Your Private Investigator Frequently Asked Questions Answered
If you think that you may need the services of a private investigator agency to resolve a personal issue that you have – but haven’t used one before – then you’ll likely have a lot of questions. At Integral Investigations, we’ve been in the private investigator business for many years, approaching 30 in fact, so we get asked many questions that pop up all the time.
So, to help you familiarise yourself with what’s involved in using services like ours, we’ve put together our list of most commonly asked questions – complete with answers. By reading to the end, you’ll have a much better idea of a process that more and more Australians are using.
Are Consultations Free?
Absolutely, yes. When anyone calls us, we always offer a free telephone consultation with our lead private investigator to determine whether it’s something we can help with. Otherwise how would we know whether we’re suitable for your needs? No reputable private investigator would charge a fee for this initial phone call.
What Details Are Needed to Begin an Investigation?
Sometimes, all we need is an address and a name, however, this will change from case to case and it completely depends on what you need us to do. If you are trying to locate a person the more information you have to help identify the person from other persons of the same name, the better for all of us. If you’ve got a date of birth and last known address, this will help expedite a case so we can get started straight away. If you are after some surveillance on a spouse, a claimant, or for a business matter, we’ll need address details, vehicle details if known, photographs to help identify them, and a schedule of hours you wish to put into a private investigator assignment.
Are Results Guaranteed?
If a private investigator agency promises you guaranteed results, they’re either lying or not being realistic. We’ll always endeavour for a successful outcome, but no one can guarantee results. We guarantee our work, yes. But we can’t guarantee that you will get the result you expect. If you come to us expecting to be able to buy the evidence that your partner is cheating, how can we guarantee to get that? What if they aren’t cheating in the first place and your intuition was wrong? There is no way we can promise to get you evidence on something that isn’t happening.
Do Customers Get to See Surveillance Footage?
Absolutely yes, this is the ultimate aim for a private investigator. Sure, we might not be able to deliver you four hours footage for a four hour surveillance period – we might come back with four minutes. but it will be the important crucial evidence that we deliver. After concluding our investigation, the private investigator in question creates a report that includes photos, as well as any video footage that we’ve been able to obtain. On many occasions we can get you some pictures and video clips almost live by sending to your mobile phone whilst the investigation is still happening. Often this is all the evidence a client will need.
How Quickly Can a Cheater Be Caught?
That depends very much on the details of the case and how well your partner is covering their tracks. It could be resolved in a matter of hours or as much as a month or more, especially if your partner isn’t actually cheating! Each assignment is different but with years of experience a common figure of time would be ten to twenty hours. Many investigations have a good idea of what is happening within this time frame – but there are plenty of other jobs that come in under, or go over that period.
Can A Private Investigator Access Tax Records & Bank Account Details?
There are many things that a private investigator agency can do, but bank details are out of even our reach because of very strict privacy policies used by Australia’s banks. The same goes with tax information, Medicare, social security, immigration etc. Privacy laws affect private investigators too – we aren’t a bypass of the law.
Can the Customer Accompany the Investigator?
Unfortunately not, no. You have to be licenced to carry out legal surveillance – which our private investigators are of course – so by law, you’re not allowed to be present.
Can a Private Investigator Help Locate Bugs and/or Hidden Cameras?
Sure we can. We offer a bug sweeping service that will tell you if any such devices are present in your home, car or even in your computer or phone. refer to our blog post by clicking HERE
Will the Person Being Investigated Know?
We use sophisticated techniques for surveillance that allow us to remain undetected. All of our private investors are fully trained in the art of surveillance. Any reputable private investigator should also have these skills. Just remember though, we aren’t invisible, so if we can see the subject of the investigation, they can see us. We do have to take care in some circumstances and some situations can develop that can’t be predicted at the outset.
Want More Answers? We’re Ready to Take Your Call
At Integral Investigations, we make the whole process of using a private detective agency as painless and stress-free as possible. There’s much less of a stigma these days associated with using services like ours, so we’d recommend considering us if you experience issues like infidelity, problem neighbours, missing persons or other tricky problems.
You can find out more about us and what we do by visiting us online at www.integralinvestigations.com.au, where you’ll also find our entire range of services and more helpful blogs like this one. Don’t be afraid to pick up the phone to us either, as we’re a friendly bunch who just want to help and we’re available by calling us on 02 9460 4988 or 0411 853 111.
We appreciate you reading our blog to the end and we hope that you’ve found the information present helpful. Above all though, we hope that we’ve shown that hiring a private investigator is as easy as picking up the phone and explaining your problem. We are more than happy to help.
