What is skip tracing?
Skip tracing is a method that is used by attorneys and private investigators to track a person down. From finding a long lost family member to serving legal documents, skip tracing is a very helpful way of locating someone. Real estate investors use skip tracing to track down information on property owners. Most commonly it is used by debt collectors or private investigators to locate someone who owes debt and is avoiding collection. The term “skip trace” originated from the early 1900s, when private investigators used it to describe locating a person who failed to pay debt. In theory, the term comes from the term “to skip town” or “to skip out”. Often times, skip tracing involves locating the person via internet, public records, and interviewing the people that the missing person may know (such as friends or neighbors).
Chances are that you have done some form of skip tracing yourself! Have you ever tried to find an old friend on social media and couldn’t? Plugging a phone number and name into a people finders’ website or a good online public records search can pull up just enough information to locate a person’s whereabouts. Chicago is a huge city with around 10 million people, not including the rest of the United States. Locating a person in Chicago alone may take forever, especially if their social media presence is minimal. The person may leave Chicago spontaneously, move to another location every few months and leave behind no mail or paper trail to locate their presence. In a case like this, how is it possible to skip trace?
Skip Tracing for Insurance Companies
One of the most common cases that RGH sees are insurance companies requesting services in skip tracing. The case we are looking at today is a seemingly normal car accident insurance claim made by a client of State Farm…but the insured was nowhere to be found.
One and a half years ago, a State Farm client was in a car accident. After the accident, the client made a claim and requested State Farm’s assistance. After a brief processing period, State Farm attempted to get in contact with the client, but he was nowhere to be found. State Farm hired our private investigator professionals at RGH to help find the client. We began by skip tracing the client, which led us to his legal address. Upon investigation, no one was there. We interviewed his neighbors who told RGH that the client was in jail!
RGH took to social media to find out the reason he was in jail. If the State Farm client was in jail because of this particular accident, State Farm could not help him. Turns out that the client had violently abused a puppy, which sent him to jail. This action was considered a crime in his residing Chicago county. Since the crime had nothing to do with the insurance claim, State Farm was still required to represent their client. State Farm sent the required legal documents to RGH, where we set up a meeting with the client. We got his side of the story, filled out all legal documentation, and interviewed him. Was the client intoxicated at the time of the accident? Should he have been driving? We determined that he was not negligent at the time of the accident. The client was provided an attorney and reviewed the opposition’s side of the story for his protection.
Skip Tracing Services
Are you in need of locating a seemingly untrackable person? Whether you are an insurance company, real estate company, debt collector, etc. RGH provides quality private investigative services. We have a high success rate of locating the individual, and can assure you quality assistance. To open your skip tracing case with RGH today, contact 312-768-0376.
