25/02/2008 by admin.

Process serving is perhaps one of the most under valued parts of the legal process within the courts and legal system. Yes it is the delivery of legal documents and in most cases is straight forward. However …

Often this work is carried out by private investigators and detectives out of hours. This means that you are up with the larks or out with the owls. The person to be served is often evasive and certainly doesn’t want a messenger with bad news on their doorsteps.

Sometimes it can go pear-shaped. I served process of a Divorce Petition on Saturday 23rd February to a guy who has been evading the inevitable since 2005. He is a violent alcoholic with a short temper. I know this, not because the client had the decency to tell me but because I always read the papers to be served.

The difficulty with this guy was that it is not known where he lives, he doesn’t appear on any of the regular databases with a current address, but we do know where  he works.

Anyway, to cut a long story short, we pay him a visit at work. this is not always the best course of action, but we have to think about the risk factor of serving him when he is drunk, plus we do not know his home address. YET!

We always aim to be discreet in this situation, (I have served many people during the course of their working day, including most recently a newspaper photographer at an assignment, a carpet salesman, a barman and a  ‘Sir’) the workplace is a print works in full production. The place is very noisy. After asking at the canteen I was pointed in the direction of a forklift driver. 

In Divorce cases we are always provided with a photograph of the person to be served. I approach our man who matches the description and resembles the photo perfectly (this doesn’t always happen). As I approach him I say his name,  he replies “he’s on a day off today mate” I respond by showing him the photograph and handing him the papers. He absolutely explodes in a fit of rage telling me to go forth and multiply and even questions my parentage. He then tells me that he will pay his wife and her new partner a visit with a baseball bat to kill them. Hmmm. Nice bloke. I make a hasty exit whilst our man chases me to the exit shouting all manner of expletives above the sound of the machinery!

The Judge will find that very good reading on my affidavit.

Who was it that said  ”the pen is mightier than the sword?” because they were right.

Trident Investigations carry out the service of process nationwide from our offices in Northamptonshire, Surrey and our new office in Hertfordshire which covers Harpenden, Hatfield, St Albans, Welwyn, Welwyn Garden City, Arlesey, Baldock, Biggleswade, Buntingford, Henlow, Hertford, Hitchin, Knebworth, Letchworth, Much Hadham, Royston, Sandy, Shefford, Stevenage, Ware

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03/01/2008 by admin.

The rules for serving legal documents have been relaxed in recent years. It is now now much easier to serve process than it was. It however can still be tricky and it is important that the process server knows the rules for service applicable to the document being served. Rules for service are governed by the Civil Procedure Rules.

It has recently come to our attention that at least one Solicitors practice have been serving documents by a courier. I understand that this is a new procedure and although not illegal will almost certainly be short lived.

The courier company are not supplying the required Statements of Service or Affidavits which are usually sworn before a Commissioner for Oaths. We are led to believe that a print-out from the hand held terminal is being produced as proof of service!

Now cast your mind back to the last time you had a courier on the doorstep who required a signature. It was cold, most probably wet and you were stood on the doorstep with in your dressing gown with the dog barking and the kids screaming in the background. Can you recall how much diligence or effort you put in to producing a legible signature? That’s of course if your signature is legible at the best of times.

What happened when you were out?

• Did they leave it with a neighbour?
• Put a card through the letterbox asking you to call them to arrange a new delivery?

Now imagine that you are to receive some legal papers that you want to evade. Is the delivery and signed docket from your neighbour good service?

NO

Are you going to call them to say, “please call back later“?

NO

In short using a courier to serve legal process will not save you money. it could jeopardise your case and be deemed as ineffective service by the judge hearing the case. In some cases the documents may be required to be re-served personally by a process server with a supporting affidavit and in a worst case scenario your whole case could be thrown out on this mere technicality.

If you think it’s a worthwhile consideration ask yourself this …

 Would you take your car for a service at the Dry Cleaners?

Or

Take your Dry Cleaning to the Bakers?

Quite simply a Courier is not a Process Server and a Process Server is not a Courier.

From our Daventry, Northamptonshire office or our Croydon, Surrey office we can serve all types of legal papers quickly and efficiently and within the legal rules of service anywhere in the UK or overseas. Please call 0845 643 1923 for further information or see get a quotation here http://www.tridentinvestigations.co.uk/Quotation-process-server.html

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21/12/2007 by admin.

Its the year end and the usual chase of late payers has started so that the company year end figures can be produced. Account & Credit Controllers have sent out the invoice plus the appropriate late letters. It is now only a matter of time before Credit Controllers resort to court action.

Statutory Demands, Winding-Up Petitions & Bankruptcy Petitions are issued by the thousand. Trace Agent’s are tracing those who have moved and conveniently forgotten to clear that debt. Process Servers are also busy bringing some not so glad tidings to debtors. This type of work makes unpopular with debtors but please remember we are just messengers; and YES we do know it’s Christmas!

For Process Serving of legal documents nationwide or to trace an elusive debtor please see our website Here or call 0845 643 1923.

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15/12/2007 by admin.

As stated in an earlier post the daily grind for a private investigator is more like likely to be finance rather than infidelity. This manifests itself as Process Serving. The ease of borrowing money in our private lives is mirrored in the commercial world where more often than not, the sums are far greater.

Many of the papers we ’serve’ are against companies who have borrowed more than they can afford and are unable to meet the terms of an agreement or contract. Others are against individuals who live far beyond their means and earnings. Many companies are forced to cease trading and many individuals are declared bankrupt. The creditor is then left with the decision to trace the persons responsible for the mismanagement of the funds and try for recompense through the court system. Our services are then called upon to trace, locate and ‘serve’ those involved. otherwise known as ‘Trace & Chase’.

These are not the only types of ’serves’ we conduct though. As we all know a large proportion of marriages end in divorce for one reason or another. Very often there are plenty of loose ends to be tied. Mortgage, Children, Loans, and even who gets the dog?

When all communication has broken down and solicitors are involved, a couple can spend a fortune through their legal representatives sending one letter after another. Which in a lot of cases is failed to be responded to.

We as Process Servers are then tasked with the often sensitive job of seeking out the evasive partner and ensuring that they do receive the necessary papers. We then present ourselves to the court to swear an Affidavit confirming this fact.

As a person who is not party to the litigation and not going to benefit either way, our sworn affidavit is accepted by the court as assurance that the service was completed. The court process can then proceed in the absence of the named party, should they continue to ignore correspondence from the legal system.

For further information on Process Serving or to arrange the Service of Legal Documents throughout the UK please call 0845 643 1923 or Click HERE.

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