Detective in Plymouth spoke to a very worried mother ringing from Australia asking for our help with a problem her daughter was having at university in England. She was studying music and our client was worried that her daughter was the victim of harassment after an accident involving a very expensive cello. In the Music Room during a break a friend of hers had laid her cello on the floor and when she returned it appeared to have been trodden on. As our client’s daughter had not been there either at the time she denied all knowledge but her friend insisted it must have been her fault as she was sitting next to it when she had left the room. Having had the cello repaired at the cost of ?8000 the cello was now devalued by ?125000. The girl is obviously distraught at being accused of this and her friend is now asking for her to compensate her not only for the repair but also the balance of the loss in value. Of course our client is admitting no responsibility at all. However the situation has become quite untenable now and our client’s daughter wants to leave university.

It was suggested to our client that the only thing we could do was ask if a lie detector test could settle this situation. It was put to the other party and they said that if the lie detector proved that our client’s daughter was telling the truth all accusations and requests for compensation would be rescinded.

A qualified technician attended the college and the polygraph was carried out in which it appeared conclusive that the damage to the cello was not of our client’s making. The other party accepted the evidence in full and final settlement and an apology was made.