We all love the stories of Sherlock Holmes, Olivia Pope and all, who do tremendous work as private investigators, as they work round the clock to solve problems and crisis situations. However, real life is not a fairy tale kind of TV series and finding a Sherlock or Olivia is never an easy job. First of all, the very fact that you need a private investigator highlights that all is not going well in your life, In such trying circumstances, hiring a private investigator is a decision which is driven more by emotions and less by deep thinking of brain. It is a general notion that decisions taken on the account of emotions have maximum chances of going wrong.
The price charged by the private investigator might be very high or the reputation of the investigator might not be very good in the market. So, overall, finding quality at cheap and affordable price needs surgical precision and advanced background check. Here are few tips which will be of great help when you are hiring a Private Investigator.
1. Look Whether the Person Is Licensed to Work as Private Investigator
Private investigation is not a child’s play and not anyone can practice it. For being a private investigator, you need to have a license issued by the government authorities. There are special privileges and permissions which are available for the license holder, which can go on to decide whether your task is fulfilled or not. At the same time, how can you believe a person who is not certified by any authority? The purpose of hiring the private investigator is to get your task done and not to lose money to some fraud. So, before hiring a private investigator, make sure he or she is a license holder.
2. Does the Company or Investigator Has the Experience of Doing Any Such Work for Which You Are Hiring Them?
One of the most important questions which you need answer for before deciding whether you are ready to hire the investigator or not is about his experience. Although each experienced and well-known private investigator was a newbie one day and he was given a chance by someone, but experience is pure gold. Experience of handling such cases means the private investigator must be aware of the tricks of the trade, thus increasing the chances of being successful.
Although newbies can be gambled upon in case of extreme budget crisis, going for an experienced one is always the better choice. So try to find out whether the private investigator or company has the experience of handling such cases and if the answer to the question is yes, give the nod.
3. How Easily Are They Accepting Your Case?
Another important question is how easily the firm or private investigator is accepting your case. If they accept it very quickly without asking you much questions, you are down the wrong path. A good P.I. always gets full idea of the case before saying yes to it.
4. Set A Standard Budget and Clear Pricing Terms
The terms of pricing like per hour or per objective fulfilled or on the completion of assignment should be clear along with the rates. You will definitely not want to be overcharged!
5. Have A Contract in Place
If you do not want your hard-earned money to flow down the drain, have a contract in place which clearly states all the points that you have discussed. You will not want the private investigator or company to extort you for money and this contact will be your license for that. So, make a clean contract stating all the terms clearly.
6. Check Their Website
In this age of technology, when every day brings some new innovation in this field, a reputable private investigator or company must have a decent website in place. Try to find out their website and go through it. The website will help you get the knowledge about their previous clients and cases they have served (though you will need to cross-check it from believable sources). Also, the view and representation of the site will also give good idea of the level of the company. So, before jumping into the fire, make sure you have fire extinguisher in place.
These are some of the tips which we expect will make your job of finding a good private investigator easier. If you go by the above guidelines, there is very rare chance that you stumble upon someone who is not worth it. So, do proper advanced background check before signing on the dotted line.
