Courier company DX Group has confirmed that a competitor has launched a court case accusing it of corporate espionage.
DX said it received a claim from Tuffnell Parcels Express “regarding confidential information from competitors that DX has received in the past.”
The statement followed a Sunday Times report that said some DX employees who used to work at Tuffnells offered bribes to get company information.
DX Group said it “intends to robustly defend its position.”
The Sunday Times reported that in October 2020 a Tufnells transport worker was asked by a DX Group employee to divulge confidential company information in exchange for a £50 payment from a delivery driver.
The newspaper reported on the legal case, filed last week, alleging that three DX Group employees, all former Tuffnells employees, had conspired to receive daily customer service reports.
The High Court file seen by the BBC upheld Tufnell Parcels Express’ claim against DX Network Services Ltd, the DX Group, employees Tom Middlewood, Jim Sinden and Joe Trappitt.
Tufnells said in the papers it is seeking damages as well as other costs.
Shares in DX Group plummeted 11% Monday morning but have since gained some ground.
DX said in a statement that the matters raised by Sheffield-based Tuffnell Parcels Express “have been the subject of a corporate governance inquiry and investigation by DX, the conclusions of which were reported by the company in an announcement dated September 20, 2022.”
“As the matter is now the subject of a court proceeding, the company will not comment further at this time,” it said.
On September 20, a press release from DX said it had conducted an investigation into “an allegation of bribery” and other related matters.
It found evidence that “confidential information was obtained from competitors over a period of time and that employees made isolated offers to pay for such information.”
DX also said the investigation concluded there “possibly constituted a breach of the Bribery Act 2010 by the employees concerned.” Work is needed to “improve compliance procedures and mitigate the risk of potential future incidents.”
The company confirmed that “further” disciplinary action was taken against “certain employees” after admitting that previous disciplinary action was “inadequate” at the time.
DX announced the appointment of Paul Ibbetson as its new chief executive two weeks ago, following the resignation of Lloyd Dunn in September last year.
Mr. Ibbetson previously ran the group’s freight division and previously worked at Tuffnell Parcel Express where he served as a board member for eight years.
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