Insurance claims · evidence work, Nottingham
You are not being tested on your honesty; what is being tested is whether the file is what it is said to be. Three things will establish that: the original export produced by the recorder, the hash values created from that export, and a written description of how the file was obtained from the disk. A claim is civil work. The Forensic Science Regulator's statutory Code applies to criminal proceedings in England and Wales only, so none of this fits under the Code and none of it needs accreditation. None is held in any case, and each report says so in its opening statement. If something cannot be read, that goes into the written description too. The fee is agreed in writing before any work starts, from £800 + VAT.
An engineer will talk it through with you, in confidence
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| The type of claim | What arrives at the bench | What it can establish |
|---|---|---|
| A theft, or a forced entry | The recorder itself, or the disk pulled from one that has stopped | The window around the incident, exported in the format the unit stored it in |
| A machine damaged by water, soot or heat | The disk from the damaged machine | Invoices, schedules and photographs still held on the machine |
| A motor claim | The dashcam's own card, rather than a clip somebody forwarded | The camera's full data file, including GPS, speed and sensor channels (all of which a forwarded MP4 discards), with notes on what the forwarded version left out |
| A business proving what it held | The disk holding those records | A hashed list of what is still readable, along with a clear statement of what the disk can no longer say |
| A dispute over liability | A recorder that each side thinks supports its version | The same set of exports given to both sides, with a method each side can run again |
Forensic costs start at £800 + VAT depending on the scope of the job, as identified on your first call to us: what time frame and specific dates are in dispute? What equipment or accounts are involved? What evidence is needed? Your first call to us is free. Nothing is charged until you have our quote in writing.
If you leave your recorder turned on, it continues to write over existing information. It overwrites faster than claims move. No manual will give you an indication of how many hours or minutes remain. Total capacity, number of recording channels and selected resolution (and the setup of your unit) each play a role. First shut off the power to the unit. Then call us.
Authority is what makes an examination lawful; without it, section 1 of the Computer Misuse Act 1990 applies. So each job records who gave that authority and on what basis. A landlord's position, an employer's and a commercial vehicle operator's all differ.
You are given two files. There is the file originally exported from the recorder (native), along with a player capable of reading that original format. Alongside is a copy that can be played anywhere. A written document gives details of how the original file was converted to the second file, rather than hiding it inside a viewer. Both files include MD5 and SHA-256 hash values. The report also says how far the recorder's clock was from the actual date and time.
If you give another party a result they can't verify themselves, then you have given them grounds for argument. So the bundle contains all the information: exhibit numbers, hash values, dated handovers (signed at both ends), the image each conclusion came from, and the notes taken while working at the bench. Run it again and you get the same answer.
Worth knowing before you instruct anyone: as of October 2025, the Regulator's statutory Code is in its second version. Two of the activities named in it matter here (capture of data from digital storage, and recovery of CCTV), and both are subject to ISO/IEC 17025. However, the Code addresses work for a criminal prosecution, England and Wales only, and a claim on a policy is not that. Nothing of the kind is held here in any case, and each of our reports says so first.
The date a pallet was damaged was the issue between a haulier and a food producer, and the yard gate recorder was the only record of it. It had never been adjusted for British Summer Time. We measured the offset, took the export the recorder itself made, and put both times in our report. Exchange came, and it settled.
No. There is one scenario where the Regulator's Code calls for ISO/IEC 17025: a criminal prosecution in England and Wales. A policy claim is civil, so the requirement does not arise. No accreditation of any sort is held here for any type of matter in any case, and every report states that clearly on its first page. If a claim later becomes criminal, we confirm it to you in writing.
Because of everything that has happened to it since it left the monitor screen: through a phone lens, and re-encoded on the way out. The timing and detail as the recorder originally wrote them are lost in that process. What an insurer needs is the exact file created by the unit, with a hash.
Everything on the disk that is readable can be listed, and whatever the disk records about the rest can be reported. Where overwriting has happened, the report says so. What it does not do is guess.
Whoever has the right to authorise it. Under section 1 of the 1990 Computer Misuse Act, getting into a machine without authority is an offence, so each job keeps a record of its basis. Landlord, employer, the operator of a commercial vehicle, its driver: four positions, and they are not the same.
Remove power from the DVR before you do anything else: as long as it is powered, it keeps writing, and the oldest footage goes first. Then get a quote and post the disk in. The first look is free. CCTV and DVR work is £400 + VAT, quoted in writing before any work starts, and anything recovered from the disk goes no further than our bench.