More Information on Choosing a Process Server

You can trust most licensed private investigators to be honest in serving papers.

It is not easy to obtain a license as a private investigator, and if they get caught billing a client for work they didn’t do or committing perjury by saying they served a paper when they didn’t, they can lose their license, which means they’re out of business because a license usually cannot be reinstated. In most states, complaints can be filed against a licensee, and these complaints are investigated. Prospective clients can obtain a record of adjudicated complaints by contacting the state licensing board.

Registered process servers usually know the laws and rules of process serving. For the most part, they are honest, hard workers. In most counties, however, it is easy to register as a process server, as no experience is required, and often there is no licensing body to monitor them. If registration is revoked for some reason, a server can get a friend or relative to register and the server can list himself as an independent contractor working for the new registrant. Since there is no monitoring body for process servers, there is no place for a prospective client to check for complaints or file complaints against a registrant. Often the only thing a client can do against a registered process server is to file a lawsuit and, if a judgment is obtained, to go against the registrant’s bond. However, not all counties or states require a bond, and those that do only require a bond of $2,000 or less.

When looking for a process server, make a careful selection. Don’t use a relative or a friend. If you find a server over the Internet, don’t go by the appearance of the website alone. A person may be a poor website designer and an excellent server, or the opposite. Call the server on the phone and ask questions based on the information in this article. If the server won’t or can’t answer your questions adequately, or refuses to speak with you, go elsewhere. If the server claims to be a licensed private investigator, check out his or her license with the state licensing board and contact the Better Business Bureau to find out if they have any information on him. If possible, don’t use a one-person operation, as he or she may not be able to keep up with the workload or may charge high fees to compensate for a lack of steady work.

When choosing a process server, don’t go by price alone. Expensive servers are not always the best and inexpensive servers are not always the worst. View the entire context; a busy detective agency, for example, may charge less than a small company but do a great job. Before contracting with an individual or company, ask whether there are any additional or incidental fees. Many companies will quote you a low initial fee but tack on a fortune in incidental fees.






 

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