Archive for June, 2009

The Liability of Skip Tracing Assignments

In recent years private investigators have come under increasing scrutiny and pressure from zealous privacy advocates, national and state lawmakers and perhaps most importantly attorneys and civil courts. Numerous courts have recently held that information brokers and private investigators can be liable for the harms caused by selling personal information without just cause or [...]

29Jun2009 | Scott Harrell | 5 comments | Continued

Phony Subpoena Pretext – How To Obtain The Real Identity Of A Subject At An Address

To obtain the real identity of a subject at an address, or verify the name of a person at an address in order to serve papers, I created a pretext years ago and filed it under my “When all else fails, go to Plan B” category, along with forensic garbology etc.
I have utilized it many [...]

29Jun2009 | Bernie Soldate | 4 comments | Continued

Using Price as a Marketing Tool within your Private Investigations Agency

There are four classic “P’s” to marketing: product, price, place, and promotion. You can find them in any marketing book, or even on Wikipedia; each has a critical role to play in any marketing success story.
Let’s focus for a bit on price.
There has been a lot of discussion lately on one of the private [...]

29Jun2009 | Bob Mackowiak | 3 comments | Continued

Don't Throw Away Your VCR!

A little humor for our “tech friends” on an otherwise slow news day!

22Jun2009 | Scott Harrell | 1 comment | Continued

The Florida Association of Private Investigators, Inc. (FAPI) 2009 Annual Litigation and Investigators Conference

Title: The Florida Association of Private Investigators, Inc. (FAPI) 2009 Annual Litigation and Investigators Conference
Location: Grand Hyatt Tampa Bay, FL
Link out: Click here
Description: The Florida Association of Private Investigators, Inc. (FAPI) 2009 Annual Litigation and Investigators Conference
August 20, 2009 through August 23, 2009
Grand Hyatt Tampa Bay
290 Bayport Drive
Tampa, Florida 33607
Telephone: (813) 874-1234
www.grandtampabay.hyatt.com
Nationally Recognized Speakers include…

22Jun2009 | Scott Harrell | 1 comment | Continued

Private Investigators: How to Win Working on a Flat Rate

Since many insurance companies and large law firms are requiring investigators to work on a Flat Rate basis more today than in the past, it occurred to me that there must be a way for investigators to work Flat Rate assignments and make a better profit.
The concept of keeping control of costs is not new. [...]

22Jun2009 | Susie Wright | 2 comments | Continued

In Relentless Pursuit of… Social Networking for PIs

In Relentless Pursuit of Social Networking…
It’s been a little while since our last Editor’s Update so we wanted to check in and let you know what we’ve been up to and let you in on some of our recent projects in the past couple of weeks.
If you have not discovered the power of social networking [...]

17Jun2009 | Scott Harrell | 0 comments | Continued

ISPLA Bill Watch – 2009 Legislation Affecting Private Investigators

Time to get involved and make a difference!
Dear Friends and Members of ISPLA,
As individuals, we don’t have much of a voice regarding the things that affect our businesses directly. Now we can. ISPLA is that voice! But we need your help.
Collectively we want to watch the bills below and get all our colleagues [...]

16Jun2009 | ISPLA | 1 comment | Continued

Investigative Notes: Keep Them or Destroy Them?

While in the field there is nothing more important to the veracity and foundation of your investigation than to take extremely copious notes. Whether it be in writing on a legal pad or a little memo pad or on a voice recorder, no detail is too small to not note and record! These [...]

12Jun2009 | Steve Johnson | 1 comment | Continued

Enforcing Civil Judgments in a Debtor-Friendly Climate

Has anyone ever owed you money? Most of us have at some point been faced with an unpaid debt. After exhausting all traditional methods of debt recovery, the next logical step is to use our legal system to further pursue collection.
After winning a judgment, for a lucky few the debtor will pay. Unfortunately, for the [...]

12Jun2009 | Christina Smiley | 0 comments | Continued

Body Armor for Fugitive Recovery Agents

I’ve had a few questions regarding concealable body armor lately, especially what type and what level of protection. So I thought it would be best to discuss it here. I firmly believe that going home to my family every night is a GOOD THING and body armor has saved many lives in the [...]

12Jun2009 | Scott Harrell | 6 comments | Continued

Maine Licensed Private Investigator’s Association (MLPIA) Annual Conference

Title: Maine Licensed Private Investigator’s Association (MLPIA) Annual Conference
Location: Verrillo’s Convention Center, Portland, ME
Link out: Click here
Description: MAINE PRIVATE INVESTIGATOR ASSOCIATION CONFERENCE
MLPIA Annual Seminar
September 25 & 26, 2009
Verrillo’s Convention Center
155 Riverside St.
Portland, ME
For those of you that are attending

12Jun2009 | Scott Harrell | 0 comments | Continued

Insurance for Process Service Agencies

“THE BIG FOUR” and WHY THEY ARE IMPORTANT
Most Process Service Agencies are familiar with the term Errors and Omissions Insurance, but E & O is only one piece of the insurance puzzle. The following will provide you with some information on what I like to call “The Big Four” and why they should be an [...]

12Jun2009 | H. Eric Vennes | 0 comments | Continued