These National Private Investigator advertisers promise you the world in terms of pricing.  In fact the out of state private investigator firms are significantly more expensive then a New Jersey Private Investigator.  These unscrupulous national private investigator firms  are currently in-taking and outsourcing voluminous amounts of private investigation work. These national Private Investigator Firms improperly operating in New Jersey are trying to push New Jersey Investigators into accepting the advertisers exorbitant fees for acting as a “Go-Between” for New Jersey Clients and the New Jersey Investigator.

these national private investigator firms are really nothing more than the “UBER” of the private investigator business. There is a slight difference though; UBER offers a cheap service while only screwing their workers, but at least the cars are clean and the drivers are polite.  With respect to these National Private Investigator Advertisers, they offer a service that is substantially more expensive then what most New Jersey Private Investigators charge. The client retaining one of these private investigator firms not only gets screwed, but the Investigator also gets worked over (in a financial sense).  At least with the UBER platform it is only the driver who gets a financial raw deal.

The author Bob Cowan is a New Jersey Private Investigator and owner of Cowan Investigations. Bob is the former Chief of the Jersey City Police Department

These nationally based Private Investigator advertisers are able to in-take large amounts of Private Investigation work through highly efficient, attractive and effective advertising.  Upon obtaining a client in New Jersey these national advertising firms will simply outsource the assignment to a “Licensed and Insured New Jersey Private Investigator”.   The National Private Investigator Advertiser will retain up to 67% of all fees as their “management cut” for handling the case and its outsourcing. The New Jersey Private investigator is only paid 33% of the hourly rate that the client is actually paying, and in most instances your New Jersey Private Investigator is “sub-qualified and that is the reason the investigator is willing to work for 33% of what qualified New Jersey Private Investigators actually earn. When these National Private Investigator firms assign a New Jersey Private Investigator  you have no choice as to who is assigned your case

Quick question, while the “Licensed and Insured New Jersey Private Investigator” is only making 33% of an hourly rate, do you honestly believe the New Jersey Private Investigator is going to provide you with good services?  If you believe you will receive proper attention from this under-paid Investigator, I have a bridge to sell you; hold that thought, more on this further in Part 2. Don’t retain the wrong New Jersey Private Investigator that turns out to be a dog!!!

Go with a national firm and your libel to end up with a dog as your New Jersey Private Investigator

Why are these “UBER” type Private Investigator advertising platforms even permitted to advertise to “connect” clients with a New Jersey Private Investigator?

Has anyone yet noticed that I make a point (perhaps to the level of annoyance) of using the terms “New Jersey Licensed Private Investigator” and “National Advertising Firm”?  Of course you noticed, the reason is that these flashy national advertising firms who are in-taking large amounts of New Jersey Private Investigator work through massive advertising spending and flashy ad campaigns are not Licensed to conduct business in New Jersey as Private Investigators.  By the laws in New Jersey which apply to the Private Investigation Business (see below) it is illegal to advertise in New Jersey for Private Investigation Services unless you are licensed to provide those Services. However, these large unscrupulous advertisers selling Private Investigation Services as an “intermediary” are not licensed through the New Jersey State Police as a Private Investigation firm.  How do you think that will work out for you if something goes wrong with your case and you are civilly sued by the subject of the investigation that had been initiated by you?

Applicable law:

N.J.S.A. 45:19-10: License to conduct business, violation of Section as misdemeanor

http://www.state.nj.us/dca/divisions/dlgs/resources/attorney_docs/ag_11-1978.pdf

No person, firm, association or corporation shall engage in the private detective business or as a private detective or investigator or advertise his or its business to be a private detective business or that of a detective agency or investigator without having first obtained from the superintendent a license to conduct such business, as hereinafter provided. Any person, firm, association or corporation who shall violate any of the provisions of this Section shall be guilty of a misdemeanor.

When a client contracts a New Jersey Private Investigator through an out of state private investigator advertising firm, you only talk to the initial representative of the advertiser who is essentially a sales person. After entrusting this unlicensed person with your confidential information you will be told that you will have the (advertising) firms expertise in managing your case during the course of the investigation. However, the real purpose is to separate you from your money and to prevent you from choosing your own New Jersey Private Investigator.  Once the unlicensed private investigator advertising agency representative gets the clients case, details of the case are sent out by text message to ALL New Jersey Private Investigators on the advertising platform. The text message informs that the first private investigator to text back gets the case!!! Do really want to pick your New Jersey Private Investigator in this manner?

What follows is a scenario of an Out of State Advertiser subcontract to a New Jersey Private Investigator might look like:

For this investigative article I contacted one of these “MAJOR” providers of National Private Investigator Services that currently advertises heavily in New Jersey. This is a summary of what I found out by calling the firm with the pretext of retaining a New Jersey Private Investigator for an infidelity case:

• A client with a need for New Jersey Private Investigator will contact a national advertising firm rather then researching and choosing his/her own New Jersey Investigator. The person I spoke to on the phone was not from within two hundred miles of New Jersey.  The person I spoke with was not a Licensed New Jersey Private Investigator or even licensed elsewhere.
• The representative at the national private investigator advertising firm advised me there were three separate price plans for surveillance type Private Investigation  Services. The salesperson informed me  a client was required to purchase a block of time for these services , the larger the block of time you purchased the cheaper the pricing; in all instances the hourly rates charged by the national advertiser was significantly higher than the rates I charge as well as the rates most of my New Jersey colleagues require.
• The sales representative described three levels of background inquires that they offer. The least expensive plan provided the least information and the most expensive plan provided the most information, pretty simple I guess. However, the premium and most comprehensive background research that was offered by this national advertising firm were  hundreds of dollars more then I charge as a Licensed New Jersey Private Investigator providing the same research and information.
• The representative advised if I were to retain a Private Investigator through them a private investigator would get back to me within three days. The representative went on to inform that if next day service or same day Private Investigator Service was needed there would be additional charges of two to three hundred dollars for the “rush job”.  I have to editorialize here; if I were to be contacted for same day services on a Saturday or Sunday or whatever day, if I am available the client is not going to be charged any additional fees for a “rush job”, the client will only be charged my normal hourly rate. In addition, if you call me on a Sunday Afternoon I am going to answer the phone, no need to wait up to seventy two hours to be able to speak with me; many New Jersey Private Investigators are just as accessible as I am. 
• As part of my investigation I told the salesperson prior to retaining their services I was going to research some New Jersey Private Investigators and talk to them directly. The sales person told me that was a good idea but added a cautionary “untruthful” statement. The company representative advised that with their firm the client can conclude an investigation at the time it is determined that there will be no more useful activity by the target in order for the investigator to obtain evidence. The representative went on to assert that New Jersey Private Investigators will not let you conclude an investigation under the same circumstances but will charge you for the entire time the investigation/surveillance had been scheduled for. That statement is absolute bull-s**t, that is not how I operate as a Private Investigator and I know many other of my colleagues in New Jersey that do not operate that way either.
• As I stated earlier, if the client retains an Investigator through the national advertiser the advertiser will text all New Jersey Private Investigators who had signed up with them and offer up the case. The text will indicate that the first Investigator to text back gets the case, it almost sounds like a game of musical chairs. No worries though, you can be assured that the Investigator who is assigned your case had faxed or emailed his professional license to the advertising firm in addition to undergoing a grueling seven minute phone interview conducted by the national advertiser.

It is so very important you perform your due diligence in the selection of your New Jersey Private Investigator, one of the best methods is to obtain a New Jersey Private Investigator with references.

When a person needs a New Jersey Private Investigator it is usually for a very serious issue, do not leave such an important decision to some advertiser who is skimming 67% off the top of fees you pay them to “manage your case”. It is essential to do your own research.  New Jersey has many qualified licensed and fully insured Private Investigators with websites which will provide you information to assist you in deciding which Licensed New Jersey Private Investigator is the right fit for you and the problem you need addressed.

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