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SkipTracing
Divorce And CreditThe credit and money-related problems that can accompany a divorce used to primarily affect ..... The debt collector is very good at using all the information at their disposal to intimidate you. These intimidation techniques generate collections, and in turn big commissions, to the debt collector. Skiptracing is the term used to track down debtors who have dropped out of sight or have unlisted their phone number and become difficult to communicate with. The debt collection industry classifies these "skips," placing them into one of four categories:
Unintentional skips
Skips resulting from marital difficulties
Intentional skips
Women And Credit IITo avoid credit problems, it is imperative that all women educate themselves about credit and money management and establish and maintain their own .....
Skips with criminal intent
The "skips with criminal intent' are a very small percentage. Most people go "underground" for one of the other three reasons, and I'd like to add a fifth category. How about skips afraid of the size of the medical bills they're buried under? Let's not forget, medical bills have become the #1 reason Americans have been filing for bankruptcy in recent years.
Here are some facts that collection agencies don't want you to know, courtesy of that seminar I attended a few years ago:
1) One out of every five people move to a new address every year.
2) Up to 50% of all accounts collected by collection agencies require some form of skiptracing.
3) Skiptracing helps reduce/decrease bad debt losses.
4) Skiptracing helps the collection agency:
a) Locate the debtor in hopes of collecting.
b) Determine if the debtor is able to pay up.
c) Determine if other creditors are pursuing the same debtor.
d) Determine what the debtor's paying habits are.
e) Determine the stability of the debtor's employment.
5) Here's the magic question: Should the creditor or debt collector pursue the skip? These are a few guidelines they follow in making that decision:
a) Use good judgment (sometimes a rare commodity in this profession) and follow all state and federal laws.
b) Virtually every debtor can be located with sufficient time and expenditure of money.
c) Creditors must limit the amount of time and money spent in order to keep skiptracing costs in line with the size of the debt.
d) Keep potential recovery in mind.
e) Skiptrace in order to locate someone who will pay the account, not just to gather information.
Re-read items 5 c-e! These are extremely important points of the collection equation to remember. Creditors and debt collectors are NOT going to throw good money after bad. These people are not going to waste their time chasing and harassing someone if they think their chance of recovery is slim to none. Their time is money, too!
How They Found You?
Computers have sure made the debt collector's job easier, and made them more effective. But even with the assistance of computers and massive consumer data bases, the typical debt collector has a predictable pattern they follow to track down "skips. "
Here are the techniques the debt collection community uses to find anyone and everyone.
Location Information:
a) The debtor's last place of residence.
b) The last telephone number at that place of residence.
c) The debtor's last place of employment.
Information To Be Developed/Co D On Steps
a) The debtor's name, including the correct and complete spelling of the debtor's full name, middle initial, junior or senior, etc.
b) The debtor's correct address, including correct street name, number and zip code (9-digit preferred).
c) The debtor's previous address.
d) The debtor's place of employment, including their occupation (remember, debtors usually stay within their trade or occupation).
Women And Credit IMany women complain about not having any credit. Those complaining are those who REALIZE that they do not have credit, single women or .....
e) Debtors who are members of trade unions, schoolteachers, nurses, etc. are relatively easy to find if you can figure out where they may have moved to.
f) Obtain information about debtor's position, length of employment, earnings, usual paydays, etc.
g) If you are dealing with a former employer, quiz them in order to obtain any references or find out if anyone else has made any inquiries since the debtor has left. Posing as a friend from "back home," high school or college is an effective ruse, as is posing as a relative.
h) Find out if the debtor rents, leases or owns property.
i) If the debtor does own any real estate, check public records (courthouse or tax rolls) for the name of the mortgagor.
j) Once you find out the mortgagor, you may be able to find out by contacting them directly who carries the insurance on the property-another potential wealth of information and leads.
k) If the debtor rents, find out the landlord or property, management company's name, address and telephone number on-site property managers will talk in many cases.
l) Check to see if debtor owns an automobile or motorcycle through department of motor vehicle records. Obtain name, address and telephone number of company that financed or currently has a lien on the automobile.
n) Get out the crisscross directory. Former neighbors are usually a pretty good source of information. See next category for line of questioning.
o) Current neighbors: A terrific source of information! When does the debtor go to work? What time do they come home? What type of car do they drive? Can you get a license number? Do you know what they do for a living? Do they have any kids? Have you ever talked with them? What did they have to say?
Skiptracing By Mail
a) Remember, a debt collection agency may not send correspondence through the mail that indicates the sender is a debt collector.
b) The Post Office will search their records and give you the new address, if one exists, for $1.00.
c) The Post Office is also a pretty good source of information to get additional data on the debtor (if they rented) by tracing the 9-digit zip code. These 9 digit zips can supply more specific data that can be used for further tracing.
d) Try mailing an empty envelope (with your return mailing address) to the last known address with the notation in the bottom right-hand comer "POSTMASTER: FORWARDING AND ADDRESS CORRECTION REQUESTED If there is a forwarding address the post office will send this information to you for (currently) a $50 fee.
e) "RETURN TO SENDER" is your first sign of trouble and indicates your debtor is probably a skip.
f) Carefully examine all returned mail that is undeliverable for clues.
The Credit System (Part 1)By John J. Hawk, Sr. A few words from the author It's sad but true. A large percentage of Americans suffer from a blemish on their credit .....
g) "NOT HERE" is a typical Post Office wording that indicates the debtor is no longer there.
h) "NOT THERE" is not normally used by the Post Office and indicates it was probably written by someone still at that address.
i) MOVED-NO FORWARDING ADDRESS" indicates the debtor is probably a true skip.
j) FORWARDING ORDER EXPIRED" indicates the time limit for forwarding has run out (you may get lucky and check with the post office and get a copy of the forwarding order).
k) "CERTIFIED MAIL/RETURN RECEIPT REQUESTED" is useful when you need confirmation of a piece of mail ......
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