A Complete Guide to Private Investigators

Private investigators, also known as detectives or PIs, have a wide range of specialist services to offer your specific needs. Hired to research, analyse, and collect information on a particular case, private eyes can help with anything from insurance claims to cheating partners.  
 
Once on a case, a private investigator will be responsible for correlating clues and facts to present to their client. They are responsible for a wide range of activities to get to the bottom of a case. Their responsibilities include, but are not limited to, surveillance, interviewing people, working with law enforcement, undercover investigations, research collection, background searches, and presenting investigation findings. 
 
Whether you are looking into employment references, financial investigations, or divorce proceedings, there is private investigator who can help you. PI’s are often either self-employed or work for tracing agents. 
 

Do you need a private investigator?

If you are looking into why you might need to hire a private investigator, chances are you need one. There are many reasons individuals and companies hire private investigators, from CV verification to financial issues. Private investigators thoroughly research and collect evidence to present investigation findings, you will be certain at the results that are found through the work undertaken by your private investigator. 
 
You may need the services of a private investigator for a variety of reasons, if you suspect you need further information from a situation, be it personal or professional, a private investigator will be able to discover the answers you need. Be sure to use a regulated and professional agency, such as Vilcol, to abide by the law. If legit, private investigators will be trained to the highest standard. An authorised and regulated private investigator will be only use legal methods to carry out an investigation, such as perform background checks, use GPS tracking, and utilise social media. 
 
Hiring a private investigator does come with a price tag. By making sure you are using a reputable and authorised tracing agency, you will get the best price for a great service. Vilcol’s prices are dependent on the specifics of each case, get in touch today to get a quote. 

What are the different types of services on offer?

As stated above, there are different services that private investigators offer. Below, we outline some of the most commonly used practices:
 

Financial investigations

Financial enquiries are often one of two things – a credit check or a pre legal or post legal report. Clients require credit checks for a number of reasons. Private investigators can provide information to help a client decide whether an applicant is credit worthy, they will also offer their professional opinion on the matter too. 
 
Pre legal reports are a way for people to take legal action to recover a debt. In contrast, post legal reports are typically used to enforce a court order that is already in place. 
 

Corporate investigations

There are a variety of corporate investigations but, in general, they are used in business environments to identify underhand internal activities. The umbrella term can be used to explore everything from employee absenteeism to serious cases of misconduct. 
 

Security consultations 

PI’s can carry out private investigations in a professional and discreet manner. Security consultations are used to help clients understand real-time security threats as well as operational issues and any risks posed to staff and/or their customers. These issues can relate to reputation, finances, or physical harm. Private investigators can offer solutions to the client to address any findings.