was sent to you confirming what you were paid? How can anyone complain about travel pay when they agreed to the pay when they took the job?

As far as driving 2 or 3 hours to a case... hello.... you are a private investigator... get over it and be happy you have a job in these tough economic times...

The funny thing about this website, particularly about these complaints, I somehow have a strange feeling they are written by ex employees sub par employees.. and here's a memo... to all those complaining about lack of hours... maybe the reason you are not getting hours is because you are not a good investigator. no 1 wants to put accountability on the poor performance.

Peace