Investigative,Resources,Worldw business, insurance Investigative Resources Worldwide

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Investigative Resources WorldwideION maintains information on over 33,000 investigative agencies throughout the world.The majority of these are part time agencies operated by people with good credentials,skills and abilities. They are capable and available but being very small lack theresources for far reaching marketing. Although they might be the best resource for agiven job, they are difficult for clients to locate when needed. The actual ION Network ofinvestigators we know the most about and to whom we refer 85% of the cases includesover 500 members in 37 countries. Being full time is not a criteria for belonging to ION'sNetwork but, operating in a professional manner with integrity is at the top of the list. Thescope of ION's Resource Line was expanded from nationwide to worldwide in 1996 andcurrently, 10% of the more than 300 referrals made each month are to investigatorsoutside the U.S. Private investigation does not delegate well. The majority of investigation agencies aresmall. Many have only one or two investigators. There are almost as many models for aprivate investigation business as there are full time agencies. The private investigationagencies around the world have more things unique about them than they do things incommon. This makes selecting a foreign local investigator you have confidence indifficult. With each international referral, we learn more about the available resources in othercountries and how their rules, regulations and customs differ from ours. In certaincountries, for example, getting something done in certain months can be an extraproblem because nearly all the businesses in the country close down for the entiremonth and everyone goes on holiday. Countries with certain religious cultures haveholidays that sometimes last for days. Some of what we consider public records in theU.S. are not only non public in other countries but illegal to obtain without properauthorization. The practice of payments to government officials known by severalnames such as: "grease", baksheesh or la mordida, must be dealt with. The ForeignCorrupt Practices Act apparently does not prohibit all "bribe" type payments. Accordingto Phoenix international trade attorney, Frank G. Long, there is an exception that allowspayments, gifts or promises to be made for "facilitating or expediting" any "routinegovernment action" whether "by a foreign official, political party or party official." In the U.S. the cost of investigation ranges from $35.00 an hour with no minimum to over$100.00 an hour. Strong competitive pressures in the U.S. keep the cost of investigationlow compared to other professions. Internationally, the cost of using an investigator isgenerally higher than in the U.S. Even in many countries where wages and earnings arelow by American standards, investigation costs more. In years past, clients in countries where private investigation is common, haveoccasionally needed investigative services in one of the countries where privateinvestigation is not common. They have called associates and asked around until theycame up with the name of an investigator in the target country or in an adjoining country.Much like in the U.S, when they tried to make contact with local investigators the phonenumbers were frequently disconnected. If the needed work was crucial, price became anon-factor in deciding whether or not to hire whatever investigator could be found whowas available to do the work. The client ended up hiring an investigator from the U.S. oranother location almost as remote from the work. The cost of sending someone fromanother country is very high. It is made even higher because the non local investigatorsusually don't have the local knowledge or connections to avoid lost time. Agencies received cases that under domestic circumstances would have earnedhundreds of dollars. When worked internationally, the equivalent cases earnedthousands. Sensing big money, they sent investigators to set up satellite offices inforeign locations. Establishing a foreign national in an office is expensive soconsequently, the new offices did not reduce the high cost of investigations in thecountries they were in. High fees for non domestic investigations have discouragedclients from investigating many things that should be investigated, and the volume tosupport the remote offices usually failed to develop. With a high failure rate of foreignoutpost offices and clients reluctance to commit high fees for routine cases, investigationfacilities have developed slowly in most non western countries. The problem of locatinga competent local investigator in a remote place for a once in a lifetime need had notchanged much until ION expanded the Resource Line to Worldwide. Fees forinternational investigations that have traditionally been very high are showing signs ofbecoming more competitive. Last year, during one of our trips to find investigative resources in other countries, we metwith several investigators in Bangkok, Thailand. The two most notable were goodexamples of what can be found in many countries. One was located in an expensivehigh rise building in the city center. The manager was an employee of a largeinvestigation/security firm based in another country. He was professional and appearedwell qualified. That office has since been closed. The second agency was located onthe outskirts of Bangkok in a single story building with small, Asian type cubicles. Theprincipal was local but spoke fluent English. He explained they also do collection workand it was obvious the business was a going concern. He expressed reservationsabout doing work for foreign clients without money up front but said he would work with usto allow us to gain knowledge of each other. We have referred several cases to thisagency with good results and the fees charged have been reasonable. The same typeof progress is being made in many other countries. Another factor that causes foreign investigations to be difficult and expensive is thedifficulty of establishing trust with someone unknown. A foreign investigator who receivesa request for investigation usually does not respond in the way most clients are used to.In the U.S. work is usually commenced on a verbal agreement. Foreign investigatorsgenerally want detailed instructions, in response to which they quote a fee for the jobwhich they expect to receive before beginning the work. Considering their problemscollecting from a foreign bureaucracy when a check gets "lost in the mail", their positionis understandable. The investigation process is non-linear and since it is impossible toknow exactly what any investigation is going to involve until it is completed, flat feesquoted before work starts are usually based on the worst possible scenario. Aninvestigation that, in the U.S. would cost $2,000 worked by the hour, would probably bequoted at a flat fee of $5,000 or more in most foreign countries. As confidence betweenclients and the foreign investigative professionals increases, this disparity can bereduced. We are already seeing more reasonable fees from the countries we refercases to regularly. ION's Resource Line is bringing better competition to this overpriced market, but it willtake time and a volume of cases to bring about a system fair for both clients and localinvestigators. We will continue building the database and trust relationships because theonly alternative is for clients to hire agencies that charge substantially more thancompetent locals charge. When ION is unable to provide the needed resources in aforeign country, the client is so advised and put in contact with the best alternative in theU.S. or some other country. Copyright © 2000 by ION Incorporated - ALL RIGHTS RESERVED