Process and Fees | From a Free Pre-Engagement Enquiry to the Report

It starts with a free enquiry

From the pre-engagement enquiry to the report.

When a matter reaches into Japan or elsewhere in Asia, ask TGI first. An outline is enough; the client's name is not needed. Whether the work can be done in the country concerned is answered, as a rule, within three business days; method, cost and time are set out in a form you can put to the client as it stands. Fees are quoted per matter as a fixed fee or a cap, stated in advance, and no additional cost arises without prior consent. There is no set-up cost, retainer or minimum volume. All that is needed is to ask once, when the matter arises.

Overview

Seven steps

Enquiry (free, with no limit on number)
You → TGI. The person handling the matter writes to our dedicated address directly; there is no need to go through a particular department.
Reply
TGI → you. Whether the work can be done, the expected method, the scope of information obtainable, cost and time.
Engagement
With the client's consent, an investigation services agreement and a non-disclosure agreement are signed. The contracting party can be your firm or the client. A conflict check is completed before signature.
Fieldwork
TGI assembles the local team and carries out the work. Progress is reported according to the length of the work.
Report
TGI → you. A report separating fact, analysis and assessment, with source documents attached.
Use
You. Legal evaluation, decisions on the direction of the matter, explanation to the client.
Follow-up
You ⇄ TGI. Further enquiries, liaison with local specialists, continued confirmation of the subject's circumstances.

Enquiry and reply

What we need from you, and what the reply contains

It does not matter if little is known. The reply also covers how much needs to be known for the enquiry to be workable.

From you

What to tell us

Country and subject (individual or entity)
What is already known (name, date of birth, former address, company name, registration number and so on)
What needs to be established (whereabouts, circumstances, assets, registry entries, litigation records and so on)
Purpose (a decision on engagement, an address for service, prospects of recovery or enforcement, a claims decision and so on)

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From TGI | feasibility, as a rule, within three business days

What the reply contains

Feasibility: whether the law and systems of the country allow it
The expected method, and the scope of information obtainable
The fee: a fixed fee or a cap, and whether the work should be staged
The time required
Where the work cannot be done, the reason and the alternatives

A full proposal on method, fee and time can take longer, depending on the matter and the information supplied; in that case we first give the date by which we will reply. The reply is written so that you can put it to the client as it stands, and can be used for the decision on engagement and for explaining cost. Enquiries and replies are in English.

Engagement to report

How engagement, fieldwork and reporting proceed

Open a heading to see how each stage proceeds.

Engagement

With the client's consent, an investigation services agreement is signed. The contracting party can be your firm or the client, as suits the matter. A non-disclosure agreement is signed at the same time, and the scope of disclosure, the retention period and the method of destruction are agreed at this stage. The agreement, the invoices and the report are all in the name of Trust Global Intelligence Co., Ltd. Agreements are made in English or Japanese.

Fieldwork and progress reports

For work of about a week, the report is delivered on completion. For work of two to three weeks or more, progress and new information are reported during the period, and the report is delivered on completion. If the facts turn out to differ from what was expected, we report at that point and you decide whether to continue. Where the work is staged, the result of the first stage is reported and you decide on the need for, and the cost of, the next.

No additional cost arises without prior consent.

Report

Established facts are stated with their source, the route by which they were obtained and how they were confirmed, with source documents attached wherever possible. Analysis is recorded separately from fact, and assessment is marked as assessment. What could not be established is recorded with the reason. Delivery is electronic as a rule; bound copies are available on request. Reports are written in English, or in Japanese on request, and source documents are supplied with an English translation. The layout can be seen in the sample reports.

Explaining the work to the client

Explanation to the client is for you. Where it helps, TGI can explain the method and the routes of acquisition directly, in your presence and with your consent, or prepare explanatory material for you to use. In neither case does TGI give legal advice to the client. Where we act as local partner to an investigation firm, we have no contact with that firm's client at all.

No additional cost arises without prior consent.

Time and contacts

Standard timelines, and how we stay in touch

Enquiry → reply on feasibility

Within 3 business days

Enquiry → proposal on method and fee

Depends on the matter

The date of reply is given first.

Engagement → start of work

3 to 5 business days

Fieldwork

2 to 16 weeks, by matter

Completion → delivery of the report

Within 5 business days

For urgent matters, such as confirmation before a subject leaves the country, please ask.

Contacts and communication

Your side. The person handling each matter can contact us directly.
TGI's side. A dedicated address. One person is responsible for each matter, so the background does not have to be explained twice.
Hours. Weekdays, 09:00 to 18:00 Japan time (UTC+9). Video meetings are arranged to suit your time zone. Urgent matters are handled outside these hours by arrangement.
Language. English or Japanese for enquiries and correspondence. Reports in English.
Progress. Reported according to the length of the work; for work of two to three weeks or more, updates are given during the period.

Fees

How fees work

Fees are quoted matter by matter. The scope of information obtainable, the time required and local cost structures differ widely between countries and regions, so the fee is given once the scope and the countries are settled. No amounts are published here, but the principles do not change.

How fees are stated

A fixed fee or a fee cap, stated in advance. The figure is all-in: travel, local investigators and translation are included.
Where the scope cannot be fixed, the work is staged. The first stage is done for a fixed fee, and you decide on the need for, and the cost of, the next. This applies where several countries are involved, or where the scope shifts as tracing proceeds.
No additional cost arises without prior consent.
Pre-engagement enquiries are free. TGI bears that cost.
Standard tasks at fixed unit fees. For investigation firms and others who instruct us regularly, address verification, registry retrieval, a site visit or an interview are each quoted as a fixed unit fee.
Quotes are given in Japanese yen or US dollars, as agreed for the matter. Exchange-rate movement after the quote is absorbed by TGI.

Investigation costs are ordinarily borne by the client, as a disbursement necessary for the matter to proceed. TGI charges only for the investigative work itself. The fee for an individual matter is stated formally in the reply to the pre-engagement enquiry.

What it costs you to use us

Set-up cost or systems: none
Retainer or monthly fee: none
Minimum volume: none
Dedicated staff on your side: not needed
Pre-engagement enquiries: free, with no limit on number

In practice, all that is needed is to ask once when a matter involving Japan or Asia arises. Coordination with local teams, languages, management of the investigators, translation and quality control are TGI's responsibility. There is no need for a firm-wide arrangement; you are welcome to try us on one matter.

Compliance

What we keep to

Principles of dealing

We neither receive nor pay referral fees or commissions of any kind. TGI charges only for investigative work.
All work is carried out within the law of the country concerned, including its data protection law, and feasibility is confirmed for each matter before work begins.
We act for many firms, so a conflict check is made before each matter is accepted.
Information about a matter is not disclosed to third parties without the client's consent.
TGI does not give legal advice to the client.

Non-disclosure agreement

A non-disclosure agreement is ordinarily signed together with the investigation services agreement.
It can also be signed before the enquiry, so that the facts can be explained under it.
Your form or ours.
The scope of disclosure, the retention period and the method of destruction are agreed in it.

Information management

Documents are exchanged with password protection and by the method you specify.
Local investigators are given only the minimum information needed for each task. As a rule they are not told the client's name, the background to the matter or your firm's involvement.
Matter files are destroyed at the end of the period agreed at engagement. Destruction on closing is also possible.
Personal data sent to us is handled in Japan, which the European Union and the United Kingdom recognise as providing adequate protection for personal data. Where your rules require it, we sign a data processing agreement.
What can be obtained under each country's data protection and cross-border transfer rules is confirmed for each matter and stated in the reply.

Our position on legal professional privilege and work-product protection is set out in Why Matters Stall. TGI works under your direction and keeps a proper record of the purpose of the enquiry, the chain of instruction, and how information was handled and shared.

Verify first. Decide after.

Start with one matter, and a free enquiry

There is no need for a firm-wide arrangement. For a matter on your desk that involves Japan or Asia, we reply before engagement, free of charge, on feasibility, method, cost and time. An outline is enough; the client's name is not needed.

Free pre-engagement enquiry About TGI