How Skip Tracing Could Track down an Unwilling Defendant
If you've had to take court action against an individual in order to collect a debt of some kind, then you will be keen to move things forward as expeditiously as possible. Yet you can't go too far until the other party is fully aware of your action and can stand up for themselves, if necessary, in court. In this case, legal papers will need to be served, but this can be quite an undertaking by itself. It can be especially difficult if the other party has gone to ground, so what will happen in this case?
Going to Ground
Much will depend on the intent of the individual and whether or not they have purposely disappeared, in order to avoid these proceedings. They may, for example, be unwilling to pay and the subject of other collection activity, so they have decided to go into hiding. In this case, it may be very difficult for you to determine where they are, but you can hand the case over to a legal process server, who will initiate what is known as a 'skip trace'.
Skip Tracing
A professional process server will be used to this type of scenario and will have a number of tools at their disposal in order to track down this person. Typically, they'll do a great deal of online research and will use their skill and experience to narrow down their focus. In essence, they'll be able to follow a digital trail so that they can triangulate the position of the person, even if they have been quite careful to hide their tracks.
Detective Work
For example, they can check with the local utility companies to find out where individual bills are registered, or they can look at courthouse records to see if they can find any detail. They may be able to refer to the driver licence database or find out where their vehicle is registered. They may also be able to cold-call relatives, business associates or friends of the individual to try and pick up some intelligence and add further pieces to the puzzle.
Best Course of Action
While it is not always possible to track down somebody who has really gone to ground, more often than not, it is achievable. Therefore, you can save yourself a lot of time and hassle by handing over the details to a professional process server so that they can get on with their job.
