When reverse phone lookup fails...then what?

Factual Questions
1

A friend of mine is trying to get an address of a contractor that she’s trying to file a small claim against. I, being a kind soul, have offered to help her out. The sheriff’s office/DA will serve the notice, but won’t do an investigation.

We have:

  • A cell phone number (which I get a recording saying that per the subscribers’ request, is not taking incoming calls)

  • A home phone number (which I can’t get an answer)

  • Access to the cancelled checks she wrote to him

  • The phone number of the guy that referred her to him (who apparantly has fallen off the face of the earth)

He’s unlicensed, so the contractors’ board is of no help (we’re in CA). I tried the various reverse phone directories, which only have me a zip code, but no specific address. I’m getting nowhere calling companies - they won’t do anything without a subpeona. I asked if a street by street sweep of the Zip code made sense, but my friend said he didn’t have any sign etc. on his truck, so that could be a wild goose chase. Any ideas of how to get this turkey’s address??

2

Well, you might see if the clerk of the court will issue a subpoena for you. In New Jersey, there’s a beast known as a “John Doe” action, which allows you to issue subpoenas.

Personally, I would try subpoena-ing the guy’s bank first – large banks frequently have “judicial processing centers” which comply with subpoeanas without blinking an eye. (The name of his bank should be on the back of the cancelled checks.)

Of course there are sneaky ways to get the guy’s address, but since those involve impersonating him, I would be inclined to avoid them.

3

Have you tried Google? It seems to have a pretty good reverse phone lookup.

4

A couple more thoughts:

If you know the guy’s name, you might try searching public records, such as property records or the civil judgments docket.

But I would first call the clerk of court, describe the situation, and see if they can help.

5

?? I use google all the time - where is their reverse phone lookup? I’ve tried infospace, anywho, and the thinkdm411 directory from http://www.reversephonedirectory.com.

6

fyi -

you can issue a subpoena yourself. The form is available from a good stationary store (not Staples). I suggest calling around.

IANAL

7

Possible online research sources:

http://www.freeality.com/findt.htm

http://www.555-1212.com/

http://vitalrec.com/index.html#USMAP

Maybe run the contractor and the referral guy through some of above.

One thought: If the contractor committed fraud, a report to the Consumer Affairs for your state should be filed. Or file a police report.

Good luck!

8

Re: Google’s reverse lookup. J

ust type the area code and number in the search box (e.g., 312-555-1212). It’s the easiest and best one I’ve found.

9

You did say “unlicensed,” didn’t you? That should’ve been clue #1 that there could be Trouble in River City.

Anyway, you can always sue the cell-phone company by naming them as complicit in the guy’s antics. They’re covering for him by not letting you know WTF he is.

10

I know this is no help…

A contractor will have a telephone number, listed in the phone book, along with an address to contact.

If your friend hired a fly-by-night laborer to do something important, they are extremely unlikely to collect a judgement from small claims court anyway.

Save your money, save your friends money. Learn from your mistakes. Always check references, more than one.