EZ Messenger Vendors - Service Vendor Expectations
What is expected in the field to avoid exceptions
Summary
The expectations of service outlined herein are required from all servers (“Vendors”). The procedures will be reviewed upon on-boarding of new Vendors and again as necessary thereafter. EZ Messenger (“EZM”) and its clients have zero tolerance for falsified information. We will not contract with a Vendor who falsely reports information about service and/or their due diligence. All Vendors must report service details and due diligence information with truth and accuracy.
Our clients entrusted us with confidential information and this Personally Identifiable Information (PII) is protected by Federal and State laws. Vendor will protect this confidential information and maintain appropriate procedures that ensures the safety of all confidential information. Vendor shall not disclose the specific nature of service documents to anyone except the named subject, unless required by law. As records containing PII are deemed no longer needed, including field sheets and documents that were not served, Vendor will dispose of documents by shredding or other means that renders the documents unreadable and undecipherable. Any violation or inadvertent information disclosure must be reported to EZM immediately.
Attempt Procedures and Requirements
Process Server shall immediately report each attempt or service at the service location using the EZM Mobile Application. The mobile device used will have GPS services enabled. A photo of the address attempted must be provided via the app. The only exception to these requirements is when safety is at risk. In this case, the Vendor may leave the area and record the event details (including the scenario leading to an unsafe situation) once they are in a safe location.
Vendors shall not harass, annoy, scare, restrain, or otherwise distress the individual(s) who are being served or other individuals present where service is attempted.
Many EZM clients are attempting to collect consumer debt and are subject to financial regulation including the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act (FDCPA), the Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA), and the Dodd-Frank Act’s Unfair Deceptive or Abusive Acts or Practices (UDAAP). Vendor shall familiarize themselves with these regulations, comply when required to do so, and report suspected violations of these or any law or regulation.
In addition to the adhering to local, state and federal regulations, Vendor will adhere to the Special Instructions provided on the Field Sheet. Attempt specifications (Client/Court rules for service) may deviate from case to case. The special instructions will be mentioned on the Field Sheet and Vendors must follow these specific instructions.
Vendor shall refrain from making any representations, either written or verbal (door tags, business cards, letters, phone recordings, or in-person conversations) to any person at, or neighbors of the attempt address that:
Misrepresent the name or status of the Vendor
Render legal advice or discuss the litigation status of a case
Otherwise mislead the individual as to the nature of the service
Due Diligence
The goal of each service attempt is to either successfully serve the applicable individual or, where appropriate, provide enough due diligence to warrant alternative service. To accomplish this, Vendors will meet the following due diligence requirements.
Most courts require at least four attempts on a given address to approve a substitute service request, some court require more. Review the special instructions on the Field Sheet for additional court/client requirements. The four attempts required must include attempts in each of the following time bands below (unless served, or special instructions replace the 4 attempt criteria):
A Morning 6 am – 10:59 am
A Mid-day 11:00 am – 4:59 pm
An Evening 5 pm – 10 pm
A Weekend (Saturday only in Texas)
Morning, Mid-day and Evening attempts are to take place on a weekday (Mon-Fri). A weekend attempt (or Saturday only in Texas) will only count towards your weekend requirement. For example, a morning attempt made on the weekend will not count towards a weekend and a morning attempt.
Required attempts should be made on various days over a 10-15-day period and there should be no more than 72 hours between attempts.
Additional Due Diligence Requirements:
Identify in detail any person that has presented information at the address. This should include race, sex, approximate height and weight and color of hair.
Photos with GPS and date/time stamps are to be taken using the EZM App with each attempt or successful service.
It is vendor's responsibility to make sure their attempt are submitted successfully on the mobile app, if failed, vendor should follow resubmission instructions.
When serving apartment complexes you must try management to see if the defendant is on the lease. If defendant is not on lease you must try contact a neighbor to insure that the defendant is not sub leasing the apartment. If resident claims that the defendant does not reside, server must verify with neighbor and management. Contact with neighbors or apartment complex managers is required and the results notated in the attempt information. The notation of “no neighbor home” or “no neighbors will answer the door” is required if no neighbors are available. Server must still verify with neighbor that defendant does not reside.
Notation of license plate numbers is required in the attempt information. This should include all license plates visible at the address at the time of the attempt (apartment complexes do not apply to this requirement). Notes for apartment addresses should state “unable to identify cars in street or apartment complex”. Vendor is responsible for running license plates through a county database to confirm ownership of vehicles found. If Vendor does not have this capability, Vendor should contact Vendor Support via Vendor Portal or EZM mobile app, and request a plate look up. Message should include job number, date of attempt and license plate number. This is only applicable for Colorado, Texas and Wisconsin.
In States where this information is available, assessor records or property ownership confirmation should be made at non-apartment address locations. Examples: CAD, Tax Assessor, etc.
Record detailed notes for our clients. Paint a picture, tell the story. Is the grass overgrown or freshly cut? Is there movement in residence? Are there lights on in or outside of the residence. Any changes in the property from the last time attempted? Look for packages on front porches from UPS or FEDEX and document names. Record all this information in the attempt notes. Be as detailed as possible in your written descriptions.
If the mail is out in the open and you are mentioning this detail in your attempt information, be sure that you state that the mail was “visible”. DO NOT OPEN MAIL BOXES.
If a phone call is made or received, the details of the call must be entered as a "Non-Attempt" in the app.
Building Confidence in the Vendor Statement of Attempts
The confidence in the statements received must be recorded adequately to avoid doubt. If your attempt statement is not clearly written, you are not recording what is needed or expected. A general rule is if the person appears cooperative and answers your questions it will add to the confidence of your statement. If not, then supporting information is desired. The extra specific details or efforts are needed to avoid being asked to return to the address for additional attempts. Also, take the time to explain in detail what you learned in your attempt. If you make contact at the provided service address, try to obtain the following:
Request first and last name of person contacted. Explain that you need to report to the court why you were unable to make delivery. If the residence refuses name be sure to record that information to your attempt note.
Length of how long they have lived at the residence. Explain the court documents suggest the person could be found at this address at some point. Is it possible the defendant lived there previously? Has the resident received mail for the subject?
Do they know the person named in the documents? If the resident answers yes, ask if they have any contact information that we can relay to our client. Note this information in your attempt.
If applicable, how long they have been gone?
Speak with neighbors to verify who resides at this. Details to explain your efforts must be recorded. Report what is found – include if neighbors are unavailable.
If given address is a multi-unit housing area, attempt to speak with leasing office during business hours. If one is not on the property, please include that information in your attempt details. If an answer is received at the unit and you find the address is bad, verification of this through the leasing office is required.
Be professional in detailing your attempt notes! Not sure if you are? Click HERE for guidance on what you should and should not include with your notes.
No verification at Given Address
If you have no verification (no one answers at given address or no neighbors available), consider using the following sources to obtain diligence and to help determine who resides at the address:
• County Appraisal District / Tax Records / Assessors Office
• White Pages
• Post Office search or Postal Carrier if available
Service Packs
If you are not actively assigned to a job for service but still have a service packet, you must:
• Shred or destroy the documents if they are a printed copy of the service packet. It is your responsibility to destroy any service packet immediately if you are not returning the service packet to EZ Messenger.
• Return the service documents to EZ Messenger if they are the original service packet