The Baker Group of Companies use TLO
When a client isn’t able to pay for products or services, the first thing you normally do is try to reach them about a failed payment. But what are you going to do when the customer appears to disappear into thin air?
That’s where Skip Tracing comes into play…
Skip Tracing is the process of locating a debtor who has “skipped” or left town, hence the name “skip tracing.”
Skip tracers are extremely useful in situations where the debtor has refused to respond to or answer repeated calls and e-mails and if a customer has a physical address to send a collection letter to, there’s still a possibility that the person they’re looking for doesn’t live there any more.
Fun Fact:
Skip tracing is often mistaken as bounty hunting. Although the two are somewhat separate processes, bounty hunters also use skip tracers, which may clarify the assumption that the two are synonymous.
How do Skip tracers operate?
Usually, skip tracing is done in this sequence:
The first step is to check the details presented by the customer and to correct any misconceptions. This move also lets the skip tracer get acquainted with the subject.
Then, the skip tracer continues to gather as much information as possible on the subject, using public records such as:
- Reports on credit
- Databases for Public Records
- Applications for Loan
- Felony Background Checks
- Applications for jobs
- Records at Courthouses
- Utility bills
and the list goes on…
If none of these tools return valuable information, a skip tracer may continue to contact current or past associates of the subject, such as neighbors, tenants, acquaintances, family , and colleagues.