Whether you're a business owner who needs to find a long-lost customer or an investigator tracking down a deadbeat relative, skip tracing can be an essential tool. But what's the cost of skip tracing? And is it worth the investment? In this post, we'll break down the costs of skip tracing and help you decide if it's the right solution for you. Stay tuned!
Table of Contents
What Is Skip Tracing Services and How Does It Work?
Skip tracing is the process of gathering information like:
- Full name;
- Addresses for most people within the state;
- Telephone numbers;
- Phone number;
- cell numbers and contact number;
- Residence address;
- Legal record;
- Properties;
- Personal data.
This is done on a difficult-to-find person in order to track them down and have full access to their details. The term "skip" comes from the phrase "to skip town" and refers to the person who needs to be located. The act of tracking them down is referred to as "tracing."
Locating and searching for elusive persons may appear to be a detective's job or for private investigators, but qualified process servers need this competence. Process servers are frequently required to skip tracing and act as a skip tracer in order to properly finish their services, whether a person refuses to be served or lives in a remote place.
What Is the Purpose of Skip Tracing?
If you need to serve someone who doesn't want to be served, skip tracing may be necessary. You can also hire a skip tracing company to skip trace and locate individuals. In order to escape service, they may change addresses or jobs, making them difficult to locate. You may also be required to serve someone whose information you do not possess. A process server can use skip tracing techniques to locate and serve them in this case.
How Does It Work?
Understanding where and how to acquire relevant information is a big part of skip tracing. Skip tracers frequently conduct conversations with persons near to their target while also conducting surveillance. A skip tracer skip tracing services may also utilize the internet to look for a subject's online presence, as well as skip tracing tools and huge subscription-based databases that aren't open to the public.
The following is a list of the types of information a skip tracer can provide:
- Credit card applications and credit reports;
- Department store/customer loyalty card;
- Consumer fraud;
- Driver’s license;
- Loan applications;
- Job applications;
- Flight records;
- Phone number databases;
- Public records databases;
- Public tax information;
- A person who owes a debt;
- Defendant’s absence;
- Skip Tracing;
- Courthouse records;
- Criminal background checks.
On the surface, a skip trace service appears to be a do-it-yourself task, but it will cost you tracing fees, money, and energy that you could save by hiring a professional. While free internet search services and other services can be useful on occasion, the top services will cost you money.
An expert process server and skip tracer have access to cutting-edge surveillance tactics, insider information, and high-tech procedures. They can also enlist the help of coworkers. Most importantly, a professional skip tracer will follow all applicable federal, state, and local regulations, including trespass and privacy restrictions.
What Is the Use of Skip Tracing?
Let's take a look at some of the most typical reasons for conducting a skip trace search:
Debt Collection
One of the most widely used debt collecting methods. In order to recover and make debt payments, debt collectors can use credit records to locate a person. These agents are either recruited directly or through a debt collecting firm. Skip tracing services are also offered by a slew of other businesses.
Finding Sellers and Buyer Leads
Real estate agents employ skip tracing to discover sellers and buyers in real estate, in addition to recovering individuals. This allows them to expand their business or sell their listed home more quickly. This also aids in concentrating efforts on a consumer or supplier who will actually participate in the process.
Legal Case
If you've ever watched an action or thriller film, you're probably aware that skip tracing is frequently employed to track down someone involved in a court case. A skip tracing search is frequently conducted by journalists, lawyers, or the police.
Private Companies and Businesses
Before employing a new employee, recruiters frequently do a background check. This includes criminal history checks, identity checks using a social security number, and location searches, among other things. This is also accomplished by skip tracing.
Who Can Benefit from Having a Skip Trace?
A skip tracking service can assist a wide range of people in society, and anyone can utilize it to look for a skip trace service. The following are the most common persons who can have a skip trace to find someone:
- Collectors of debts;
- Landlords;
- Professionals in the medical finance field;
- Lawyers and other professionals in the legal field;
- Banks;
- Companies that issue credit cards;
- Private companies;
- Journalists;
- Detectives.
Is Skip Tracing a Lawful Practice?
Yes, skip tracing and having to skip trace or other services under the umbrella term of skip tracing is allowed in the United States as long as you're not breaking the law to get the information you need. Obtaining information or accessing private documentation without consent are examples of illicit ways to skip trace. Always be upfront about your intentions, and double-check your local laws and/or business regulations, as some laws may limit what you can and cannot do.
How to Skip Trace Someone
In today's world, anyone can use the internet to skip trace, someone. Anyone, if they try hard enough, can discover you online unless you take significant precautions to remain anonymous. A quick Google search might provide you with current data on the individual you're looking for. Many websites also provide free access to people's profiles that don't only charges for free but provide you the full access to data without any fee.
Looking through their social media, especially job search portals is another technique to skip trace someone on your own. While social media allows us to connect with individuals from all walks of life, it is also utilized to track down non-payers.
You can also conduct internet searches using services such as Truthfinder or InstantCheckmate.
Process of Skip Tracing
The method of skip tracing may differ from one person to the next. It gets more difficult if little is known about the person who has gone missing, but it is simple if all necessary information is supplied. A skip trace report is created by following a few common steps.
Verifying the Debtor’s Information
Verifying the debtor's details provided by the agency or creditor is the first stage in the procedure. The social security number, as well as other identifying documents, are included. To identify and find the person, skip tracers also run a deep web phone number search.
Getting All of the Information You Need on the Debtor
The next step is more involved and time-consuming. It entails using all available resources to obtain information on the debtor. Checking for job application information, credit card applications, public tax information, utility bills, and even digging for a missed payment on Whitepages are all examples. Collection letters, pen-source databases, skip trace databases, and credit files are all used by many to obtain information.
So, How Much Are Skip Tracing Fees?
Skip tracing fees are determined by the sort of skip tracing service you require. Fees range from $20.00 to $350.00, depending on the intricacy, more deals, resources fee, contact fees, and time spent by the skip tracer, but it's better to get a price from your process server.
For instance, a simple search, skip tracing services may go from $450 to $800. A hasty search, which can take up to a week to complete, costs between $500 and $1,000. No company works on a 'no find, no charge' basis very often.
Did You Know?
Skip tracers can earn anything from $27,000 to $45,000 per year. What a fantastic job choice!
Conclusion
The general definition of skip tracing is someone looking for someone who has left town, usually for financial reasons. It is a method of locating a missing individual that is commonly utilized by debt collectors, lawyers, and family members. Verifying provided information, searching public records, and speaking with persons who know the person are all part of the process. While it is normally done by experts, anyone with access to the internet can skip track another.
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