How much does UK Private Investigation cost?
How much does a Private Investigation cost in the UK?
This is another common question that we receive at Titan. “How much do you charge for an investigation or what does a typical UK Private Investigation cost?” This is similar to asking a builder how much a house costs to build; or a surgeon how much an operation costs; or an insurer how much insurance is without providing any information.
An investigation agency will need to know what service / investigation you require to be able to provide a quote.
So, what does the UK private investigation cost, and what services does a Private Investigator offer?
Covert Surveillance
This is by far the main operational demand for the majority of Private Investigators and investigation agencies. A covert surveillance requires a minimum of two surveillance operatives who will be insured for professional indemnity and public liability, be professionally trained in surveillance, have an array of overt and covert cameras, a suitable surveillance vehicle and be a member of either the IPI or ABI or both. These are the Institute of Professional Investigators or the Association of British Investigators.
Surveillance operatives cost £60 per hour inclusive of VAT and deploy for a minimum of five hours at a time. So, a minimum surveillance of five hours with two surveillance operatives will cost £600. Additional costs will be agreed prior to the deployment, which will include mileage and essential expenses. Mileage for each of the surveillance operative’s vehicles during the deployment is charged at £0.45 per mile. Necessary expenses may be that public transport costs that are gained following a subject on the underground.
This price includes a fully comprehensive report outlining the surveillance operative’s findings, which includes still images taken from the surveillance footage.
If the client wants to extend beyond the minimum hours, then this decision can be made on an hour-by-hour basis at the same hourly rate. This gives the client flexibility to be able to extend if something is unfolding, or they wish to extend due to inactivity so far in the deployment.
GPS Vehicle Tracking
GPS vehicle trackers are offered on a weekly basis at a cost of £420 inclusive of VAT. Once a short legitimate interest test has been completed and a Data Protection Impact Assessment has been conducted to ensure the instruction is lawful, we can proceed. We will require the colour, make, model and registration number of the vehicle and the location of where it will be parked overnight. Once the tracking device is deployed, we will share the recorded location data with the client if a covert surveillance is not conducted in tandem with the tracking period. If the tracker is used as a surveillance tool, then the data from the tracking device becomes personal information under the Data Protection Act, and we are obliged to treat the data as such. An assessment will be required by us to justify sharing this information with the client. This protects both us and you as a client.
If at the end of the seven days of tracking, you wish to extend the tracking period then all subsequent weeks are charged at £240 inclusive of VAT.
More Information – Titan GPS Tracking Devices
Lie Detection
Titan utilises EyeDetect for Lie Detectors which are conducted at either our Derby office or at a location of your choice such as your home address. EyeDetect is as accurate as traditional Polygraph testing, however, has advantages.
- It takes 30 minutes opposed to a minimum of two hours.
- Less intrusive. It just monitors your pupils with a camera on the monitor opposed to wires monitoring 7 senses.
- It is as accurate as Polygraph.
- It is small and compact so can easily be transported.
- The results are instant.
The test costs £480 inclusive of VAT. A further £60 is added to the fee if we are required to travel to you.
Person Tracing
Person traces are conducted on a daily basis for many legitimate reasons. The fee for a person trace is £360 inclusive of VAT and takes approximately 24 hours from payment. The trace is based on a no trace no fee basis, so if we are unsuccessful in tracing the individual then we provide a refund in full.
More Information – Person Tracing
Graphology/ Handwriting Analysis
This service analyses questioned handwriting or signatures against genuine handwriting or signatures to identify whether the author of the questioned documents is the same as the original documents. Handwriting analysis is generally £480 inclusive of VAT and signature analysis is generally £600 inclusive of VAT. This is quoted on an individual basis based upon the amount of handwriting or questioned signatures that are required to be analysed. The lead time from payment is approximately seven days prior to the client receiving the report outlining the Graphologist’s findings.
More Information – Graphology / Forensic Handwriting Analysis
Background Checks
Titan’s background checks are bespoke to the needs of individual clients however can include;
- Employment and career history,
- Education and qualifications,
- Current address and contact number,
- National court searches going back 10 years,
- Previous addresses,
- Birth date,
- Alias names/ maiden name,
- Asset checks,
- Property ownership,
- Bankruptcies, IVA’s and CCJ’s,
- Births, deaths, divorces and marriages,
- Credit history.
The fee for this service is £600 inclusive of VAT.
More Information – Background Checks
Bug Sweeping/TSCM
Bug sweeping can be done on a residential premise, an office or a vehicle. Our Bug Sweep Technicians will attend you address to perform the sweep with an array of professional equipment, which includes:
- Spectral Analysis Detection
- Near-Field Transmitter Locator
- Non-Linear Junction Detector
- GSM Locator
The fees for an office vary depending on the size of the rooms, and how many rooms/terminals. Start at £2400 inclusive of VAT. Residential properties start at £1080 inclusive of VAT and vehicles are £480 inclusive of VAT or, if we are already at the location, £180 inclusive of VAT.
More Information – Bug Sweeping/TSCM
Process Serving
Process serving is the serving of legal documents on a person. Once successfully served we will provide you with a Certificate of Service or a Statement of Truth. Our Process Servers will attend an address on up to three occasions to serve the documents for a fee of £180 inclusive of VAT.
More Information – Process Serving
Surveillance Training
Titan is predominantly an operational investigation agency, so we are able to develop our graduates from our surveillance courses by offering them work. Our most popular training programme is the RQF Level 4 five-day course in Covert Surveillance Operations, which is delivered in association with the Institute of Professional Investigators at our Derby training facility. The course fee is £1200 inclusive of VAT. If a learner wishes to embark on the certification process then there is an additional admin fee which is invoiced by the IPI.
UK Private Investigation cost, call us today
These are our most popular Private Investigation services, however they are certainly not limited to these. So please, when you contact us for the first time, it is always best to describe your requirements so that the call handler can offer the correct service for you and advise you on the typical UK Private Investigation cost.
For further advice and information our dedicated Team who are available to speak to at one of the offices nearest to you.
London Private Investigator – Call the Titan Investigations London Office 020 39046622
Birmingham Private Investigator – Call the Titan Investigations Birmingham Office 0121 7162442
Cambridge Private Investigator – Call the Titan Investigations Cambridge Office 01223 662022
Derby Private Investigator – Call the Titan Investigations Derby (Head Office) 01332 504256
Leeds Private Investigator – Call the Titan Investigations Leeds Office 0113 4574066
Leicester Private Investigator – Call the Titan Investigations Leicester Office 0116 2436520
Nottingham Private Investigator – Call the Titan Investigations Nottingham Office 0115 9646950
Manchester Private Investigator – Call the Titan Investigations Office 0161 3023008
Sheffield Private Investigator – Call the Titan Investigations Sheffield Office 0114 3499400
Alternatively, you can contact us directly using our fully confidential contact form at enquiries@titaninvestigations.co.uk or chat directly using our Live Chat facility and one of our private investigations team will get right back to you.
