INDUSTRY ARTICLE

UK Council stop allegations of commercial misconduct escalating

5th Sept 2010

Synergy Forensics Ltd were approached by a large UK council for help with a commercial misconduct charge that had been made against one of their contracted suppliers. In order to save the reputation and integrity of the council and the work they were undertaking at the time, the allegations of Breach of Contract and misuse of personal data covered by the Data Protection Act 1998 were taken very seriously.

The only way to be able to prove or disprove the allegations was to investigate the data held on computers and mobile phones owned by the contractor’s company and used by the personnel in their day to day jobs.

Recognising that this was a very specialised area of IT, needing computer forensic expertise and experience, the council acted quickly as the allegations were serious and an expensive court case could follow if the situation escalated.

Synergy Forensics were able to respond and one of our team of qualified forensic examiners attended at the contractors’ site within a few days. He then took a forensic image of 4 computers on which it was alleged, information and data would be found that could prove charges of on-selling services to consumers other than those contracted to by the council, using the council’s campaign brand.

By following strict ACPO (Association of Chief Police Officers) guidelines on the examination of computer based electronic evidence, we examined and analysed the complex technical data and produced a report of our findings.

Our expert witness discussed in detail the findings with the council and this was enough information for them to be able to dismiss the sub contractor involved.

Their actions in this commercial dispute saved time by having an immediate result in getting to the source of the allegations, they were able to save money by not involving external legal advice as Synergy Forensics are well versed in aspects of commercial law and could advise and act with this knowledge and ultimately the disruption in business continuity was minimal.

As a business leader, if you suspect that you might have a similar situation then please call the Forensics Team on 0845 345 0353