Private Investigation, Evidence Gathering & Security Consultancy to private clients & businesses in Newcastle, Tyne & Wear, Durham & Northumberland. Discreet & Dependable Detection Company.
As the original director of the company I will be moving on to pastures new to work within the police service effective 20th April 2020 and I want to take a quick second to thank all of you who have used and supported my company over the years – and essentially made it what it is today; the most highly acclaimed investigatory support service in the region. Read more about New Management …
We met our Newcastle-based client as part of the free consultation service we offer to everyone. They explained that they felt they were being defrauded by one of their staff who had been off for 5 months with an injury they’d claimed they sustained at work.
The staff member (let’s call him ‘Keith’) was in the process of taking legal action against their employer and claimed that they could no longer walk around without sticks for support.
‘Keith’ was receiving full sick pay from our client who were in turn being fully cooperative with all litigation they were having levied against them – but rumours had started to circulate that there was nothing wrong with ‘Keith’ and he was actually working in another job, “cash in hand” in Gateshead. Read more about Employee Concerns: A Case Study …
We offer a variety of different support services to solicitors and law firms throughout Newcastle, Tyne and Wear and the rest of the North East. The two that we are most prolifically engaged for service on is our process serving and our various types of people tracing.
We offer two types of tracing service: Electronic and Agent-Led. An agent-led trace is more extensive than the electronic trace we carry out, although the latter IS the most common we’re asked to do. Read more about TRACE ENQUIRIES – A CLOSER LOOK …
It is important for us within our line of work – when investigating issues surrounding employee absence and staff sickness around Newcastle and the whole of the North East – to be very clear about where we stand as a company professionally, ethically and legally in the face of ‘cowboys’ offering to “deal with” those “staff members off sick that are costing you money”.
Should “long term sickness” be placed into the hands of professional investigation services? No.
Do Surmount Investigations take on investigations into an employee’s “long term sickness”? To put it bluntly, no.
We investigate employees on behalf of their employers for a multitude of reasons (potential criminal conduct, harassment, unsafe practice, behaviour threatening to the company reputation, etc.) and that can include FRAUDULENT sickness. Read more about INVESTIGATING FRAUDULENT SICKNESS …
The media and pop culture in general play up the archetype of our profession as being the type that skulks in the shadows, doing all sorts of illegalities in order to acquire evidence against someone or some company.
It really isn’t like that at all.
We continually promote ourselves to law firms, insurers, businesses and private clients around Newcastle and North East as being an investigation and security consultancy service driven with the desire to help people whilst maintaining ethics and integrity in how we conduct our services that, rather sadly, many assume our industry doesn’t possess.
As we tell clients all the time, “There’s no point in us acquiring evidence for you illegally because you can’t do anything with it legally once we hand it to you so what’s the point in paying for it?” Read more about ACTING LAWFULLY IN PRIVATE INVESTIGATIONS …
In our field of work we take formal victim and witness statements to a high evidential standard for a wealth of different reasons – sometimes they relate to internal employee investigations, sometimes they are to do with road traffic collisions to name but two.
On this particular investigation we were brought in by a high profile national company who had offices in the North East and who wanted one of their employees interviewed and the legitimacy of her claims explored.
More and more in the age we live in, companies and employers need to fully embrace the weight and responsibility to their employees born from the #MeToo and #TimesUp movements – taking seriously ALL allegations of harassment and abuse of power. But more importantly doing so sensitively and, where possible, independently. Read more about Investigating Concerns In The #MeToo / #TimesUp Era …