Open, and work is coming in · weekdays, 9am–5:30pm Faster by phone: 0800 6890668
PDR Plymouth Data Recovery 0800 6890668 Get a price
PDR / Legal and insurance work / CCTV for claims and investigations

Evidence work · video that survives being questioned

CCTV and DVR recovery, Plymouth. Recovering the video is typically the quickest step; proving what the video actually is takes longer.

When a claims handler, or an officer looking into the matter, considers your footage, they need to make sure that what you have provided is actually what you say it is, and that gets settled at the recorder, not at the desk afterwards. So the first step is a written hold, sent before the half hour you need drops off the end of the disk. Once this is done, the protections afforded to you by data protection law are used properly. We do not allow anything to leave our premises until all files have been hashed, with a documented method and a dated note of every individual who has come into contact with the files. The retrieval of recordings is only the smallest portion of the work. If the recording device does not belong to you, the owner's authority comes before we touch it.

On most jobs, no files means no fee An exhibit from the start The recorder is overwriting it

A quiet word first?
0800 6890668

Getting a copy released.

Going through subject accessIf you can be identified in the video, then under UK GDPR the party responsible for operating the equipment must provide a copy of the video, within one calendar month. Any other individuals who appear in the video are blurred first. Fees for providing copies only occur under exceptional circumstances.
Get the hold in writingSending two lines of email on the day of the incident carries more weight than a solicitor's letter requesting the footage fourteen days later. Identify the camera, identify the thirty-minute window in which the incident occurred, and submit a written request asking that the footage be retained.
Police requestsMost video evidence reaches investigations because an officer contacted the company that operates the equipment and asked for the video. Once the operator agrees, they typically provide the video directly to the officer. If the request is refused, a formal request must be made under data protection law, followed by an application to the court.
Our part in itA disk that was formatted in error. A recorder that malfunctioned on the night of the incident. An export deleted from an office computer. These are usually recoverable. Video recordings that have been overwritten can never be recovered.

The timing, and the law around it.

Not on this list? Call us →
What bears on itWhat that points toWhere to start
The myth about retentionThere is no statutory provision for a particular amount of time. It depends upon the capacity of the disk, the number of cameras in use and the frame ratePut a written hold in today
A calendar month in which to replyThe clock starts ticking once your request has reached the party who operates the recording deviceMake the request in writing
Everyone else is maskedRecognisable faces are blurred before any copy is releasedAn obligation, not an excuse
A doorbell camera facing a driveWhen a camera captures images outside the boundaries of your property, the same obligations applyHouseholds are not outside this
A custody recordEach action is documented from start to finish, from the disk still inside the recorder until the copy is posted backThe file hash (SHA-256) and a signed statement of how the file was generated accompany each file
Sending it to us: once you have your quote, our intake lab in Bristol takes tracked, insured post, and we pay to send it back to you. If you'd like to talk packing through with an engineer before you post it, give us a call. There's more detail on our contact page.

Each stage, in turn.

Every job written up →
01

A number on arrival, then the free diagnosis Free

Whatever is delivered is booked in using a unique reference (case number) on the date it arrives at the bench. The engineer will identify the actual fault at no charge. This gives a straightforward answer on what can be recovered from the drive and what cannot, plus one written quotation. There will be no further activity until you have read and accepted the quotation.

Diagnosis at no chargeA single written figureYou owe nothing yet
02

Stop the recorder before anything else

A written notice to retain is given to whoever operates the system, along with their authority where the recorder does not belong to you. Then an honest estimate of how far back in time it really goes, from the disk, the cameras and the frame rate, not from the manual.

A written hold, sent firstReal retention calculated
03

Both formats go out

There are two files created from the image: one is an MP4 that may be opened by any computer, and the second is the recorder's own file type (.dav, or whatever that maker writes), which travels with the player that will read it.

A playable copy and the native oneThe viewer supplied
04

What goes with the files

All files carry a SHA-256 hash value, a document explaining how the copy was made, and a dated list of everyone who has handled the file. Without these, all you will have is a clip that someone forwarded to you. With them, it becomes something loss adjusters and courts can work with.

SHA-256 values, plus the methodUsable in a claim or at a hearing
05

You give the word, and it ships back

Give yourself time to consider it. It costs you nothing. We list all of the files we recover for you before sending out an invoice, and we only ask for payment once you have authorised it. We also buy media specifically for your recovery and send it back to you, with the return postage paid by us. The case stays here on our bench until we have your confirmation that the files open properly on your own machine.

You see the list and decideWritten to fresh mediaWe pay the postage home

What the work keeps showing

  • You don't need to spend anything for one email to shut down an argument: just provide the date, the camera and thirty minutes either side of when something happened, and ask in writing for it to be kept. Afterwards no one can say to you that you waited too long.
  • The blurring of faces does not obstruct anything: a shop that masks its other customers before responding is meeting a duty it owes them, under the same law you are using. This isn't cutting away any useful information.
  • Household cameras are not exempt: in 2021 a county court ruled that a householder whose video doorbell took in the pavement and a neighbour's garden had the same data protection obligations as any business.
  • Different standards apply to public bodies and private premises: the Surveillance Camera Code only applies to relevant authorities, which in practice means the police and local councils, and the ICO has authority over landlords, shopkeepers and yard operators through data protection law instead. All exports we generate are created to this standard.

What insurers have to lose: the Association of British Insurers (ABI) stated in its report of November 2025 that fraud detected in claims submitted in 2024 totalled £1.16 billion, with £576 million of that being motor claims, across 51,700 cases. Good video settles an honest claim sooner and stops a dishonest one, as long as it arrives properly documented and not merely passed along.

A job out of the casebook.

PL · PLY-2026-0558FILED ✓

A deleted clip, two vans, and an insurance claim

Two vans collided in a yard at Cattedown, and the insurer required proof of the incident. By then the recorder had already been around its loop several times and that day was gone. However, one export was left over: a manager had kept a copy when it happened, but later deleted the file from the office computer. That computer was able to give it back. A hash was generated, how the process was completed was written down, and the issue was resolved without going before a judge.

Claim settledCourt-ready export

Before you seal the box.

Get these done

  • Send the hold request today
  • Write down the date, the time, which camera and who owns it
  • On the recording yourself? Make a SAR
  • Pass files on untouched — nothing renamed, nothing trimmed

What to avoid

  • Waiting for the insurer to do it for you
  • Filming the screen on your phone and calling it evidence
  • Trimming the clip before passing it on
  • Believing whatever retention figure the box states

The questions callers ask most.

A shop has me on camera. Can I get a copy?

Yes. Once you are identifiable in recorded footage, the video is regarded as personal data relating to you. This means that a subject access request will apply to it. There is a one-month limit after receipt of the request within which the organisation responsible for the data must respond. All others appearing in the same footage are blurred first. Usually there is no charge made to provide a copy of the footage.

What happens if the operator refuses?

First ask nicely, in writing. Many operators will provide a copy without further ado. Should they refuse, two formal options exist: firstly, a data protection request; secondly, if this fails, an application to a court.

How quickly will a recorder overwrite it?

Sooner than the owner will tell you. Statute does not specify a timescale. The sole rule is that data may not be retained longer than necessary to serve its purpose. Therefore, the limiting factor is the equipment: namely, hard drive capacity, number of cameras, frame rate, and how these have been configured.

What do I actually receive at the end?

It must be capable of opening on any computer and withstand scrutiny should someone dispute it. For this reason, four items are delivered together: an MP4 copy, a native file copy in whatever format the recorder captured, SHA-256 values for each, and a signed statement detailing how each copy was created.

Pages people open after this.

Footage off a recorder → Dashcam and bodycam clips → Expert witness reports → Evidence and reports →

Every minute it runs, less is left.

Every single minute the recorder continues to record, the clip you want becomes more and more likely to be recorded over for good and your deadline does not change. Begin here. Your first look is free of charge and any information we receive from you is held in confidence.

0800 6890668

Get a price Sending it in to us