Most people don’t think they are ever going to need to hire a private investigator so it’s not really something they think about until they are in the situation. And then it’s easy to make the wrong choice.
For many, a private investigator is the person you trust to help you win a legal case so there’s a lot riding on the decision. For others, they will make long-term decisions about their relationship or child custody arrangement based on what an investigator will uncover.
At Mission Possible Investigations, we want to help you make sure you are making the right choice whether it’s in the Albany, NY area or across the country.
Professionalism – This is the person you are hiring to send into the world to gather evidence for you. You want to make sure they are above board and conduct themselves professionally. How do they respond to you when you initially call or email? Do they explain the process and cost? Do they sign a contract for services with you? If not, how will you ensure you actually receive the services you pay for? Are they licensed in the state they are investigating? These are all really important things to consider. The level of professionalism they show you is a good indicator of the professionalism they will have when conducting the investigation and testifying in court.
Knowledge & Experience – What is their background? How long have they been an investigator? Are they experienced handling your kind of investigation? Seek them out online – check out their website, social media pages if they have them. Don’t be afraid to ask questions when you call. Are they standoffish with you and don’t want to provide you with their level of knowledge or experience? You have a right to ask questions and receive answers before you make a decision – it’s the same with any other professional you hire to perform a service.
Capabilities – Do they have what you need in order to perform the investigation? Some investigations require a level of technical skill with a camera, telephoto lens and/or video. Other investigations require a level of creativity for undercover work or at least some inventiveness for uncovering hard to find evidence. Some investigations require a level of people skills and interviewing savvy. One size fits all is not true in the investigative world and you need to ensure that the private investigator you hire has the capability to do the job.
Price – Notice that price is not listed first but for many clients that’s a primary concern. In some senses the old adage “you get what you pay for” applies. In other ways, you as the client need to make sure you are really getting a good value for what you are paying for. If you call a private investigator and one quotes you $25,000 and the other $5,000, you have to understand the price difference. What justifies the extreme cost? You have to understand just exactly what you are paying for. The other thing to consider with cost is what it covers – this again is where the contract is important. On the backend learn if you have to pay for photos or video or is it an inclusive cost quoted at the start.
Results – No private investigator can 100 percent guarantee you the results you seek. Anyone that does is lying to you. What a private investigator can guarantee you and should guarantee you is that they will do the job you hire them for to the best of their ability. Most professional private investigator with a good result records, like Mission Possible Investigations, will also provide you a detailed report so you can know how the time you purchased was utilized. Even if no evidence was gathered at a certain date and time because nothing was going on or the subject of the investigation didn’t keep their planned schedule, you should know what the investigator did with that time. Ask these questions when you first are considering hiring a private investigator and ask what and how you’ll receive the evidence that is gathered.
The most important thing to remember is not to be afraid to ask questions and always use your gut instinct. If you have a good feeling about the investigator you are hiring that’s important. If you feel something is off or you aren’t receiving satisfactory answers to your questions, then look for someone else.