"Once again, you come through in a pinch. You guys are awesome. That is one thing about Merlin that is above all others....Customer Service!
I have been using Merlin products since the very beginning! The company I worked for back then had an account number in the 300's and Mike was still in Ventura, before he sold Merlin Investigations to the staff. The customer service has never wavered ! Good Job. It is not an easy task to maintain your level of customer care."
Shelly Carroll
The Carroll Company
"I want to thank you very much for your database information. I was able to re-unite father and daughter after 40 years. Obviously could not have been completed without your valuable database. I took the assignment on October 13, 2006, and found her the same day. I spoke with both parties and both are elated to now have contact and catch up on 40 years of life!
Client was in the Bay Area of California and daughter was found in Arizona.
Again, thank you very much."
Nate Jones
All Valley Detectives, Inc.
"I found the answer about why the Merlin Criminal Search results differ from the San Diego court’s official criminal website.
To reiterate, the official website for the court (access to the court’s database) showed no criminal record for the “target” individual, however Merlin showed 5 possible hits. I even entered the Merlin-generated case numbers on the court’s website which allows a case number search – and got nothing. So I went to the courthouse to investigate.
EVERY SINGLE MERLIN HIT WAS ACCURATE – I went to the criminal desk with the Merlin-cited case numbers and was able to pull 2 case files, and order the other 3 from storage (a process that will take up to 3 days). However the San Diego Court Website showed no cases – even when the clerk at the criminal desk checked it.
Here’s the difference – the MERLIN Criminal list shows all arrests that went to court. The 2 arrest reports/charges I was able to look at were for possession of (1) methamphetamine and related paraphernalia, and (2) assault and battery against a spouse. However, the “criminal” got the “meth” charge plea-bargained by attending Narcotics Anonymous for a year, and the battery charge by attending a 3-month anger management workshop – therefore, no “official” criminal conviction on the court web-site.
I must say that MERLIN IS FAR MORE ACCURATE! THE MERLIN INFORMATION GIVES ME THE KNOWLEDGE TO PROTECT MY PERSONAL SAFETY. Had I relied on the court’s own database I wouldn’t know that I’d be serving emotionally charged court papers to a drug user with a history of battery. I’M GRATEFUL TO MERLIN TO ALERT ME – again this information directly impacts my personal safety and my approach to the problem of serving him. Thank you for your help."
Sue Lani
Su Lana Collection Agency
"A lady in New Hampshire called information in California for the Marina Del Rey Police Department. She was trying to see if someone there would assist her in finding her sister Sarah, whom she had not had contact with since the mid 1980's and had been trying to find for the last two years. She had already spent $18,000.00 on an investigator in New Hampshire who could not find her sister. She had some information about Marina Del Rey and that is why she made the call to Marina Del Rey Police Department.
As luck would have it, the operator connected her to the Del Rey Oaks Police Department. That is the city where I live. The officer told the lady who she had reached but it didn't matter to her, she had no idea where Del Rey Oaks or Marina Del Rey were and that they are about 300 miles apart. She told her story to the officer who in turn told her she should call me because that's who they go to when they are looking for someone they can't find. The officer then called me and gave me her name and number. I called her.
After calming her down and getting some information from her, the only thing she was sure of was her sister's birth name, including middle name, and date of birth. I did some searches on that and found nothing. (For this article, the names have been changed slightly.)
She had the name of a person she was sure her sister had married, Jonathan Tama. So I did some searches on both Sarah and Jonathan Tama, no matches. I then ran the Ultimate Weapon search for Jonathan Tama but nothing seemed to be matching what the client was telling me.
I ran an Ultimate Weapon search on Sarah Michaels-- the birth name I had been provided. I found some marriage records that didn't seem to match anyone the client had heard of, but I also saw an LA County arrest in 1981 for Sarah L. Michaels. When I pulled that, I found the co-defendant was Johnny Taman. From there, with the correct spelling of the last name, it was down hill.
Long story short—I located the sister now living in New Hampshire only twenty-five miles from the client.
Just another example that the proper use of Merlin will result in finding people others cannot, even when they charge a client $18,000.00. That person should be ashamed of themselves. I didn't have the heart to charge her."
Paul Keene
Paul Keene Investigations
"I have been a user of Merlin for many years, and
you have come through yet again. I was contacted
to locate a former employee, and I have spent fewer
than five minutes on Merlin, found two leads,
confirmed one, and located the former employee. Amazing.
Thanks, too, for all you do for our industry."
Brooke Karrington
Karrington Investigations, Inc.
"I just wanted to take this time and thank you for the wonderful service that you provide. With over 3000 fugitives arrests in 37 states, your database has been a success in helping me track down and arrest these fugitives. I have used other databases in the past, but yours is the most concise and user-friendly."
Timothy S. Deam
Nevada Bail Enforcement Agent
"Please tell the great staff at Merlin how much your contribution means to all of us to enable more investigators to attend our Legislative Day and represent all of us who need vital access to information."
Francie Koehler
Legislation Chair
California Association of Licensed Investigators
"Absolutely outstanding. I've used Merlin for five years with total satisfaction."
James S. van Fleet
Absolute Investigations
"Thanks for the notice, thanks for your endeavors to keep per-search prices down, thanks for being one of the main keys to our successes, and thanks to Debbie and your other customer service representatives who have always provided us a level of service that's higher than what we pay!"
Gary Cretan
"Last Sunday evening I was reworking my teaching materials for the Law Enforcement Training Class. As part of that, I have a recent Merlin search to share. I had just received an e-mail from a client who wanted me to locate her biological father. On a whim I decided to run her father's name through Merlin. I immediately got results. Since it was an unusual name I was able to locate someone with that name with an address in New Orleans. I then ran the address and came up with a phone number.
On Monday morning I called the number and was able to talk with the 84-year-old mother of the subject I was seeking. She provided me with his current phone number. I placed a call to the subject and was able to verify that he was the man I was looking for. An hour or so later I called him again and sought his permission to release his contact information to the daughter that he had conceived. He immediately gave his permission and referred to his daughter as "the missing piece of his heart".
Only 13 hours after I had received her email, I was able to call my client and tell her that I had located and verified the identity of her biological father, and had received his permission to give her his address and phone number. I was also able to tell her that her father was eager to have contact and was hoping she would call. Later that evening she did call him and they talked for two hours. They are making plans for further contact and even a face-to-face visit.
My Client called on Tuesday morning and spent an extensive amount of time thanking me. Thanks is actually due to Merlin. You made me look good, and this will be a wonderful demo to share with the officers I'll be training next week. It was also a good experience for me -- I was doing the case Pro Bono for my client and, by using Merlin, my out-of-pocket expenses were kept very low. Thanks for your help."
Paul B. Morton, LPI
Integrity Investigations, LLC
"A few weeks ago, I failed when trying to locate my subject. I called and asked for help and you went above and beyond in helping me. As you know, I had only basic information as to the subject’s age, personal information, and home state. You found better information that also included a county and an old address. That information was all I needed to locate the subject’s history.
We were trying to keep the subject away from a four-year-old girl here in California. Turns out the subject’s whole family, from father to all the sons, are child molesters. The subject had just sent bus fare to one of his molester brothers to come out and celebrate the subject’s custody of the four year old. Thanks to you we now are in the process of stopping his control. The father of the four year old surely thanks you. For helping me do my job, I want to thank you.
I am sure Michael Dores demands that his employees go above and beyond. I wanted you to know that above and beyond, in this case, had a very dramatic impact to a lot of peoples’ lives. You made me look good with your effort. THANK YOU DEBBIE!!!"
A.W., Private Investigator
Redding, CA
"With rare exception, data vendors come and data vendors go. Most exploit our industry to capitalize themselves and then sell out. No surprises there. And let's be real, who really gives a hoot in the bigger picture about "your" monthly payments when there's the government and other milk cows out there with far richer resources than all of us combined.
My office routinely utilizes more than 20 database information providers. A constant, valued resource is always Merlin Information Services.
One consideration we always use when considering which vendors to keep at the front of our list is not so much cost per search, but rather, cost per search combined with the cost to dink around with several of these other companies; often, it's a matter of "penny wise and pound foolish". Even if individual "per search" costs are cheaper, over time we lose money by using them.
In the many years we've been signed on with Merlin, there are occasionally problems on one end or the other, as in/with any business. I've never had a problem getting them resolved. And, if I feel I need to, I know I can literally get the boss/owner on the phone, usually within 24 hours. That to me is customer service. Hours of my time (as in, dealing with chasing the cheapest source) are worth far more than saving little bits on a per-search basis over even a few dozen or hundred searches."
George Michael Newman
Tactical Investigative Service
