TV and film will always present private investigation as being headed up by a dysfunctional but brilliant PI with “issues” and the stereotypical trench-coat, dirty office and glass door with their name etched on it… doing whatever it takes to secure the leads needed to ‘break the case wide open’, etc. They’re breaking into places and stealing evidence whenever the need or the plot requires it.

It’s decidedly ‘un-entertaining’ to reveal this but Surmount Investigations’ jobs (and the investigatory profession overall) is a lot less ‘easy’ and exciting.

We handle information and data in just the same lawfully compliant way as any large organisation tied to Data Protection Laws. We can use GPS Trackers (there are regulations and stipulations that have to be followed to make the use lawful though!). And we aren’t ‘lone wolves’ – Surmount frequently work in partnership with others on a consultancy basis (HR departments, Open Source specialists, other PI’s, local authorities, etc.)

We don’t / can’t beat people up to gain information, recover money or scare them away. We don’t trespass, break and enter or root through your bins in the dead of night. We aren’t anti-police, looked down on by them or work against them – They’re often a great asset to us and what we do.

There ARE bad PIs out there and they’re probably closer in line to where TV writers and the like mine their characters and plots from. The hard truth though is that they’re of no reliable use to you in the real worldbecause as we tell every client in every consultation: ‘There’s no point acquiring evidence illegally because there’s no way for you to use it legally’.

You’ll be able to spot bad PIs easily enough. As you know, here at Surmount we like to call them the ‘Gumtree Gumshoes’.

• They have a cheap-looking website or a free-hosted single page, littered with spelling mistakes and grammatical errors.
• There may not even be that as most only market on ‘free sites’ with nothing but a mobile and a Hotmail/Gmail address.
• They work to uncapped hourly rates and uncapped expenses that they struggle to easily define.
• They don’t have Professional Indemnity insurance or are a member of any associated body.
• They act above the law or at least assure you that the law will be ‘flexible’ in order to get you what you need.
• They’re not ICO regulated and therefore aren’t commissioned to legally handle confidential data.

At Surmount Investigations we pride ourselves on being ethical, legal, regulated and professional problem-solvers.

As we’ve said before, we might not make exciting television on a Sunday night.

But we deliver exciting results.