Comprehensive Investigation Department

Each claim you submit for collection is completely investigated, whenever possible. We want to know as much as possible about each debtor. Where do they bank? Are they having problems with any other creditors? How many times have we collected against the debtor before? Have there been any recent judgments against them? Do they owe local, State or Federal taxes? Are there any liens or pledges against them? Has the ownership of the company changed recently, or is there a change pending? Is this process time-consuming? Of course! Is it important? Critically! This knowledge enables our Collection Specialists to develop a successful collection strategy. It is important to you in making critical decisions on pursuing your claim, or deciding if placing an account for collection is appropriate. You can consult our collection experts any time. Many of our clients call before they place a claim. They know we have often worked with their problem customer before and can give insight into who the customer is and what has helped them pay in the past. This is a free Coastal service that has saved clients thousands and/or helped them feel comfortable with their decision. And it is important to the debtor because it allows us to reach a fair and amicable solution to the debt he owes you.

Skip trace philosophy and resources used:

Philosophy:

Skip tracing at Coastal is part of Collection Strategy Support (CSS). CSS helps us improve collection results and make recommendations to you about whether to file suit, hire an attorney or write off an account. The more information you can provide or we can economically find about your debtor, the better the chances of collecting. We at Coastal believe anyone can be found, if money is unlimited. The major questions that determine the amount of money and time spent to attempt to find a commercial debtor, proprietor, partner or personal guarantor are:

Will finding the debtor put us in a better position to collect the account or give the client needed service?

Once decided that finding the debtor is warranted, we ask: How can we account for the time and resources necessary to locate the debtor that would allow us to invest Coastal's or our client's resources?

As a rule of thumb, we would be doing our client a disservice if we overall, not on an individual account basis, expend more money on skipped accounts than is recovered.

Resources available:

The resources listed below are available to use for skip tracing. The items with bullets are the sources we most often use. Although the other sources are available, occasionally we will ask you to provide a D&B Report on a customer or recommend you spend additional fees to hire an investigator.

Abandoned Property Records.

Bankruptcy Records.

Births, Deaths, Marriages & Divorces Information.

Board of Elections for Voter Registrations.

Coastal Records of past history collecting against debtor.

Cole Publications, National "Look-up" Library. Reverse directory.

Competitors of client. Or companies selling through the same distribution channels.

Corporations and UCC Filings.

County or City Chamber of Commerce.

County Records.

Directory assistance and the Telephone business office.

Driving Records, Registrations & Titles.

Dun & Bradstreet Information Services.

Employees of client.

Federal Records.

Local Attorneys.

Local Businesses or Nearby Businesses.

On-line Information Services including Dow Jones News Retrieval.

Social Security Administration.

State Records.

The Banking System.

Trans Union Credit Services.

TRW Credit Services.

Workers' Compensation Records.

There will be occasions Coastal will suggest that we outsource the task of locating assets or location of a debtor. The cost of this service, in general terms, follows:

Asset Search: $250.00 up to $1000.00;

Locating Bank Accounts only: Up to $100.00;

Locating Debtor: $50.00 up to $250.00.

Under no circumstances will client ever receive such a bill, until and unless the cost is approved in advance.