How to go about tracing a debtor

Tracing

Debt collection is a tricky business. Sometimes debtors will try to hide from their responsibility, going as far as changing contact details or moving addresses to avoid paying what they owe. In these instances, there are more tracing tools available to you than you might imagine. However, there are also privacy laws to consider, so it’s wise to act with caution.

Use publicly available information

When trying to uncover the whereabouts of a debtor, there’s a real risk of falling foul of harassment and stalking rules. According to Crown Prosecution Service, examples of behaviours associated with stalking include “following a person, watching or spying on them or forcing contact with the victim through any means, including social media”.

So if you’re trying to find out their information, you should only use sources where they have made that information available. A Google search might yield such information, but you could also use:

• The electoral register
• Companies House data
• A phone book or an online equivalent

Speak to business contacts

If you already have pre-existing business connections with the debtor’s colleagues or business associates, you may be able to ask them for information. However, you should be careful not to reveal information about their debt, or act in a way that might hurt their reputation or humiliate them, as this may constitute harassment.

Be careful with personal data

When looking for information such as an address, email account or phone number that you had not been given before, you must be very careful about how you store and use it. The Data Protection Act 1998 and GDPR (General Data Protection Regulation) outline strict rules regarding how private data may be accessed and used, as well as how you must protect it.

Seek professional advice

When in doubt, it’s always wise to seek professional advice. Specialist solicitors can help you untangle data protection rules to ensure you’re acting legally. However, you may also want to use tracing agents to run the process for you. As well as being trained in the relevant legal matters, tracing agents like Dukes use software that can access a wide range of information from multiple databases – giving you the best chance of finding your debtor.

For more information about our debtor tracing services, contact Dukes Bailiffs today.