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Tracing
UICS offers two types of tracing services:
- Debtor tracing, for attorneys with a debt collections practice and the credit control function of financial service providers.
- Third party tracing, for the recoveries function of insurers. One application is specifically designed for the recoveries function of the insurers of motor vehicle related risk.
Our tracing services were developed over a period of many years. They are based on a thorough understanding of the requirements of the consumers of such services. At the heart of every service offered by UICS lies the application of the investigative methodology of scientific method. It is this approach that makes us unique.
We believe that this is the reason why UICS is succeeding in its objective to be the preferred service provider of debtor tracing and third party tracing services to legal practitioners and the recoveries function of short-term insurers nationally.
We offer a third party (“TP”) tracing service to the recoveries function of vehicle related risk Short-term
Insurers, to:
- Identity and trace TP’s.
- Assess the recoverability of claims against TP’s.
- Facilitate the recovery of claims from TP’s.
Secure documentation (e.g. Accident Reports, witness statements from SAPS files, death Certificates, etc.) Identify, trace and depose witnesses to incidents of loss.
- Investigate the merits of motor vehicle loss related claims.
All instructions are managed and administered from our head office in Cape Town. The mandate period for all instructions is deemed to be four weeks.
- Establish the registered owner of a vehicle from a registration number if the identity of the Driver/owner for a TP vehicle is unknown.
- Obtain the insurers details and insurance policy number.
- Establish whether TP claimed from his insurer for his loss, and if so, obtain a claim number, and establish whether the TP vehicle driver was driving in the course and scope of employment (if the TP vehicle driver and the TP vehicle registered owner are different).
- If the TP vehicle driver is not the same as TP vehicle owner, establish whether driver was driving in the course and scope of employment.
- If the registered owner of the TP vehicle is a company we will obtain full statutory details for that company, conduct a financial assessment of TP to assess TP’s ability to settle the IP’s claim and obtain copies of documents (e.g. Accident reports and witness statements from SAPS files, copies of death certificates, etc.)
Our standard Third Party Trace includes:
- Establishing registered ownership and if TP was insured
- A financial assessment of TP driver/
If UICS has to first establish registered ownership of a TP vehicle to conduct a STPT (e.g. If client only has a registration number for the TP vehicle) we charge an additional fee of R 60.00 (to search the NATIS database) will be raised.
When conducting a STPT and the registered owner of the TP vehicle is a company, an additional fee of R 150.00 (to search the CIPRO database) will be raised to obtain the full statutory particulars (registration no., registered physical and postal addresses, names of members/directors) of the company.
The following fees are raised for the various additional Third Party Tracing services offered by UICS
- To obtain Accident Report – R 350.00 plus our disbursement. (The disbursement varies from local authority to local authority.)
- To obtain copies of other documents from SAPS files (e.g. Witness statements) - R 250.00 per document.
- To conduct a financial assessment of a TP (individuals and companies): Deeds’ Registry searches to establish fixed property owned and to estimate equity in fixed Property - R60.00 per search per Deeds’ Registry to obtain a list of properties owned plus R 60.00 per property owned to obtain full particulars for each property owned.
- For addresses in Gauteng, it is necessary to search both the Johannesburg and Pretoria Deeds’ Registries.) NATIS database searches to establish vehicular assets – R 60.00 per vehicle identified. CIPRO (Registrar of Companies) searches to establish interests in companies – R 150.00 to obtain a list of companies plus R 150.00 per company identified.
- To search credit bureaus to establish credit risk (i.e. Civil judgments and adverse payment reports) – R 60.00 per Credit Bureau Searched (individuals) or R 300.00 per Credit Bureau searched (companies).
- To obtain a Death Certificate – R150.00
- To trace any other party in respect of an incident of loss (e.g. Witnesses), R 350.00 per person traced (no trace, no fee) on condition that client provides at least a name and last known address for the person to be traced. If UICS is instructed to trace persons for whom at least a name and last known address is not known, UICS will invoice for such services against our standard investigation tariff. Fees raised against the standard investigation tariff of UICS are applicable regardless of whether the person is identified and/or traced.
Instructions to do any of the following are invoiced against the standard investigation tariff of
- Identify unknown witnesses.
- Depose affidavits from any party.
- Investigate the merits of a claim
- Deliver documents.
- Obtain Acknowledgements of Debt (“AOD”) and negotiate settlement plans (client to supply the necessary documents).
The standard investigation tariff of UICS is R 350.00 per hour plus expenses and disbursements.
Expenses include vehicular travelling at R 4.00 per km: For Cape Town, vehicle travelling is calculated from our offices in Panorama.
For all other centres, vehicle travelling is calculated from the major commercial airport of that Centre all amounts quoted above exclude VAT.
Please call us on 021 930 4686 for more information. |
