The courier company DX Group has confirmed that a rival business has filed a lawsuit accusing it of corporate espionage.
Tuffnell Parcels Express allegedly made a claim against DX "in relation to confidential competitor information being obtained by DX in the past," according to DX.
The declaration came in response to a Sunday Times article alleging that some DX employees who had previously worked for Tuffnells had demanded bribes in exchange for access to corporate information.
The DX Group declared that it "intends to defend its position vigorously.".
In October 2020, a DX Group employee reportedly asked a Tufnells traffic clerk to divulge sensitive company information in exchange for a £50 payment from a delivery driver, according to The Sunday Times.
The newspaper reported that three DX Group employees, who were all formerly employed by Tuffnells, were accused of conspiring to obtain daily customer service reports in the legal case, which was filed last week.
The BBC obtained High Court documents that supported Tufnell Parcels Express's lawsuit against DX Network Services Ltd., DX Group, and employees Tom Middlewood, Jim Sinden, and Joe Trappitt.
Tufnells stated in the media that it was requesting additional costs in addition to damages.
On Monday morning, DX Group's shares fell by 11%, but they have since begun to recover.
The issues brought up by Sheffield-based Tuffnell Parcels Express had, according to a statement from DX, "been the subject of a corporate governance inquiry and investigation by DX, the conclusions of which were reported by the company in an announcement made on September 20, 2022.".
The company won't make any further comments until the proper time, it said, as the matter is currently the subject of legal proceedings.
A press release from DX on September 20 stated that it had conducted an investigation into "an allegation of bribery" and other pertinent matters.
According to what was reported, there was proof that "confidential competitor information was obtained over time and that an isolated offer of payment for such information had been made by employees.".
Additionally, DX stated that the investigation found "possible evidence of a Bribery Act 2010 violation by the concerned employees.". Work was required to "improve compliance procedures and to mitigate the risk of potential future incidents," according to the statement.
The company acknowledged "further" disciplinary action was being taken with "certain staff involved," after admitting "insufficient" disciplinary action was taken previously.
Following the resignation of Lloyd Dunn in September of last year, DX announced two weeks ago that Paul Ibbetson had been chosen to serve as its new CEO.
Prior to that, Mr. Ibbetson worked at Tuffnell Parcel Express where he served as a board director for eight years and managed the freight division of the company.
