Our fees for process service are higher than in the Western world. The reason is basically because people may hurt people who put legal papers in their hands in the Philippines, much more often than they do in the Western World.
Therefore, we conduct neighborhood checks under pretext to determine the demeanor of the person we are going to serve and those that live with him or her. Then, we usually serve with two investigators and attempt to digitally record the service as well. If we can’t photograph the service, then we digitally record the address.
In the past, 98% of our notarized Affidavits of Service have been with a local notary and accepted in U.S. Courts. Should for any reason an Affidavit of Service would have to be notarized at the Embassy here in Manila, there will be additional commensurate billing.
We require a digital photograph of the person to be served and the documents to be served should be sent via email and/or international express, as mail channels within the Philippines are undependable to say the least. After we serve, we send to the client a short electronic confirmation of same, usually containing a digital photograph as evidence of service. We require full payment via wire transfer before we forward the notarized affidavit by international express.