HOW TO TRACE A PERSON

Tracing a person can often be a strait forward process, they may pop right up on a google search or voters roll check, it can also end up being a time consuming frustrating task that leaves you unsure or going off in the wrong direction. I have put together some advice from our people tracing experts on how to trace people.

1 Internet

It’s a first port of call for most people, google the name and see what pops up you may wish to add areas where you know they have lived or lines of business as well. This can often locate social media and networking accounts. These can be quick essay and effective ways to reach out to your missing person

2, Electoral registers

This is a great data source but, contrary to most people’s perceptions, it’s not as useful as it once was. The electoral register is compiled every year. So, the information can easily be a year out of date, it’s also rolled over, so if your registered to vote at an address in let’s say 2012 the register may incorrectly roll over data the following year even if you left the address. During elections is when the register is at its most accurate and, as we know, is at best every 4 years. Also, due to the common nature of marketing all of us are sick and tired of the junk mail we get and a hefty amount of the UK now opt out of the published version of the register meaning, although they are eligible to vote and are recorded on the complete version, the version that we all see, the edited version, will not show their details. All that said it’s still one of the largest available resources for name and address data in the UK and it may well be the right source to check for our missing person’s details. Availability of the register should be free at the local borough or reference library, there are also a plethora of online, credit paid resources, that offer searches from £5 upwards.

3, Appointments registers

This is a great and free resource to locate people. If the person you are trying to trace has an incorporated business this is where their information will be held. If you know the name of the business, even better, you can then obtain copies of corporate filings that will show contact details for them. They may even have a current home address. Often the home address is a registered office which can be an accountant or business address. Most of the time registered offices will pass on letters or messages to your missing person so they can then contact you.

4, Phone books or white pages

This is another great resource which is often overlooked. Many people hold current and historical listings in phone books. BT has a great on-line phone directory which can be easily searches. Or try looking for the white pages, it’s the same thing but may have variated or different details. Its worth checking both. Many people often move within the same area and take the phone number with them so it’s always worth calling the numbers in the directory, even if you know they have left that address. Again, there are issues here, the details are very limited and if your person has a reasonably common name chances are you will end up with a bunch of possible which leaves you unsure which, if any, are your specific missing person.

5, Paid for credit searches.

Paid for credit based searches can be the way forwards. Usually we don’t recommend this line of searching as the information gained is usually useless, out of date, or questionable.

6, Hire an expert

This is always the best option. As with anything, if you have an expert, you have the best odds of success although it’s not without risks. 2016 has brought a plethora of budget search agents offering to undertake traces for the public and, as the saying goes, pay peanuts you will get monkeys! Our experience has shown time and time again these budget skip tracing agents simply run the data through and supply the address. Usually no more than 5-15 minutes spent on each case and, the data is not verified. Despite initial promises, getting your money back is often more hassle then it’s worth. THESE ARE NOT REAL EXPERTS! But parade online as if they were. The searches and time spent on these cases are minimal and the results supplied often reflect the amount of time spent on the case. These guys work on commission and no results mean they don’t get paid and when they do it’s a fraction of what the initial outlay was. Be wary of these budget search agents and think if the price is too good to be true, then you probably better off going it alone.

People Location has been trading since 1998 and our team have decades of experience tracing family, finding debtors, tracing old girlfriends and boyfriends, Tracing people is not as simple as a few keystrokes on a keyboard.

If you need assistance in tracing a person then contact one of our friendly team of experts who can give you advice on what is and isn’t actually possible.

Visit us online

www.peoplelocation.co.uk

www.peoplefindersuk.co.uk

Tel: 0208 390 1703