Frequently Asked Questions:
1) If I contact whistleblower.co.uk, how can my anonymity and confidentiality be assured?
We give a personal guarantee that the identity of people who contact whistlebower.co.uk will not be divulged to any third party without the express permission of the whistle blower.
You can be sure we will respect confidences because that is our business. Whistleblower.co.uk is run by two respected journalists who work by the principle that their sources always remain confidential unless otherwise specified.
If whistleblower.co.uk needs to speak to the person to get further details about their complaint, particularly in a case where the information is being sold to a newspaper, confidentiality and anonymity agreements can be drawn up and supplied.
We cannot say there is absolutely no risk of being identified by others through whistleblowing. But there are steps you can take to prevent the risk of that happening.
What we can say though, is that your identity will not be divulged by us to anyone without your permission.
2) What can I do personally to make sure I remain anonymous?
There are obvious safeguards which will probably already have occurred to you.
See our Helpful Tips
in the Useful Info section.
Our contact form gives you the option of not divulging your name, which gives you a further safeguard of anonymity.
But should we wish to take action on the information you have supplied, in the case of selling it to a newspaper on your behalf for instance, we will usually need to contact you again to obtain further details which may be needed.
In this instance, an e-mail address or telephone number would be useful to us or simply telephone our confidential hotline.
3) How can I help whistleblower.co.uk?
If you want to reveal wrong-doing or fraudulent behaviour by exposing it in the newspapers, it helps greatly if you have proof that what you are saying is correct.
The proof you need to ensure your whistleblowing exercise is effective could be in the form of documents; (statements to an employment tribunal, court statements or affidavits for instance.)
Other forms of proof could be letters, faxes, e-mails, video, text messages, or recorded conversations.)
4) How will I be paid for passing on my information?
We can pay you by cheque, bank transfer, or in very exceptional circumstances we can have cash wired to you once a fee has been achieved from a newspaper. Payment is usually 28 days from date of publication.
You will also be supplied with a contract guaranteeing that fee.
5) How much will I get paid?
The fee varies according to the relative importance of the whistleblow as a newspaper story. Front page stories are worth more than three-paragraph stories on page 37 for instance.
You will be advised how much your whistleblower information is worth and the fee agreed with you before publication in a newspaper. The fee could vary from as little as £100 right up to £50,000-plus.
6) After I have 'blown the whistle,' what happens next?
If you are happy for us to move forward, the information you provide will be checked for accuracy and truthfulness. The inquiries we make to establish that the 'whistleblow' is authentic are crucial to whether the situation can be exposed in the press.
For that reason, it is important that we have a way of contacting you in case you can help us further, perhaps by supplying documents and more helpful snippets.
Of course, if you don't want to be contacted or further involved, then you can also e-mail or telephone us anonymously.
Once the truthfulness of the 'whistleblow' has been established, we will proceed to place the information in the public domain by exposure in the press.
You are free to contact us at all times to find out how the process is progressing.
7) Is it possible to advertise on your website?
We accept advertising on a limited basis for companies relevant to the general content of this website. Feel free to contact us.