• Contract & Proposal Review: TWS have been called in to review contract proposals in relation to high value SEO bids. In these instances, it can be determined that SEO suppliers and others can often hide the nature of their proposed service activity beneath layers of flowery language and complex terms. This service can also involve sitting in on contract negotiations and meetings as a third party expert witness to determine that the service provider is putting forward readily achievable objectives as well as determining that all such measures to determine these objectives are met are in place. This service is also applicable to web site design proposals and management bids.
• Domain Resolution: A small area but often a complex one, TWS can advise on domain ownership and domain squatting issues. TWS can also assist in retrieving lost domains from service providers that are out of business or otherwise unwilling to undertake domain transfers or changes of ownership.
• Delivery Issues: TWS can assist in cases where a service provider has failed to deliver to the clients expectations. This can cover overall expectation of graphic design and quality of delivered products, as well as traffic performance issues. Many small companies do not fully understand what it is to get a web site. The general understanding is that web design companies are magical and by delivering a web site they are delivering top rankings and unlimited business enquiries. This is often not the case, however, in many instances, a service provider can miss-sell their product with the promise of state of the art out of the box high end graphic design and top rankings. And in many cases this is not delivered. TWS can provide expert witness on design issues including missing links, images, faulty coding, non-functioning database integration and javascript as well as any other issues that might be otherwise making a site either unusable or not fit for purpose. TWS can also advise on SEO attempts where service providers have promised high rankings that have failed to materialise. In the case of SEO activity it is reasonable for the service provider to demonstrate what they have done to achieve results. If they do the TWS can examine these efforts and deliver an expert witness statement on them, else, a case could be taken to court, and a judge could order the service provider to either provide evidence of the work they have carried out or satisfy a claim in favour of the customer. These types of claim are difficult to move forward and would depend largely on the merits of each individual case.
• Costing: TWS can also advise on costing issues, advising on market standards and service value. The whole world of web based services is generally unregulated. As such, costs can vary considerably across the board. Some companies can charge £50 for a tag change whilst others offer this service for free. In many cases the values are negligible, but once your spend reaches a certain level it can be beneficial to perform some cost analysis. In particular, paid advertising services can often incur huge costs with little return. TWS can assist at all levels in determining the overall value of your web based spend and advise on best practice for controlling expenditure. As a third party Expert Witness, TWS will produce an audit with recommendations. TWS has experience in saving companies more than £1000/year in this regard.
• General Service: In many cases, court action is not necessary, as many problems are caused by the differences in a customers understanding of issues and that of the service provider. In such cases, TWS can act as a mediator in a conflict resolution role between the two parties to determine the best course of action.

This service is aimed mainly at the small to medium sized business and TWS are not interested in representing large corporate's. The service is suited to claimants moving through the small claims courts and where, whilst in many cases the costs are prohibitive, we have found that one of the major obstacles in pursuing this route is the access to affordable Expert Witnesses.

Also, please note that the expert witness service does not cover legal advice, only technical opinion on web related practice and services.

If you do feel that your service provider has done the dirty on you and would like to pursue legal action, TWS can help.

To learn more about our Expert Witness services please feel free to call for an informal chat on 07745 466608, or e-mail sales@technicalwebservices.com

The pdf link below give guidance on the use of experts in court cases:

Civil Justice Council - Protocol for the Instruction of Experts to give Evidence in Civil Claims.

Form N244 is used for appointing a witness including Single Joint Witnesses and costs £40 to process through your court. Please note that TWS recommend that you download your N244 form from the http://www.hmcourts-service.gov.uk/ site in order to ensure that you have the latest edition as the form linked below could be out of date. (form correct as of 04/03/10):

N244.