How Oklahoma Private Investigators Can Effectively Evaluate Clients’ Claims of Distress and Harm

How Oklahoma Private Investigators Can Effectively Evaluate Clients’ Claims of Distress and Harm

            Any Oklahoma private investigator who has served in the field for very long can attest to the fact that he or she has likely received what seem like very odd phone calls.  Perhaps the calls themselves from certain people in Oklahoma are not so strange, as are some of the stories they tell the private investigators with whom they speak.  However, as eccentric as some of these stories might sound, they could very well be true.  Oklahoma Judicial Process Servers www.OklahomaJudicialProcessServers.com suggests that all private investigators carefully listen to each client in a nonjudgmental way, so as to discern the truth of each matter. 

Of course, Oklahoma private investigators sometimes do not know whether the case is real or simply imagined in the client’s head.  This can make for a difficult job for an Oklahoma City private investigator who is trying to find out if his Oklahoma client might be delusional, paranoid, just bored and playing a prank, under the influence of drugs, or actually telling the truth.  Let us examine a recent example that an experienced private investigator encountered while on the phone with an individual who had called several times.

A woman from Edmond, Oklahoma had called the private investigators at Oklahoma Judicial Process Servers several times asking for assistance.  On this most recent occasion, she wanted to set up an appointment and meet with a private investigator.  She stated that her problem had to do with the fact that someone had stolen money from her bank accounts and had unlawfully used her credit cards.  On the surface, this sounds reasonable and worth investigating.

At this point the Oklahoma private investigator asked the woman who she thought was trying to steal her money and why.  Many clients might have said, “I don’t know” or might have replied with, “Well, I think it was my ex-husband, etc.”  However, the lady responded with, “Well, I think it is an inside job by those working at the bank.”  Really?  This was a conspiracy by those at the bank to steal her money and use her credit cards?  Well, that did not sound quite right, but the Oklahoma private investigator decided to dig a bit further.

The Oklahoma City private investigator then asked the woman, “Have you reported this to the bank?”  The lady initially said, “No.”  Then when the private investigator asked why she had not done so, the lady changed her mind and gave a delayed, uncertain response of, “Yes, I did contact the bank.”  This conflicting answer, combined with the hesitation and her mixed responses, indicated deception.  Unfortunately, the woman did not stop her story there. 

This situation, the woman claimed, was one she had reported to the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), as well as to the Federal Trade Commission (FTC).  The Oklahoma private investigator reported that the story just got even wilder and had even more responses that just did not add up.  At this point, the private investigator decided that this case had probably not really happened and was not worth spending the time and effort pursuing.  However, she had to do so with a great deal of tact.

While a client may very well be making up a story or may lean a bit toward the paranoid end of the spectrum, it is vital that all private investigators in Oklahoma and elsewhere remember to remain polite and professional.  Thus, in this situation the Oklahoma private investigator simply said, “Madam, this is a matter in which you might find the best results by contacting the Federal Trade Commission again.  I am sure they will work with you on this.”  Before the woman could begin to protest or attempt any additional convincing, the private investigator made her other phone ring and politely informed the other woman on the line that she needed to take the other call.

While it might have been tempting for the private investigator to have referred the matter out to another Oklahoma City private investigator that she did not like very much, that would not have been very nice to do.  There are quite a few private detectives in the field of private investigation throughout Oklahoma who might do this very thing.  Some lawyers and other professionals do it on a regular basis.  Nevertheless, it is an inappropriate practice for any professional to engage in, and it only wastes everyone else’s time.

Another unprofessional response to this situation would be to take the woman’s money, assuming she had any, and to proceed with the case.  Some clients may throw a lot of money at a case, and it may make them feel better.  However, if they could suffer from paranoia or could have some other unknown difficulty, doing so would only prove exploitive.  According to the Oklahoma Private Investigator Association’s (OPIA’s) Code of Ethics, this would not be a best practice for Oklahoma private investigators.

In addition, it was imperative that the Oklahoma private investigator did not accuse the woman of lying, being paranoid, or anything else.  While the private investigator was about 99% sure that the woman’s story was not reality, there was always that 1% chance that it could have been true.  Besides, what could the Oklahoma City private investigator have hoped to have accomplished by saying the woman might be paranoid or was simply making the story up for fun?  The clear was answer: nothing.

Anyone who stays in the field of private investigation for any length of time will undoubtedly find himself or herself listening to what could very well be a wild tale.  On the other hand, it could also be the truth, at least insofar as the individual on the other end of the phone is concerned.  It is always imperative that all Oklahoma private investigator remain diplomatic, tactful, polite, and professional when encountering these situations.  Private investigators who treat others as they would want to be treated often fare well throughout their professional careers.