Ex tenant caused over $30k of damage has done a runner and looking at finding her.
Police file submitted
They know her location but unable to tell me due to privacy laws
Thx
Private Investigator Needed to Locate Skipped Tenant
closed Comments
mines on MSpaint
Who is this MS Paint you speak of?
A painter who unfortunately acquired a chronic disease that attacks the central nervous system.
MSpaint
Yep OP sounds like they're looking for "someone who paints houses"
If Police know where she is just file the complaint with the police.
They will then charge her and she will have to appear in courtThis.
You will also be listed as a victim and get a court date to meet her. You can also file a civil law application in parallel which will run post criminal matters.
They know her location but unable to tell me due to privacy laws
And what are you planning to do with this information? If you have insurance, ask the insurance company to contact the police? If you don't have insurance… well…
This is OzB, so I assume OP is going to send bikies around.
OzBikies
Yea on their electric scooters?
Too common in my industry. Send them around like uber drivers.
OzBargain. Hard C#nt Central.
He's going to send them a very strongly-worded letter, huff and puff for a week or two and yell at his spouse/partner for no reason.
If you don't have insurance…
We've seen plenty OPs trying to bargain their way out of their situation by posting here…
Bikies.
Finally
Bikkies
Yum
And what are you planning to do with this information?
Sue her for the $30k …
You don't need the location to sue them. Lodge with court and they will get the details off police. The "system" knows, but they won't tell individuals due to vigilante behaviour.
From what I understood you need to provide the defendants name and address to start a case. You could be right though.
@hawkshead: It has to be 'served' in-person right ?
like those scenes in the movies ?
are you xxxxxx ?
yes and wtf are you ? snob !
you have been served ! #smugface
the police actually recommended I take matters into my own hands but to cover my tracks.
Hahahahahahahahaha!
Likely story, mate.
@DoctorCalculon: Believe what you want but it is the truth. They were pissed - one guy threw a chair across the room. Basically wasted an entire day for me, the arresting officers and a forensics guy. Also we were supposed to be heard first but the defendant turned up late so we had to wait ~4 hours for our case and then it got canned because they changed their plea. Obviously I never did anything to get back at the person myself. What would be the point?
@dogboy: Actually I'll back up Dogboy to some extent - one of my friends had a rental property up in the middle of nowhere for many years (recently sold it), and she had a few tenant's do similar things… trash the place and skip town… last tenant prior to selling had set the property as a grow house / farm, and left everything other than anything illegal behind (albeit a bit of hydro equipment which the cops later took from us). In one instance the tenants owed $$$$, left a $$$$$ cleanup bill, but left a number of decent whitegoods there. Police officer that was involved recommended she just keep the appliances or even sell them to at least recoup some costs… as although technically illegal, it isn't like the tenants would say anything given what they'd done… but of course the police officer never said that wink wink.
As an organisation they obviously wouldn't recommend anything illegal, but get a good cop who knows how the system works and who feels sympathetic to your cause, and they might offer a few "nuggets of truth" to help you out.
@mrdevil: I'll also backup dogboy - it would not surprise me if the police said that. The main problem is not police, its the judges / judiciary - there's a lot of red tape meaning police can't just act on things and crims aren't getting prosecuted with sentences proportional to the crime, leaving the victim without justice, so plenty of cops would be frustrated with this and say things they shouldn't from time to time.
I know someone who was robbed whilst home at night - The police were called from a back room, the thieves knew they were made and took off with wallets and other things, and being a fairly big confident guy the robbery victim chased after them into the street with a makeshift weapon he had got out to defend himself. The police arrived quickly as they were in the area (due to this not being the first house they had robbed) and he still had makeshift weapon in hand… He didn't mean for the police to see it, as he thought he'd be in trouble for vigilante action, but on the contrary they clearly acknowledged it, were discussing what kind of car the crims were in (stolen), what they looked like from other witness accounts, self defence tips etc… I wasn't there so don't know how the conversation went but he said it was almost like they were indirectly wishing someone who looked like they were up to the task would give the thieves a beating (but without directly saying it in this case)….
… they'd probably spent the night (after night) going around to other houses taking statements from terrified victims, old ladies etc, who won't sleep properly for months who have just had a home invasion, and not being able to do much about it, probably having arrested the same repeat offenders just a few months prior - it would be frustrating
@mrdevil: …Also, its not necessarily illegal to keep the goods left behind. Some leases have clauses about abandonment of property after end of the lease that the landlord can rely on to take possession of them.
@dogboy: If they originally pleaded innocent, then later changed their plea… that means they pleaded guilty. So why would the police say deal with it yourself? Wouldn't the cop be thinking the judge has set a payment to be made, whatever? I can understand if it was months later and they still hadn't paid what the judge ordered, but that hadn't happened yet… ?
This is incorrect, in a civil case it is the Plaintiff's responsibility to serve the Defendant with court documents.
You are saying that local courts will somehow legally get details from the police to help you complete a small civil claim application that has not even started.
People need to stop believing legal dramas.
you probably need a Process Server then, rather than a PI.
I knew a bloke who did this work for lawyers. he did indeed need to investigate people to get addresses etc. rather than relying on the "system" to give him the info required. it was some time ago and I couldn't find his business just now.
https://www.servedoc.com.au/process-serving/ was the first hit in google.
Thanks. Not sure if I'll ever need this information but it's probably the most useful/informative thing in this thread. One of those keywords you just kinda need to know if that's what you're looking for.
I've heard a story about one of these… Some guy was served on outstanding money/damages by tracking him down via social media, finding out what his interests were and what he looked like - turns out he was a fan of a specific thing (e.g. a particular model of car enthusiast) as he had liked and made comments on an upcoming meet for said car. The person doing the serving even went so far as to get branded T-Shirt of said car brand so they blended in and did not look at all like a lawyer/bailiff etc, did some research on it for talking points, and went to the meet looking for the person that owed the money. Once located, struck up a conversation about the car to build some rapport, then said something like "didn't I meet you somewhere else (e.g. previous meet / drop name from social media research etc), aren't you e.g. John…John….Citizen?" and when he said yes, the server says something like "here hold this for me whilst I get out my phone" and hands him an envelope, then uses the phone to snap a photo of them there together for evidence whilst saying something like "John Citizen, you have been served…".
This guy had apparently been evading being served for over 6 months - Had even been found before but didn't acknowledge who he was and ran from being handed the envelope. Had to catch them off guard.
@MrFrugalSpend: yeah they definitely have a certain skillset.
only reason I knew this bloke was a Process Server is I was his bartender and each Sunday arvo he would get $50 worth of $5 notes from me while he was drinking with his mates. Apparently part of the official process is they have to provide the person served transport costs to get to the hearing. back then $5 was enough for a public transport ticket. i also helped him with his computer, he worked from home and relied on a old piece of software that did reverse telephone number searches to find people's addresses (before mobiles)
The process server we use for legal docs at work is Sharmans Investigations and Process Serving. Only used their process serving service though and haven't had to use skip tracing.
Costs around $250 - $400 and they give you a report with a recount of what happened along with a signed affidavit.
The insurance company can get a copy of the police report with all of those details
If not insurered a lawyer could do the same as well though right?
Lawyers and insurance companies don't get extra privileges with police lol.
Do you have landlord insurance?
Would OP be looking for a PI if they did?
And most policies won't cover you because of drug use or drug manufacturing etc.
E.g. if your tenants decided to hit the glass bbq indoors and destroy your property chasing their highs, then you're not covered.
You have ASSumed OPhas insurance… Do they?
I did lol…
However as a landlord, you'll be silly not to have landlord insurance.
@Dose Pipe Sutututu: Previous posts on OZ bargain indicate that there are silly landlords out there.
My money is on the guess that the OP did not have landlord's insurance.
My hand is inside the bowl, reaching for popcorn.
Same - hand also inside your bowl…
This is not a bowl …
This is not a hand…
Was the popping sounds a machine gun going off by the underworld tenants escaping?
I sometimes hear machine gun sounds from inside our microwave …
Should have spoken to Terry sheer.
You can't trust anyone else
True. Even Santa has been flakey lately, the DUI thing and being an abusive Reindeer handler.
- how will the location help, what will it enable you to do (apart from sending A Current Affair over)?
- what is the outcome of the Police report? Are they going to assist further?
The logical thing is that the OP wants to sue the tenant (not to go knee-cap her), so therefore once your file your claim in court, you must "serve" the court document to her. Serving is giving the document in person or to an address known to the person (home, work). If you can't serve the document to the person - your court claim will fail.
This is a matter about $$ not about breaking criminal law. The tenant was the legal occupant of the property and caused damage while she was allowed to be there. She was not trespassing i.e there without permission unless the damage occurred after she handed over possession back /or was evicted. The police are not guns-for-hire to help you chase missing dollars in a contract dispute.
Landlord insurance covers the $$$, unless no insurance.
Step 1 above is the appropriate response.
Hard not to think the OP wants the address though so he/she can '..just have a talk to the (ex) tenant..' .. not..
Also OP, police likely have her last known address on file or in the system, that doesn't in any way mean they 'know' where she is. She could've fled the country but her address still shows up as X. Her address that the police have on file may very well be your investment property
I thought "serve the document to the person" is an American thing. lol
By no means. Have you never been served a summons to be a witness?
@derrida derider: The vast majority of people have had no contact what so ever with the courts system.
It is not.
Former process server here (many moons ago) that frequently served summons documents….mostly notices about late rates payments, etc.
Documents needed to be given to the individual once they confirm their identity. This is often the tricky part as not many people will want to speak to a stranger rattling off their full birth name. I always asked for just their first name, then if they said 'yes' then I would drop their full name and usually get a confirmation.
They don't need to be 'handed' the documents either, they can simply be left at the doorstep once they confirm its for them. When I first started I once went to open the security door to hand the documents to them which freaked the person out. Most of the time they would chat to you with the door open so you could hand it to them personal or drop it on the doorstep if they said they weren't taking it.
I worked in a rural area in the early 2000s, being a process server was a handy excuse to get out of jury duty for a few years.
I never experienced any issues, but once the son of the business owner tried to server someone watering their garden and they tried to strangle him with their garden hose.
OP wants to sue the tenant
I'd go for the real estate agent. More chance of getting anything.
Have you read the REA agreement that a landlord signs? If not then lets say all care no responsibility, but you have to pay us first.
Have you read the REA agreement that a landlord signs?
Unless it states "we will do sweet F all", there's probably some room to get something out of them.
Assuming there is an agent …. but on what grounds? breach of contract? negligence? failure to manage? Let us say there is one - agents recommend tenants, and the owners choose who to accept … the agent inspects the property 2x per year and generally completes their duties. Then what?
The tenant was the legal occupant of the property and caused damage while she was allowed to be there.
Criminal damage is still a crime. Sounds like this may be hard to prove though, or the police would have already charged her.
'accidental' damage by legal tenant is unlikely to be a crime
The police are not guns-for-hire to help you chase missing dollars in a contract dispute.
But yet they do this for Toll fines which are incurred by a private toll company…
how will the location help, what will it enable you to do
It will enable OP to sue her for the $30k.
As if she'd have $30k. It'll be like getting blood from a stone.
OP will have to make that call. I'd still sue.
@trapper: So you can lose the $30k, the PI/process server fees, court fees and lawyer fees?
Why not just give your money to me? You'll still lose all of it but it'll take 10 minutes instead of four months of your life.
For $30k, I'll even throw in some sob story about how my life is ruined and $30k will make no difference - hence you can still have the satisfaction of revenge.
Op is after an apology that's all.
There’s only one name that comes to my mind @jv