Here is the Skip-Tips collection of skip tracing tips,
and Skip tracing Tricks. If you have a skip tracing tip
or skip tracing tip you would like to contribute,
please
e-mail it to Skip-Tips. If we add it to our
collection of skip tracing tips, we will give your
company a premium listing with hyperlink to your
company website.
Validate a VIN
Number
Any
vehicle manufactured or sold in the United States after
January 1, 1989, was issued a 17 digit Vehicle
Identification Number or VIN number. VIN numbers cannot
contain the letter o or the letter i. This is to
prevent confusion with the number 0 or the number 1.
The most common error made in transcribing VIN numbers
is translating the number 5 to the letter S or vice
versa.
You
can validate any 17 digit VIN number for free at:
You
would be surprised how much information people reveal
when they are on hold, or when they think they are on
hold. Instead of putting the caller on hold, put them
on mute. Tell them you have to check something with
your supervisor, and mute the call for two minutes.
People will often tip their hand and divulge critical
information while they think you have them on hold.
Consequently, be careful of what information you
divulge while someone puts you on hold. Hit your mute
button just to be sure no one is listening.
This Skip Tracing Tip was sent to us by Rodger at:
Speedy Repo
Skip Tracing
Military Personnel
We
have a collection of skip tracing tips, and skip
tracing links to help you find military personnel that
are currently serving, or have previously served in the
United States Armed Forces.
Skip Tips has a skip tracing reference page for all 50
states. If you are looking for a way to develop new
leads on a case, try browsing the page for your
subject's state may inspire you on a new way to find
your skip
We
have added our state search box to every page on
Skip-Tips.com
Disinformation
You
are interviewing your skip's mother and she claims to
have not spoke to her son in years. Ask her if she has
spoke to him since the baby. Mom is either going to ask
a million questions about the baby, or she is going to
deny that he had a baby. Either way you have found out
the truth about her talking to skip. You can also make
the same play by asking about skip's DUI last month.
The Service
Members
Civil Relief Act of 2003
The
Soldiers and Sailors Relief act has been replaced by
The Service Members Civil Relief Act of 2003. If you
are going to be collecting from military personnel, you
should take the time to study this body of law.
Required reading for any professional debt collector.
OK,
So you found out that your skip has moved to Spokane
Washington. You need to call the utility company and
see if your skip has any accounts there. Determining
what utility company covers Spokane Washington is a
skip tracer's next step. How do you find the company?
A
quick way to perform a basic criminal history check is
to call your subject's adult county probation
department and ask to speak to your subject's probation
officer. The operator will ask you for the subject's
identifiers such as social and D.O.B.
If
your subject is on probation, parole or currently in
custody, the operator will inform you as to their
current state of incarceration, and projected release
date.
This is just a quick way to perform a criminal history
check. Double checking with county, state, or federal
records may reveal additional criminal history.
Skip Tracing
Past Dead Ends
The best way to
generate new leads for your skip is to look for family
members. Try checking phone books or online data bases
for people with the same last name as your skip and
lived in the same town or area.
Try calling the phone
numbers and ask for your skip. Try to determine if they
know who your skip is or not. If you have a caller
Identification trap line, this is a good place to leave
your skip a message to call you back.
Change of
Address Skip Trace
If you know your
subject recently moved: Mail an empty envelope with the
subject's address and your return address. On the
envelope print, "DO NOT FORWARD. ADDRESS CORRECTION
REQUESTED." After a week, you will receive the letter
back to your return address with a sticker
showing the forwarding address your subject filed with
the post office. Note: This only works if your skip
filed a change of address with the post office within
the last year.
Skip Tracing
101: Searching Court Records
Most background information comes from
civil, criminal, and bankruptcy records. Bankruptcy files will show you
if your subject has filed a bankruptcy, and whether or not you can make
a claim against his real estate, or estimate whether or not your case
is worthwhile. You can also find his social security number, DOB,
spouse, other persons involved, and list of assets and liabilities at
the time of bankruptcy petition.
Some cases also contain copies of
Federal Tax returns, divorce settlements, and information from
other civil cases. You may want to search criminal and civil records,
to find additional identifying information, such as spouses name, other
addresses, aliases, repossessions, etc.
This is a great way to generate leads
on cases you thought were dead.
Skip Tracing
Keys for Repossessors
If you are working as
a skip
tracing for a repossession company, you will probably be asked
to skip trace key codes for the vehicle your employer
is trying to repossess. Try locating and calling the
selling dealership, many times they will have the key
codes on their service computer system. Having the keys
makes it much easier to repossess a difficult car.
Send Us Your
Skip Tracing Tip
If you have a skip tracing tip or skip tracing tip you
would like to contribute, please
e-mail it to Skip-Tips. If we add it to our
collection of skip tracing tips, we will give your
company a premium listing with hyperlink to your
company website.
