How to find a Private Investigator
There are many reasons why someone might need to use the services of a Private Investigator. It is not always to catch a cheating and unfaithful partner.
Private Investigators are still not regulated in the UK and therefore there is no law that states how they should conduct business or which bodies they have to register with.
You have to know that you can trust an investigator if you are going to allow them access to your lives or business.
This is why it is vitally important that you know that they will behave in a professional manner and handle sensitive information discreetly.
How Can You Tell If You Can Trust A Private Investigator?
For most people it is their first time looking for a Private Investigator so where do you start?
Are there signs that the company is legitimate?
Look At The Website First
In this day and age it’s simple and straightforward to have a website created to look professional at first glance. Look at their site in more detail.
- Look to see what services they offer and whether that matches the service that you require?
- If a company has staff that are experienced in dealing with cases such as yours then they will most likely advertise that service on their site. Be wary of sites that promise results but do not show evidence of their expertise.
- Does the site appear generic or full of rhetoric?
- Are there any articles or blogs which show a depth of knowledge in investigation?
- Can you see any affiliations with awarding or monitoring bodies such as UKPIN (United Kingdom Professional Investigations Network) or WAPI (World Association of Professional Investigators)?
You should be able to find the registrations online - Is the site updated with new content on a regular basis?
- Are there links to social media pages?
- Sites such as Facebook mean that customers can leave reviews or contact the company.
- You can see how many people interact with the company. A new setup will not have many followers.
- Can you see evidence that it is a limited company?
Check The Company Reviews Thoroughly
Established companies will have reviews on a range of sites.
- Trustpilot
- Bark
- Yell etc...
When a company sets themselves up on a review platform it shows that they are not afraid to be assessed and that unhappy customers have a way of leaving negative reviews.
If the company you are looking at is of a sub-standard or unprofessional then you will see feedback confirming that.
Sometimes a quick Google search will unearth any negative reviews left somewhere out there in the public domain.
The negative reviews might not always be obvious, but a quick search will usually find them, especially if the company has a bad track record and reputation.
Do the reviews mention the name of the person that they dealt with?
Fake reviews will often simply look generic and not mention details
Speak To An Investigator On The Phone
One of the first things to do would be to ask for a bit of background information from the person on the other end of the phone.
Every reputable company should be able to give you a brief insight into who they are on a professional level and will be totally fine in doing so.
- Are they from a surveillance background?
- Were they police officers or did they work for the government?
- Were they in the military?
- Have they worked in surveillance before starting their company?
- What training have they had and with who?
- Any surveillance-based qualifications?
- Who are they affiliated with?
- Are they insured and ICO compliant?
- Do they have Professional Indemnity Insurance?
Ask To See A Sample Of Their Work
- Do they have sample reports you can view?
- If it is a people trace or background check, ask to see a sample report.
- Any company can prepare a report with dummy information so there should be no reason to claim "confidentiality" as being a reason that you cannot see a sample.
- How is the quality of their work?
- Does it contain the level of evidence that you require?
- Is the evidence legally binding?
Take a good look at their social media pages also. Often you will see many examples of their work on such pages. This also shows an element of transparency with regards to what they do and the quality of their work.
Some companies would argue that they don’t want to have such pages and want to remain discreet. If there is no sign of anything relating to the company outside of their well designed website you should be asking why?
In this day and age it’s so very easy to advertise your business online while remaining discreet and not giving away any trade secrets or classified information.
Price And Initial Consultation
You have had a good chat and feel happy with the company you are talking to. The next issue will be price.
Is it a flat flee or an hourly rate?
Very Cheap
Most reputable companies follow an industry standard as mentioned. The quotes from all companies you ask should all be of a similar price bracket. Please avoid any ridiculously cheap quotes.
If a company is professional and established, with a good reputation they will not charge peanuts to carry out a “proper” investigation. They will charge industry standard rates which might seem a little expensive at first.
However, the charges reflect the service you are paying for.
If you are being quoted a very low figure for a tracker and a few days surveillance, for example, what are you getting for that? Probably not an awful lot.
The tracker will likely be a cheap version which will lack the accuracy, long life and robustness required.
Images need to be captured on professional cameras rather than smartphones. Be very wary of this, companies charging low budget rates are usually doing so because they are desperate for work!
Very Expensive
If you are being quoted many thousands of pounds more than the other quotes you have had, ask why?
If they are following industry standard rates then why are they so much more expensive?
Find out exactly what they intend to do with your money!
Asking for a monetized quote is perfectly acceptable. An experienced investigator will know how to cost a job and will not have a problem giving you details.
They will now put a plan of action in place for you, likely followed up with terms and conditions and an invoice to get the ball rolling with the objective of giving you the answers and clarification you need.
