Q: What should I look for when I hire a Professional Investigator?
A: A private investigator should be properly licensed and employed with a licensed investigative agency. Before you retain an investigator, meet with them and discuss your expectations. You need to discuss budget and time constraints, documentation needs, and any other desires, such as photographs, videos, etc. You want to ensure that you are comfortable with the investigator. Is he or she someone you feel that you can trust? Do you want to have them working for you? Remember, whether it is a criminal or civil case or some other issue, such as divorce, it’s your case and you MUST be comfortable with the investigator you select!
Q: If I retain you to investigate someone, will they find out I hired you?
A: If the principle or person of interest confronts one of our investigators because of credit reporting organization notices them or a surveillance operation is compromised, your identity will be protected and never divulged. There is no way for anyone to guarantee 100% that the individual will not see or hear something that might indicate that they are being investigated, but here at Richard Root Investigations, we use well trained and experienced professional investigators, who understand the importance of discretion.
Q: What is your payment policy?
A: We accept cash, check or money order, which may be mailed (excluding cash), shipped via Federal Express or UPS, or brought to our office. All major credit cards are also accepted. The initial retainer is due prior to any work being assigned to one of our investigators.
Q: How do you bill me?
A: This is a common question and a great reason for you to take advantage of our free consultation. Our investigation is charged by the hour with a minimum hourly retainer based on the type of investigation being conducted. The minimum retainer will vary depending on the nature and complexity of the investigation.
Q: Can you help me locate someone from my past?
A: The simple answer is a resounding YES! Much depends on the amount of the information you can provide combined with many other variables. We have an exceptionally high clearance rate provided we can obtain enough information and the trail is not too cold. The fact is, the more information you can provide us with at the beginning, the better our chances are of locating the person of interest. If you can provide their exact date of birth, social security number, and/or a complete list of last known addresses, you increase our success rate to almost 100%.
Q: How expensive is a background check?
A: Unfortunately, there is no simple answer to this question. The cost of a background investigation depends on a number of variables, not the least of which is, how deeply into the individual’s past and present you would like us to look. For example, if the individual is a prospective new employee, you may not want to go much further than a criminal history and worker’s compensation history. If they will operate a company vehicle, you may want to add a driving record search. However, if this is an individual you have just started dating, you will probably want to know a bit more (former marriages, children, debts, etc.). If this individual is someone you intend to marry or take on as a business partner, you would be smart to have a comprehensive background investigation completed on him or her. The small cost of an informative background investigation is nothing compared to the money and headaches it may save you in the future!