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How much does the average company pay for all those record searches ordered through information brokers? Would you be surprised to know that you can do your own record searches and pay only a tiny fraction of what you are paying now? Well, hang on to your hats, because its true!
Bill Reynolds, Claims Investigations Manager for Farmers Insurance in Shawnee Mission, Kansas, recently shared how his company has been able to take advantage of a service — available to almost anyone — that can save big bucks for those companies that are smart enough to use it.
Reynolds explained that CompuServe includes a service called CompuTrace, which provides access to many, if not all, of the public records used by some of the country’s larger information brokers. CompuTrace’s Living File, which includes information on 90 million people whose names appear on public records, allows the user to check names and addresses. If the subject of the search is deceased, the CompuTrace Deceased File includes records on more than 40 million people who have died since 1928. Available information includes the person’s year of birth, Social Security records (including partial numbers and the year and state of issuance), date of death, and the zip code of any person who received a lump sum payment for death benefits.
Also available is Phone*File, an electronic database containing the names, home addresses, phone numbers and length of residence for more than 80 million U.S. households. This service, available 24 hours a day, seven days a week, compiles information from phone books, birth announcements, real estate transactions, and public agencies.
These services are user friendly; prompts are provided to assist the user and a total of time and charges is provided. There is a connection charge and a per-minute charge, but there is no limit to how many searches can be performed at any one time. So, once the researcher is familiar with the program, the average charge per search can be as little as 25 to 30 cents, depending on the number and complexity of the searches performed during the session.
Thanks, Bill! Our hats are definitely off to you for this money-saving hot tip.
© 1995 John Cooke Fraud Report