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Things
You Should Know Before Hiring A Private Investigator
Most
people considering hiring a private investigator (PI) have never done so
or may be making decisions while highly emotional. Regardless, consumers
should give such a decision careful thought and thoroughly consider the
circumstances before hiring an investigator. Prior to contacting a PI,
the consumer should specifically identify what it is they want to know,
what their expectations are and how much money they can afford to spend.
Additionally, consumers may want to first check on the PI (or agency)
using a consumer assistance group (such as the Better Business Bureau),
researching reports on the internet, or examining other sources of
business information. Please note: A company is not necessarily "bad"
because it has complaints registered with such sources - sometimes the
complaints are not justified. A consumer may also want to check with the
AZ DPS Licensing Unit to determine if the PI (or agency) is properly
licensed. In
Arizona,
any advertisement for a PI agency (or PI) must also contain their
license number.
Once a
PI is selected, talk to the investigator (or their representative) and
discuss the case with them, to include what you want to know, what your
expectations are and how much you can afford (total). The PI should
readily provide options and inform you if your goals and finances are
realistic for the case. If the PI cannot provide this information, you
may want to look elsewhere. Once you are in agreement with a PI, a
written contract may be drawn up that specifically states what will be
done, deadlines, fees, frequency of reports, estimated costs, etc, so
that no significant issues are left unknown. While a written contract is
not required by law, the lack of such an instrument can prove
detrimental for both the PI and the client if problems later arise. Once
the PI has completed the agreed upon work, the client is required to pay
the PI (or as otherwise agreed upon) before the PI is required to
provide a case report to the client. The case report may be written or
verbal.
Violation of any statute related to PI's or PI agencies is a class 1
misdemeanor (ARS 32-2458).
The
following are common issues between PI's and their clients and are
provided for the benefit of both parties. This DOES NOT constitute legal
advice nor does it interpret law or administrative rules:
1.
While most private investigators are competent and manage their affairs
in a professional manner, the Licensing Unit has received a number of
complaints related to misunderstandings about services provided and
fees. Many times, consumers believe that their retainer will cover
ALL
of the costs for their case. This simply may not be true. Consumers must
be aware that a retainer is normally required before a PI will do any
work on your case and that payment of a retainer in no way means there
will not be further billing for services (unless it is specified in a
contract). Initial billing is normally deducted from the retainer and
once that runs out, the client is normally notified. Anyone seeking the
services of a PI should consider obtaining a written contract that
details what the consumer wants, what the fees will be, time limits and
what the PI can actually perform. No questions should go unanswered. If
you are comfortable with the PI, verbal contracts are permitted and
common, however, you may have difficulties if problems later occur and
there is no written agreement.
2.
Oftentimes, PI's will bill consumers for phone calls, making copies,
office consultations and in particular, "stand-by" time. Stand-by time
usually occurs when you are directing a PI to wait on your behalf for an
event to occur, such as the subject of an investigation to go somewhere.
A PI at their office or home on "stand-by" may legally bill you for this
time - make sure you and the PI understand what is expected.
3.
Generally, every person performing PI services in
Arizona
must be licensed by the AZ DPS Licensing Unit, although there are a few
exceptions. PI's are provided an ID card that shows who they are and
when their license expires - ask to see their PI ID card and record the
license number and expiration date. Additionally, PI agencies are
provided a wall license that must be clearly displayed at their place of
business - ask to see that as well. Report anyone claiming to be a PI
who cannot (or will not) produce such licenses or ID to the AZ DPS
Licensing Unit at (602)
223-2361.
4.
The State of Arizona requires no prior experience for a person to become
a PI and only three years of investigative experience to establish a PI
agency. As stated previously, many PI's are competent professionals,
however, some are simply inexperienced or unqualified to perform certain
services such as lie detection, electronic debugging, surveillance, and
other highly technical and sophisticated specialties. You should speak
candidly with the PI (or agency representative) who will be performing
such services and establish what the PI's qualifications and experience
are. Normally, persons trained in such specialties can provide specific
knowledge or evidence from schools, seminars, prior law enforcement
and/or military experience that will demonstrate what their
qualifications and experience are. Bottom line - if you are not
comfortable with the qualifications of the PI, find someone else.
5.
PI's must provide their clients with a case report (written or verbal)
at the completion of services, once final payment has been made (or
other option has been agreed upon in a contract). In some cases, you and
the PI may have agreed that your case will be performed in sections and
that each section will require payment at its completion, then the
client will receive a report. Other agreements may be established as
well. Regardless, know exactly what the terms are before you sign a
contract or enter into a verbal agreement. The final report should
normally provide a detailed picture of what was done, when it was done,
how much time was expended on your case, the results of the
investigation and the cost of each component of the investigation, such
as: Time expended on surveillance, phone calls, stand-by time, film
processing, extra investigators, special equipment, etc. If agreed upon
by the client and the PI, a basic verbal report is also appropriate.
6.
Persons hiring a PI must be aware that cases will not always turn out
the way they expect or hope. Surveillance work, inheritance research,
debugging and divorce asset searches are all classic examples of
potentially expensive PI work that may prove fruitless for the client,
however, PI's may still legally bill you for their time and efforts and
you are obligated to pay them. Inability to obtain desirable or
favorable results for a client does not legally justify disciplining a
PI. For example, the Licensing Unit cannot discipline a PI for his/her
inability to locate the person he/she was hired to find.
7. A
PI or PI agency may not perform nor advertise executive protection or
body guard work unless they are also licensed as a security guard and/or
security guard agency (except under very limited circumstances).
Additionally, they may not carry concealed weapons unless they have a
valid concealed weapon permit.
8. If
you are hiring a PI to perform work for you and there is a deadline for
that work to be completed, ensure that the date is written into a
contract!
9. A
client may ask for evidence of work performed by a PI. This evidence
could include photographs or videotape of a certain location or event,
an audio recording, copies of documents, receipts, etc, to name a few.
For example, a client may want to know if a certain car is parked at a
hotel in a city 100 miles away. The PI travels to the hotel, locates the
car and photographs or videotapes the car (while parked at the hotel) -
this would constitute evidence that the PI performed the work. As
another example, a client may want a PI to watch a house to determine if
any cars pull into the driveway and then videotape the car and
occupants. But what happens if the PI is watching the house and no cars
arrive so the PI doesn't record any video? There is nothing wrong with
this if the client is comfortable with it, however, many PI's will use a
video or digital camera to record short (5-20 second) time and date
stamped videos (or photos) of the location and offer them to the client
as evidence they performed the work. Consumers should be wary of PI's
that refuse to show evidence of work performed or at least explain what
they have done. Bottom line: Get this requirement in writing if it is
important to you.
10.
The Licensing Unit has received a number of complaints from consumers
who hired someone that claimed to be "working under the license of a PI"
and had no license. It is illegal for a person to work as a PI or to
claim they are working under a PI's license unless that person has a
valid PI license. Ask to see their license and record the number and
expiration date.
11.
Generally, it is illegal under federal law (the Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act)
for a person (or PI) to obtain account information from financial
institutions (such as banks) unless the account owner gives their
consent. Oftentimes, the person (or PI) performs an illegal act called "pretexting",
by fraudulently obtaining personal information (or is provided such
information) from (or on) the subject of the investigation and
pretending to be the account holder. This tactic is also used for
identity theft. From the FTC website: For example, a pretexter may call,
claim he’s from a survey firm, and ask you a few questions. When the
pretexter has the information he wants, he uses it to call your
financial institution. He pretends to be you or someone with authorized
access to your account. He might claim that he’s forgotten his checkbook
and needs information about his account. In this way, the pretexter may
be able to obtain personal information about you such as your SSN, bank
and credit card account numbers, information in your credit report, and
the existence and size of your savings and investment portfolios. Use of
this tactic is common in divorce cases and law suits.
Keep
in mind that some information about you may be a matter of public
record, such as whether you own a home, pay your real estate taxes, or
have ever filed for bankruptcy. It is not pretexting for another person
to collect this kind of information.
12.
Generally, it is illegal under federal law (the Telephone Records and
Privacy Protection Act of 2006) for a person (or PI) to obtain personal
phone records from a telephone company or internet phone provider
service (VOIP) without the consent of the account holder. The means of
obtaining such information are similar to those used in obtaining
account information from financial institutions. From The Library of
Congress: Telephone Records and Privacy Protection Act of 2006 - Amends
the federal criminal code to prohibit the obtaining, in interstate or
foreign commerce, of confidential phone records information from a
telecommunications carrier or IP-enabled voice service provider (covered
entity) by: (1) making false or fraudulent statements to an employee of
a covered entity or to a customer of a covered entity; (2) providing
false or fraudulent documents to a covered entity; or (3) accessing
customer accounts of a covered entity through the Internet or by
fraudulent computer-related activities without prior authorization.
Imposes a fine and/or imprisonment of up to 10 years.
13.
Generally, it is illegal under federal law (the Fair Credit Reporting
Act) for a person (or PI) to obtain credit reports without the consent
of the credit holder or some other legitimate purpose. As previously
stated, the means of obtaining such information oftentimes are similar
to those used in obtaining account information from financial
institutions ("pretexting"). From the FTC website: § 619. Obtaining
information under false pretenses [15 U.S.C. § 1681q] Any person who
knowingly and willfully obtains information on a consumer from a
consumer reporting agency under false pretenses shall be fined under
title 18, United States Code, imprisoned for not more than 2 years, or
both.
Complaints
If you
have a complaint against an agency we regulate, you should first try to
resolve it directly by contacting a supervisor of the agency. If for
some reason you are unable to resolve the problem, you may wish to
contact senior management or the agencies consumer affairs
representative for further assistance. Dealing directly with the agency
is usually the fastest, simplest and most effective approach. Most
agencies value their customers and will usually be responsive to their
concerns. If you are unable to resolve your complaint directly with the
PI agency, you may file a complaint with the Licensing Bureau, which is
responsible for ensuring that the agencies we regulate comply with
applicable state laws.
If our
investigation of your complaint finds a violation of law or rule, we
will inform you of the violation and the corrective action to be taken.
However, we do not have authority to resolve contractual disputes or
undocumented factual disputes between a customer and an agency. We also
do not have the authority to resolve disagreements pertaining to the
agencies policies and procedures that are a matter of management
discretion and not addressed by the specific laws we enforce. In such
cases, if the agency does not make a voluntary adjustment, we will
usually advise you to consider obtaining legal counsel regarding your
rights to resolve the situation. While the Licensing Bureau endeavors to
intercede on behalf of complainants, the transactions at issue are not
always within our authority as regulators. This Department's regulatory
authority is limited to the laws passed in the legislature that relate
to security guards and private investigators.
AZ DPS
Licensing Unit
PO Box 6328 MD 1160
Phoenix, AZ 85005
Phone: (602)
223-2361
Fax:
(602)
223-2938 |
