How field surveys are conducted
A survey reports what a researcher observed at a particular place on a particular day. It does not prove that a broker is safe, solvent, regulated or suitable.
Before a visit
The broker, the legal entity and the address are matched before travel, and the visit is planned around a local safety assessment and lawful public access. Researchers do not trespass, bypass security, misrepresent who they are or record where recording is prohibited.
The checklist
Every visit follows the same checklist: locating the address, matching the building, external signage, the building directory, reception, the floor or suite, office signage, staff interaction, business materials, and photographs. Each check has a fixed set of results, and the report shows the ones that decided the outcome.
What the researcher writes
The report describes what was seen and attributes statements to the person who made them. A receptionist saying a company is not in the building is recorded as what the receptionist said, not as a finding. Researchers do not infer staff numbers, business scale, solvency or regulatory standing from the look of a place.
The outcome
The badge follows the evidence. A team that could not get past the door records a restricted visit, not an absent company. A shared office is recorded as a shared office. A directory listing, a sign or a statement is one piece of evidence, and the outcome reflects all of them together with the limits of the visit.
Photographs
Photographs are the team's own, taken at the location on the day. They may be cropped, straightened and corrected for exposure, and faces, number plates, screens and documents are blurred for privacy. Nothing relevant is added or removed, and a generated image is never presented as a photograph of a visit.
After publication
Corrections, broker responses and address changes create dated updates rather than silent rewrites. A later visit is a new report linked to the earlier one; the earlier one is never overwritten. A broker's response is published beside the report and does not change what was recorded.
Privacy and safety
Exact coordinates or access details may be withheld where publishing them would create a safety or security concern, and publication may be delayed for the same reason. The identity and movements of researchers are not disclosed.