diff --git a/scripts/convert_charset_to_utf8mb4.sql b/scripts/convert_charset_to_utf8mb4.sql
new file mode 100644
index 00000000..461d13ba
--- /dev/null
+++ b/scripts/convert_charset_to_utf8mb4.sql
@@ -0,0 +1,59 @@
+ALTER TABLE `acos` CONVERT TO CHARACTER SET utf8mb4 COLLATE utf8mb4_general_ci;
+ALTER TABLE `addresses` CONVERT TO CHARACTER SET utf8mb4 COLLATE utf8mb4_general_ci;
+ALTER TABLE `aros` CONVERT TO CHARACTER SET utf8mb4 COLLATE utf8mb4_general_ci;
+ALTER TABLE `aros_acos` CONVERT TO CHARACTER SET utf8mb4 COLLATE utf8mb4_general_ci;
+ALTER TABLE `boxes` CONVERT TO CHARACTER SET utf8mb4 COLLATE utf8mb4_general_ci;
+ALTER TABLE `cake_sessions` CONVERT TO CHARACTER SET utf8mb4 COLLATE utf8mb4_general_ci;
+ALTER TABLE `contacts` CONVERT TO CHARACTER SET utf8mb4 COLLATE utf8mb4_general_ci;
+ALTER TABLE `contact_categories` CONVERT TO CHARACTER SET utf8mb4 COLLATE utf8mb4_general_ci;
+ALTER TABLE `costings` CONVERT TO CHARACTER SET utf8mb4 COLLATE utf8mb4_general_ci;
+ALTER TABLE `countries` CONVERT TO CHARACTER SET utf8mb4 COLLATE utf8mb4_general_ci;
+ALTER TABLE `currencies` CONVERT TO CHARACTER SET utf8mb4 COLLATE utf8mb4_general_ci;
+ALTER TABLE `customers` CONVERT TO CHARACTER SET utf8mb4 COLLATE utf8mb4_general_ci;
+ALTER TABLE `customer_categories` CONVERT TO CHARACTER SET utf8mb4 COLLATE utf8mb4_general_ci;
+ALTER TABLE `documents` CONVERT TO CHARACTER SET utf8mb4 COLLATE utf8mb4_general_ci;
+ALTER TABLE `doc_pages` CONVERT TO CHARACTER SET utf8mb4 COLLATE utf8mb4_general_ci;
+ALTER TABLE `emails` CONVERT TO CHARACTER SET utf8mb4 COLLATE utf8mb4_general_ci;
+ALTER TABLE `emails_enquiries` CONVERT TO CHARACTER SET utf8mb4 COLLATE utf8mb4_general_ci;
+ALTER TABLE `emails_invoices` CONVERT TO CHARACTER SET utf8mb4 COLLATE utf8mb4_general_ci;
+ALTER TABLE `emails_jobs` CONVERT TO CHARACTER SET utf8mb4 COLLATE utf8mb4_general_ci;
+ALTER TABLE `emails_purchase_orders` CONVERT TO CHARACTER SET utf8mb4 COLLATE utf8mb4_general_ci;
+ALTER TABLE `email_attachments` CONVERT TO CHARACTER SET utf8mb4 COLLATE utf8mb4_general_ci;
+ALTER TABLE `email_recipients` CONVERT TO CHARACTER SET utf8mb4 COLLATE utf8mb4_general_ci;
+ALTER TABLE `enquiries` CONVERT TO CHARACTER SET utf8mb4 COLLATE utf8mb4_general_ci;
+ALTER TABLE `enquiry_email_queues` CONVERT TO CHARACTER SET utf8mb4 COLLATE utf8mb4_general_ci;
+ALTER TABLE `freight_forwarders` CONVERT TO CHARACTER SET utf8mb4 COLLATE utf8mb4_general_ci;
+ALTER TABLE `freight_services` CONVERT TO CHARACTER SET utf8mb4 COLLATE utf8mb4_general_ci;
+ALTER TABLE `groups` CONVERT TO CHARACTER SET utf8mb4 COLLATE utf8mb4_general_ci;
+ALTER TABLE `industries` CONVERT TO CHARACTER SET utf8mb4 COLLATE utf8mb4_general_ci;
+ALTER TABLE `industries_customers` CONVERT TO CHARACTER SET utf8mb4 COLLATE utf8mb4_general_ci;
+ALTER TABLE `invoices` CONVERT TO CHARACTER SET utf8mb4 COLLATE utf8mb4_general_ci;
+ALTER TABLE `jobs` CONVERT TO CHARACTER SET utf8mb4 COLLATE utf8mb4_general_ci;
+ALTER TABLE `jobstatus` CONVERT TO CHARACTER SET utf8mb4 COLLATE utf8mb4_general_ci;
+ALTER TABLE `jobs_purchase_orders` CONVERT TO CHARACTER SET utf8mb4 COLLATE utf8mb4_general_ci;
+ALTER TABLE `job_products` CONVERT TO CHARACTER SET utf8mb4 COLLATE utf8mb4_general_ci;
+ALTER TABLE `line_items` CONVERT TO CHARACTER SET utf8mb4 COLLATE utf8mb4_general_ci;
+ALTER TABLE `order_acknowledgements` CONVERT TO CHARACTER SET utf8mb4 COLLATE utf8mb4_general_ci;
+ALTER TABLE `packing_lists` CONVERT TO CHARACTER SET utf8mb4 COLLATE utf8mb4_general_ci;
+ALTER TABLE `pages` CONVERT TO CHARACTER SET utf8mb4 COLLATE utf8mb4_general_ci;
+ALTER TABLE `principles` CONVERT TO CHARACTER SET utf8mb4 COLLATE utf8mb4_general_ci;
+ALTER TABLE `principle_addresses` CONVERT TO CHARACTER SET utf8mb4 COLLATE utf8mb4_general_ci;
+ALTER TABLE `principle_contacts` CONVERT TO CHARACTER SET utf8mb4 COLLATE utf8mb4_general_ci;
+ALTER TABLE `products` CONVERT TO CHARACTER SET utf8mb4 COLLATE utf8mb4_general_ci;
+ALTER TABLE `product_attachments` CONVERT TO CHARACTER SET utf8mb4 COLLATE utf8mb4_general_ci;
+ALTER TABLE `product_categories` CONVERT TO CHARACTER SET utf8mb4 COLLATE utf8mb4_general_ci;
+ALTER TABLE `product_options` CONVERT TO CHARACTER SET utf8mb4 COLLATE utf8mb4_general_ci;
+ALTER TABLE `product_options_categories` CONVERT TO CHARACTER SET utf8mb4 COLLATE utf8mb4_general_ci;
+ALTER TABLE `purchase_orders` CONVERT TO CHARACTER SET utf8mb4 COLLATE utf8mb4_general_ci;
+ALTER TABLE `quotes` CONVERT TO CHARACTER SET utf8mb4 COLLATE utf8mb4_general_ci;
+ALTER TABLE `quote_pages` CONVERT TO CHARACTER SET utf8mb4 COLLATE utf8mb4_general_ci;
+ALTER TABLE `quote_products` CONVERT TO CHARACTER SET utf8mb4 COLLATE utf8mb4_general_ci;
+ALTER TABLE `shipments` CONVERT TO CHARACTER SET utf8mb4 COLLATE utf8mb4_general_ci;
+ALTER TABLE `shipments_jobs` CONVERT TO CHARACTER SET utf8mb4 COLLATE utf8mb4_general_ci;
+ALTER TABLE `shipments_principles` CONVERT TO CHARACTER SET utf8mb4 COLLATE utf8mb4_general_ci;
+ALTER TABLE `shipments_purchase_orders` CONVERT TO CHARACTER SET utf8mb4 COLLATE utf8mb4_general_ci;
+ALTER TABLE `shipment_categories` CONVERT TO CHARACTER SET utf8mb4 COLLATE utf8mb4_general_ci;
+ALTER TABLE `shipment_invoices` CONVERT TO CHARACTER SET utf8mb4 COLLATE utf8mb4_general_ci;
+ALTER TABLE `states` CONVERT TO CHARACTER SET utf8mb4 COLLATE utf8mb4_general_ci;
+ALTER TABLE `statuses` CONVERT TO CHARACTER SET utf8mb4 COLLATE utf8mb4_general_ci;
+ALTER TABLE `users` CONVERT TO CHARACTER SET utf8mb4 COLLATE utf8mb4_general_ci;
diff --git a/scripts/fix_corrupted_data.sql b/scripts/fix_corrupted_data.sql
new file mode 100644
index 00000000..2a9894ae
--- /dev/null
+++ b/scripts/fix_corrupted_data.sql
@@ -0,0 +1,250 @@
+-- ============================================================================
+-- Fix Corrupted Character Data in CMC Database
+-- ============================================================================
+-- This script fixes mojibake (corrupted UTF-8 characters) in the database
+-- Run after converting tables to utf8mb4
+--
+-- IMPORTANT: Review this script and test on a backup first!
+-- Create backup: docker exec cmc-db mariadb-dump -u root -psecureRootPassword cmc | gzip > backup_before_fix.sql.gz
+--
+-- To run: docker exec -i cmc-db mariadb -u root -psecureRootPassword --default-character-set=utf8mb4 cmc < scripts/fix_corrupted_data.sql
+-- ============================================================================
+
+-- Create a backup table for principles (optional safety measure)
+-- DROP TABLE IF EXISTS principles_backup;
+-- CREATE TABLE principles_backup AS SELECT * FROM principles;
+
+SET NAMES utf8mb4;
+
+-- ============================================================================
+-- PART 1: Global Pattern Fixes Using REPLACE
+-- ============================================================================
+-- These fix common mojibake patterns across all affected tables
+
+-- ----------------------------------------------------------------------------
+-- Fix CUSTOMERS table
+-- ----------------------------------------------------------------------------
+UPDATE customers SET name = REPLACE(name, '’', ''') WHERE name LIKE '%’%';  -- Smart apostrophe
+UPDATE customers SET name = REPLACE(name, '“', '"') WHERE name LIKE '%“%';  -- Left double quote
+UPDATE customers SET name = REPLACE(name, 'â€', '"') WHERE name LIKE '%â€%';  -- Right double quote
+UPDATE customers SET name = REPLACE(name, 'â€"', '–') WHERE name LIKE '%â€"%';  -- En dash
+UPDATE customers SET name = REPLACE(name, 'â€"', '—') WHERE name LIKE '%â€"%';  -- Em dash
+UPDATE customers SET name = REPLACE(name, '​', '') WHERE name LIKE '%​%';   -- Zero-width space (remove)
+UPDATE customers SET name = REPLACE(name, ' ', ' ') WHERE name LIKE '% %';  -- Special space
+UPDATE customers SET name = REPLACE(name, 'é', 'é') WHERE name LIKE '%é%';   -- é
+UPDATE customers SET name = REPLACE(name, 'É', 'É') WHERE name LIKE '%É%';   -- É
+UPDATE customers SET name = REPLACE(name, 'ó', 'ó') WHERE name LIKE '%ó%';   -- ó
+UPDATE customers SET name = REPLACE(name, 'Ã', 'í') WHERE name LIKE '%Ã%';   -- í
+UPDATE customers SET name = REPLACE(name, 'ç', 'ç') WHERE name LIKE '%ç%';   -- ç
+UPDATE customers SET name = REPLACE(name, 'ü', 'ü') WHERE name LIKE '%ü%';   -- ü
+UPDATE customers SET name = REPLACE(name, 'á', 'á') WHERE name LIKE '%á%';   -- á
+UPDATE customers SET name = REPLACE(name, 'ñ', 'ñ') WHERE name LIKE '%ñ%';   -- ñ
+UPDATE customers SET name = REPLACE(name, 'ö', 'ö') WHERE name LIKE '%ö%';   -- ö
+UPDATE customers SET name = REPLACE(name, 'ô', 'ô') WHERE name LIKE '%ô%';   -- ô
+UPDATE customers SET name = REPLACE(name, 'Ä°', 'İ') WHERE name LIKE '%Ä°%';   -- Turkish İ
+UPDATE customers SET name = REPLACE(name, 'Å', 'Ş') WHERE name LIKE '%Å%';   -- Turkish Ş
+UPDATE customers SET name = REPLACE(name, 'Ä', 'Ğ') WHERE name LIKE '%Ä%';   -- Turkish Ğ
+UPDATE customers SET name = REPLACE(name, 'Ä', 'Č') WHERE name LIKE '%Ä%';   -- Czech Č
+UPDATE customers SET name = REPLACE(name, 'Ä›', 'ě') WHERE name LIKE '%Ä›%';   -- Czech ě
+
+-- Remove trailing tabs
+UPDATE customers SET name = TRIM(TRAILING '\t' FROM name) WHERE name LIKE '%\t';
+UPDATE customers SET trading_name = TRIM(TRAILING '\t' FROM trading_name) WHERE trading_name LIKE '%\t';
+
+-- ----------------------------------------------------------------------------
+-- Fix PRINCIPLES table
+-- ----------------------------------------------------------------------------
+UPDATE principles SET name = REPLACE(name, 'ü', 'ü') WHERE name LIKE '%ü%';
+UPDATE principles SET name = REPLACE(name, 'é', 'é') WHERE name LIKE '%é%';
+UPDATE principles SET name = REPLACE(name, 'ó', 'ó') WHERE name LIKE '%ó%';
+
+UPDATE principles SET address = REPLACE(address, 'ß', 'ß') WHERE address LIKE '%ß%';  -- German ß
+UPDATE principles SET address = REPLACE(address, 'ü', 'ü') WHERE address LIKE '%ü%';
+UPDATE principles SET address = REPLACE(address, 'é', 'é') WHERE address LIKE '%é%';
+UPDATE principles SET address = REPLACE(address, 'ñ', 'ñ') WHERE address LIKE '%ñ%';
+UPDATE principles SET address = REPLACE(address, 'Ä', 'č') WHERE address LIKE '%Ä%';   -- Czech č
+UPDATE principles SET address = REPLACE(address, 'ž', 'ž') WHERE address LIKE '%ž%';  -- Czech ž
+UPDATE principles SET address = REPLACE(address, 'Å¡', 'š') WHERE address LIKE '%Å¡%';  -- Czech š
+UPDATE principles SET address = REPLACE(address, 'Ä›', 'ě') WHERE address LIKE '%Ä›%';  -- Czech ě
+UPDATE principles SET address = REPLACE(address, 'Å', 'ň') WHERE address LIKE '%Å%';  -- Czech ň
+UPDATE principles SET address = REPLACE(address, 'Å™', 'ř') WHERE address LIKE '%Å™%';  -- Czech ř
+
+UPDATE principles SET city = REPLACE(city, 'ü', 'ü') WHERE city LIKE '%ü%';
+UPDATE principles SET city = REPLACE(city, 'é', 'é') WHERE city LIKE '%é%';
+UPDATE principles SET city = REPLACE(city, 'ó', 'ó') WHERE city LIKE '%ó%';
+
+-- ----------------------------------------------------------------------------
+-- Fix ADDRESSES table
+-- ----------------------------------------------------------------------------
+UPDATE addresses SET address = REPLACE(address, 'â€"', '–') WHERE address LIKE '%â€"%';  -- En dash
+UPDATE addresses SET address = REPLACE(address, 'â€"', '—') WHERE address LIKE '%â€"%';  -- Em dash
+UPDATE addresses SET address = REPLACE(address, 'é', 'é') WHERE address LIKE '%é%';
+UPDATE addresses SET address = REPLACE(address, 'ü', 'ü') WHERE address LIKE '%ü%';
+
+UPDATE addresses SET city = REPLACE(city, 'é', 'é') WHERE city LIKE '%é%';
+UPDATE addresses SET city = REPLACE(city, 'ü', 'ü') WHERE city LIKE '%ü%';
+
+-- ============================================================================
+-- PART 2: Specific Record Fixes
+-- ============================================================================
+-- These fix specific known corrupted records where pattern matching isn't enough
+
+-- ----------------------------------------------------------------------------
+-- PRINCIPLES - Specific fixes
+-- ----------------------------------------------------------------------------
+
+-- ID 2: German ß
+UPDATE principles
+SET address = 'Heinz-Fangman-Straße 18'
+WHERE id = 2;
+
+-- ID 9: Czech characters (this is complex, needs full correction)
+UPDATE principles
+SET address = 'Bezručova 2901\n756 61 Rožnov pod Radhoštěm',
+    city = 'Rožnov pod Radhoštěm'
+WHERE id = 9;
+
+-- ID 13: German ü
+UPDATE principles
+SET name = 'IEP Technologies GmbH - BRILEX Gesellschaft für Explosionsschutz mbH'
+WHERE id = 13;
+
+-- ID 14: German ß
+UPDATE principles
+SET address = 'Liebigstraße 2'
+WHERE id = 14;
+
+-- ID 58: Spanish ó
+UPDATE principles
+SET name = 'Nosia S.r.l.- Señalización Industrial'
+WHERE id = 58;
+
+-- ID 65: German ß
+UPDATE principles
+SET address = 'Alte Emser Straße 32'
+WHERE id = 65;
+
+-- ----------------------------------------------------------------------------
+-- CUSTOMERS - Specific fixes
+-- ----------------------------------------------------------------------------
+
+-- ID 253: É
+UPDATE customers
+SET name = 'SOLUZÉ CIVIL ENGINEERS Trading Under SOLUZE PTY LTD'
+WHERE id = 253;
+
+-- ID 1006: Smart apostrophe
+UPDATE customers
+SET name = 'Dr. Prem''s Molecules Private Limited (DPMolecules)'
+WHERE id = 1006;
+
+-- ID 1387: Smart quotes
+UPDATE customers
+SET name = 'DEE ENTERPRISES (QLD) PTY LTD trading as "MEKLEK"'
+WHERE id = 1387;
+
+-- ID 1608: Smart apostrophe
+UPDATE customers
+SET name = 'Guidera O''Connor Pty Ltd'
+WHERE id = 1608;
+
+-- ID 2174: Zero-width space
+UPDATE customers
+SET name = 'Ingredion ANZ Pty Ltd'
+WHERE id = 2174;
+
+-- ID 2215: French é
+UPDATE customers
+SET name = 'Vale Nouvelle-Calédonie S.A.S'
+WHERE id = 2215;
+
+-- ID 2375: Spanish ó
+UPDATE customers
+SET name = 'Evaluación y Control Ambiental S.A.S.'
+WHERE id = 2375;
+
+-- ID 3143: Portuguese ç and ó
+UPDATE customers
+SET name = 'Zontahevy Comércio e Serviços Offshore Ltda'
+WHERE id = 3143;
+
+-- ID 3529: French é
+UPDATE customers
+SET name = 'Société des Mines de Syama'
+WHERE id = 3529;
+
+-- ID 3633: Special space (em space)
+UPDATE customers
+SET name = 'P.J. Berriman & Co PTY LTD'
+WHERE id = 3633;
+
+-- ID 4325: Danish ø
+UPDATE customers
+SET name = 'Rambøll Danmark'
+WHERE id = 4325;
+
+-- ID 4350: Turkish characters İ, Ş, Ğ
+UPDATE customers
+SET name = 'SONNIVA ENERGY MAKİNA İNŞAAT İTH. İHR. LTD. ŞTİ.'
+WHERE id = 4350;
+
+-- ID 4669: French é
+UPDATE customers
+SET name = 'F.C.C. Fluides Conseils Calédonie SARL'
+WHERE id = 4669;
+
+-- ID 4743: Czech ě
+UPDATE customers
+SET name = 'DGPack Prostějov'
+WHERE id = 4743;
+
+-- ID 4764: Zero-width space
+UPDATE customers
+SET name = 'Mccready Welding Pty Ltd Trading under the entity Mccready''s Welding Services'
+WHERE id = 4764;
+
+-- ID 4893: Spanish í
+UPDATE customers
+SET name = 'Oxiquímica, S.A.P.I. de C.V.'
+WHERE id = 4893;
+
+-- ----------------------------------------------------------------------------
+-- ADDRESSES - Specific fixes
+-- ----------------------------------------------------------------------------
+
+-- ID 19: En dash (7–11)
+UPDATE addresses
+SET address = 'Lvl 3, Building B, 7–11 Talavera Road'
+WHERE id = 19;
+
+-- ============================================================================
+-- PART 3: Verification Queries
+-- ============================================================================
+-- Run these after the fixes to verify they worked
+
+-- Check fixed principles
+SELECT id, name, city FROM principles WHERE id IN (2, 9, 13, 14, 58, 65);
+
+-- Check fixed customers
+SELECT id, name FROM customers WHERE id IN (253, 1006, 1387, 1608, 2174, 2215, 2375, 3143, 3529, 4325, 4350, 4669, 4743, 4764, 4893);
+
+-- Check fixed addresses
+SELECT id, address FROM addresses WHERE id = 19;
+
+-- Count remaining corrupted records (should be much lower)
+SELECT COUNT(*) as remaining_corrupted_principles
+FROM principles
+WHERE name REGEXP '[^ -~]' OR address REGEXP '[^ -~]' OR city REGEXP '[^ -~]';
+
+SELECT COUNT(*) as remaining_corrupted_customers
+FROM customers
+WHERE name REGEXP '[^ -~]';
+
+SELECT COUNT(*) as remaining_corrupted_addresses
+FROM addresses
+WHERE address REGEXP '[^ -~]' OR city REGEXP '[^ -~]';
+
+-- ============================================================================
+-- COMPLETION
+-- ============================================================================
+SELECT 'Fix script completed! Review the verification queries above.' as status;
diff --git a/scripts/report_remaining_corruption.sh b/scripts/report_remaining_corruption.sh
new file mode 100755
index 00000000..0d712243
--- /dev/null
+++ b/scripts/report_remaining_corruption.sh
@@ -0,0 +1,15 @@
+#!/bin/bash
+# ============================================================================
+# Generate Report of Remaining Corrupted Data
+# ============================================================================
+
+DB_USER="root"
+DB_PASS="secureRootPassword"
+DB_NAME="cmc"
+CONTAINER="cmc-db"
+
+docker exec $CONTAINER mariadb \
+    -u $DB_USER \
+    -p$DB_PASS \
+    --default-character-set=utf8mb4 \
+    $DB_NAME < scripts/report_remaining_corruption.sql
diff --git a/scripts/report_remaining_corruption.sql b/scripts/report_remaining_corruption.sql
new file mode 100644
index 00000000..be21ed6d
--- /dev/null
+++ b/scripts/report_remaining_corruption.sql
@@ -0,0 +1,191 @@
+-- ============================================================================
+-- Report Remaining Corrupted Data After Fix
+-- ============================================================================
+-- Run this after fix_corrupted_data.sql to find records that still need manual fixes
+--
+-- To run: docker exec cmc-db mariadb -u root -psecureRootPassword --default-character-set=utf8mb4 cmc < scripts/report_remaining_corruption.sql
+-- ============================================================================
+
+SET NAMES utf8mb4;
+
+SELECT '============================================================' as '';
+SELECT 'CORRUPTED DATA REPORT' as '';
+SELECT '============================================================' as '';
+
+-- Summary counts
+SELECT '' as '';
+SELECT 'SUMMARY OF REMAINING CORRUPTION' as '';
+SELECT '-------------------------------' as '';
+
+SELECT
+    'principles' as table_name,
+    COUNT(*) as corrupted_records,
+    'name, address, city' as affected_columns
+FROM principles
+WHERE name REGEXP '[^ -~]'
+   OR address REGEXP '[^ -~]'
+   OR city REGEXP '[^ -~]'
+
+UNION ALL
+
+SELECT
+    'customers',
+    COUNT(*),
+    'name'
+FROM customers
+WHERE name REGEXP '[^ -~]'
+
+UNION ALL
+
+SELECT
+    'addresses',
+    COUNT(*),
+    'address, city'
+FROM addresses
+WHERE address REGEXP '[^ -~]'
+   OR city REGEXP '[^ -~]'
+
+UNION ALL
+
+SELECT
+    'contacts',
+    COUNT(*),
+    'name'
+FROM contacts
+WHERE name REGEXP '[^ -~]'
+
+UNION ALL
+
+SELECT
+    'products',
+    COUNT(*),
+    'name, description'
+FROM products
+WHERE name REGEXP '[^ -~]'
+   OR description REGEXP '[^ -~]';
+
+-- Detailed listings
+SELECT '' as '';
+SELECT '============================================================' as '';
+SELECT 'DETAILED CORRUPTED RECORDS' as '';
+SELECT '============================================================' as '';
+
+-- Principles with corruption
+SELECT '' as '';
+SELECT 'PRINCIPLES TABLE - Corrupted Records:' as '';
+SELECT '-------------------------------------' as '';
+SELECT
+    id,
+    name,
+    LEFT(address, 50) as address_preview,
+    city
+FROM principles
+WHERE name REGEXP '[^ -~]'
+   OR address REGEXP '[^ -~]'
+   OR city REGEXP '[^ -~]'
+ORDER BY id;
+
+-- Customers with corruption
+SELECT '' as '';
+SELECT 'CUSTOMERS TABLE - Corrupted Records:' as '';
+SELECT '-------------------------------------' as '';
+SELECT
+    id,
+    name
+FROM customers
+WHERE name REGEXP '[^ -~]'
+ORDER BY id;
+
+-- Addresses with corruption
+SELECT '' as '';
+SELECT 'ADDRESSES TABLE - Corrupted Records:' as '';
+SELECT '-------------------------------------' as '';
+SELECT
+    id,
+    LEFT(address, 60) as address,
+    city
+FROM addresses
+WHERE address REGEXP '[^ -~]'
+   OR city REGEXP '[^ -~]'
+ORDER BY id
+LIMIT 50;
+
+-- Contacts with corruption
+SELECT '' as '';
+SELECT 'CONTACTS TABLE - Corrupted Records:' as '';
+SELECT '-------------------------------------' as '';
+SELECT
+    id,
+    name
+FROM contacts
+WHERE name REGEXP '[^ -~]'
+ORDER BY id
+LIMIT 50;
+
+-- Products with corruption
+SELECT '' as '';
+SELECT 'PRODUCTS TABLE - Corrupted Records:' as '';
+SELECT '-------------------------------------' as '';
+SELECT
+    id,
+    name,
+    LEFT(description, 50) as description_preview
+FROM products
+WHERE name REGEXP '[^ -~]'
+   OR description REGEXP '[^ -~]'
+ORDER BY id
+LIMIT 50;
+
+-- Common corruption patterns found
+SELECT '' as '';
+SELECT '============================================================' as '';
+SELECT 'COMMON CORRUPTION PATTERNS DETECTED' as '';
+SELECT '============================================================' as '';
+
+SELECT
+    '’' as mojibake_pattern,
+    'Smart apostrophe (')' as should_be,
+    COUNT(*) as occurrences_in_customers
+FROM customers
+WHERE name LIKE '%’%'
+
+UNION ALL
+
+SELECT
+    '“ or â€',
+    'Smart quotes (" ")',
+    COUNT(*)
+FROM customers
+WHERE name LIKE '%“%' OR name LIKE '%â€%'
+
+UNION ALL
+
+SELECT
+    'é, ü, ó, etc',
+    'Accented chars (é, ü, ó)',
+    COUNT(*)
+FROM customers
+WHERE name REGEXP 'Ã[©¼³±§]'
+
+UNION ALL
+
+SELECT
+    'â€" or â€"',
+    'Dashes (– —)',
+    COUNT(*)
+FROM addresses
+WHERE address LIKE '%â€"%' OR address LIKE '%â€"%'
+
+UNION ALL
+
+SELECT
+    'Ä, ž, Å¡, etc',
+    'Czech/Polish chars',
+    COUNT(*)
+FROM principles
+WHERE address REGEXP '[ÄÅ][¾¡›™]';
+
+SELECT '' as '';
+SELECT '============================================================' as '';
+SELECT 'END OF REPORT' as '';
+SELECT '============================================================' as '';
diff --git a/scripts/run_corruption_fix.sh b/scripts/run_corruption_fix.sh
new file mode 100755
index 00000000..c2611803
--- /dev/null
+++ b/scripts/run_corruption_fix.sh
@@ -0,0 +1,171 @@
+#!/bin/bash
+# ============================================================================
+# Safe Corruption Fix Execution Script
+# ============================================================================
+# This script:
+# 1. Creates a backup
+# 2. Shows current corruption status
+# 3. Prompts for confirmation
+# 4. Applies fixes
+# 5. Shows before/after comparison
+# ============================================================================
+
+set -e  # Exit on error
+
+DB_USER="root"
+DB_PASS="secureRootPassword"
+DB_NAME="cmc"
+CONTAINER="cmc-db"
+BACKUP_DIR="./backups"
+TIMESTAMP=$(date +%Y%m%d_%H%M%S)
+
+# Colors for output
+RED='\033[0;31m'
+GREEN='\033[0;32m'
+YELLOW='\033[1;33m'
+BLUE='\033[0;34m'
+NC='\033[0m' # No Color
+
+echo -e "${BLUE}============================================================${NC}"
+echo -e "${BLUE}CMC Database Corruption Fix Script${NC}"
+echo -e "${BLUE}============================================================${NC}"
+echo ""
+
+# Create backups directory
+mkdir -p "$BACKUP_DIR"
+
+# Step 1: Create backup
+echo -e "${YELLOW}Step 1: Creating database backup...${NC}"
+docker exec $CONTAINER mariadb-dump \
+    -u $DB_USER \
+    -p$DB_PASS \
+    --default-character-set=utf8mb4 \
+    --single-transaction \
+    $DB_NAME | gzip > "$BACKUP_DIR/backup_before_corruption_fix_$TIMESTAMP.sql.gz"
+
+BACKUP_SIZE=$(du -h "$BACKUP_DIR/backup_before_corruption_fix_$TIMESTAMP.sql.gz" | cut -f1)
+echo -e "${GREEN}✓ Backup created: backup_before_corruption_fix_$TIMESTAMP.sql.gz (${BACKUP_SIZE})${NC}"
+echo ""
+
+# Step 2: Show current corruption status
+echo -e "${YELLOW}Step 2: Current corruption status${NC}"
+echo "-----------------------------------"
+docker exec $CONTAINER mariadb -u $DB_USER -p$DB_PASS --default-character-set=utf8mb4 $DB_NAME -e "
+SELECT
+    'principles' as table_name,
+    COUNT(*) as corrupted_records
+FROM principles
+WHERE name REGEXP '[^ -~]'
+   OR address REGEXP '[^ -~]'
+   OR city REGEXP '[^ -~]'
+UNION ALL
+SELECT 'customers', COUNT(*)
+FROM customers
+WHERE name REGEXP '[^ -~]'
+UNION ALL
+SELECT 'addresses', COUNT(*)
+FROM addresses
+WHERE address REGEXP '[^ -~]'
+   OR city REGEXP '[^ -~]';
+"
+echo ""
+
+# Step 3: Show sample corrupted data
+echo -e "${YELLOW}Step 3: Sample corrupted data (BEFORE fix)${NC}"
+echo "-------------------------------------------"
+docker exec $CONTAINER mariadb -u $DB_USER -p$DB_PASS --default-character-set=utf8mb4 $DB_NAME -e "
+SELECT 'CUSTOMERS' as table_name, id, name FROM customers WHERE id IN (253, 1006, 1387, 1608)
+UNION ALL
+SELECT 'PRINCIPLES', id, name FROM principles WHERE id IN (2, 9, 13, 14);
+"
+echo ""
+
+# Step 4: Prompt for confirmation
+echo -e "${RED}IMPORTANT:${NC}"
+echo "- Backup created at: $BACKUP_DIR/backup_before_corruption_fix_$TIMESTAMP.sql.gz"
+echo "- This will modify data in tables: principles, customers, addresses"
+echo "- Changes fix mojibake like: ’ → ', é → é, etc."
+echo ""
+read -p "Do you want to proceed with the fix? (yes/no): " CONFIRM
+
+if [ "$CONFIRM" != "yes" ]; then
+    echo -e "${RED}Fix cancelled by user${NC}"
+    exit 0
+fi
+
+# Step 5: Apply fixes
+echo ""
+echo -e "${YELLOW}Step 5: Applying corruption fixes...${NC}"
+docker exec -i $CONTAINER mariadb \
+    -u $DB_USER \
+    -p$DB_PASS \
+    --default-character-set=utf8mb4 \
+    $DB_NAME < scripts/fix_corrupted_data.sql
+
+echo -e "${GREEN}✓ Fix script executed${NC}"
+echo ""
+
+# Step 6: Show results
+echo -e "${YELLOW}Step 6: Results (AFTER fix)${NC}"
+echo "----------------------------"
+echo ""
+echo "Sample fixed data:"
+docker exec $CONTAINER mariadb -u $DB_USER -p$DB_PASS --default-character-set=utf8mb4 $DB_NAME -e "
+SELECT 'CUSTOMERS' as table_name, id, name FROM customers WHERE id IN (253, 1006, 1387, 1608)
+UNION ALL
+SELECT 'PRINCIPLES', id, name FROM principles WHERE id IN (2, 9, 13, 14);
+"
+echo ""
+
+echo "Remaining corruption counts:"
+docker exec $CONTAINER mariadb -u $DB_USER -p$DB_PASS --default-character-set=utf8mb4 $DB_NAME -e "
+SELECT
+    'principles' as table_name,
+    COUNT(*) as corrupted_records
+FROM principles
+WHERE name REGEXP '[^ -~]'
+   OR address REGEXP '[^ -~]'
+   OR city REGEXP '[^ -~]'
+UNION ALL
+SELECT 'customers', COUNT(*)
+FROM customers
+WHERE name REGEXP '[^ -~]'
+UNION ALL
+SELECT 'addresses', COUNT(*)
+FROM addresses
+WHERE address REGEXP '[^ -~]'
+   OR city REGEXP '[^ -~]';
+"
+echo ""
+
+# Step 7: Test new insert
+echo -e "${YELLOW}Step 7: Testing new inserts with special characters...${NC}"
+docker exec $CONTAINER mariadb -u $DB_USER -p$DB_PASS --default-character-set=utf8mb4 $DB_NAME -e "
+START TRANSACTION;
+INSERT INTO principles (name, code, address, city, state, postcode, country_id, currency_id, short_name, url)
+VALUES ('Test Müller & Söhne GmbH', 999999, 'Straße 123', 'München', 'Bayern', '80331', 1, 1, 'TEST', 'http://test.com');
+SELECT name, address, city FROM principles WHERE code = 999999;
+ROLLBACK;
+"
+echo -e "${GREEN}✓ New inserts working correctly${NC}"
+echo ""
+
+# Final summary
+echo -e "${BLUE}============================================================${NC}"
+echo -e "${GREEN}FIX COMPLETED SUCCESSFULLY!${NC}"
+echo -e "${BLUE}============================================================${NC}"
+echo ""
+echo "Summary:"
+echo "- Backup location: $BACKUP_DIR/backup_before_corruption_fix_$TIMESTAMP.sql.gz"
+echo "- Fixed common patterns: smart quotes, accented characters, dashes"
+echo "- Fixed specific records: ~30+ known corrupted records"
+echo ""
+echo "Next steps:"
+echo "1. Review the fixed data in the application"
+echo "2. Run: bash scripts/report_remaining_corruption.sh to see what's left"
+echo "3. Manually fix any remaining corrupted records"
+echo ""
+echo "To rollback if needed:"
+echo "  gunzip < $BACKUP_DIR/backup_before_corruption_fix_$TIMESTAMP.sql.gz | \\"
+echo "  docker exec -i $CONTAINER mariadb -u $DB_USER -p$DB_PASS $DB_NAME"
+echo ""
diff --git a/scripts/verify_charset_fix.sh b/scripts/verify_charset_fix.sh
new file mode 100755
index 00000000..7355cf3f
--- /dev/null
+++ b/scripts/verify_charset_fix.sh
@@ -0,0 +1,163 @@
+#!/bin/bash
+# Script to verify character encoding fix in MariaDB
+
+DB_USER="root"
+DB_PASS="secureRootPassword"
+DB_NAME="cmc"
+CONTAINER="cmc-db"
+
+echo "=========================================="
+echo "Character Encoding Verification Script"
+echo "=========================================="
+echo ""
+
+# Function to run MariaDB command
+run_sql() {
+    docker exec $CONTAINER mariadb -u $DB_USER -p$DB_PASS $DB_NAME -e "$1"
+}
+
+# Function to run MariaDB command with UTF-8 client
+run_sql_utf8() {
+    docker exec $CONTAINER mariadb -u $DB_USER -p$DB_PASS --default-character-set=utf8mb4 $DB_NAME -e "$1"
+}
+
+echo "1. Check database default charset"
+echo "-----------------------------------"
+docker exec $CONTAINER mariadb -u $DB_USER -p$DB_PASS -e "
+SELECT @@character_set_database, @@collation_database;
+"
+echo ""
+
+echo "2. Count tables by charset (BEFORE should show ~59 latin1)"
+echo "------------------------------------------------------------"
+run_sql "
+SELECT
+    CASE
+        WHEN TABLE_COLLATION LIKE 'latin1%' THEN 'latin1'
+        WHEN TABLE_COLLATION LIKE 'utf8mb4%' THEN 'utf8mb4'
+        WHEN TABLE_COLLATION LIKE 'utf8mb3%' THEN 'utf8mb3'
+        ELSE TABLE_COLLATION
+    END as charset,
+    COUNT(*) as table_count
+FROM information_schema.TABLES
+WHERE TABLE_SCHEMA='$DB_NAME'
+GROUP BY charset
+ORDER BY table_count DESC;
+"
+echo ""
+
+echo "3. Check specific table charsets (sample)"
+echo "------------------------------------------"
+run_sql "
+SELECT TABLE_NAME, TABLE_COLLATION
+FROM information_schema.TABLES
+WHERE TABLE_SCHEMA='$DB_NAME'
+AND TABLE_NAME IN ('principles', 'customers', 'addresses', 'contacts', 'products')
+ORDER BY TABLE_NAME;
+"
+echo ""
+
+echo "4. Show column charsets for principles table"
+echo "---------------------------------------------"
+run_sql "
+SELECT COLUMN_NAME, CHARACTER_SET_NAME, COLLATION_NAME
+FROM information_schema.COLUMNS
+WHERE TABLE_SCHEMA='$DB_NAME'
+AND TABLE_NAME='principles'
+AND DATA_TYPE IN ('varchar', 'text', 'char')
+ORDER BY ORDINAL_POSITION;
+"
+echo ""
+
+echo "5. Test INSERT of special characters (will be rolled back)"
+echo "-----------------------------------------------------------"
+echo "Attempting to insert test record with special characters..."
+run_sql_utf8 "
+START TRANSACTION;
+
+INSERT INTO principles (name, code, address, city, state, postcode, country_id, currency_id, short_name, url)
+VALUES (
+    'Test Müller & Söhne GmbH',  -- German umlauts
+    999999,
+    'Straße 123, 2. Stock',      -- German ß and ² symbol
+    'München',                    -- German ü
+    'Bayern',
+    '80331',
+    1,
+    1,
+    'TEST',
+    'http://test.com'
+);
+
+-- Read it back immediately
+SELECT id, name, address, city
+FROM principles
+WHERE code = 999999;
+
+ROLLBACK;
+" 2>&1 | grep -A 10 "id\|Test Müller\|ERROR"
+echo "✓ Test insert rolled back"
+echo ""
+
+echo "6. Verify current corrupted data in principles"
+echo "-----------------------------------------------"
+echo "These should show corruption if NOT yet fixed:"
+run_sql_utf8 "
+SELECT id, name, city
+FROM principles
+WHERE id IN (9, 18);
+"
+echo ""
+
+echo "7. Verify corrupted data in customers"
+echo "--------------------------------------"
+run_sql_utf8 "
+SELECT id, name
+FROM customers
+WHERE id IN (253, 1006, 1387, 1608);
+"
+echo ""
+
+echo "8. Count potentially corrupted records across tables"
+echo "-----------------------------------------------------"
+run_sql "
+SELECT
+    'principles' as table_name,
+    COUNT(*) as rows_with_non_ascii
+FROM principles
+WHERE name REGEXP '[^ -~]'
+   OR address REGEXP '[^ -~]'
+   OR city REGEXP '[^ -~]'
+UNION ALL
+SELECT
+    'customers',
+    COUNT(*)
+FROM customers
+WHERE name REGEXP '[^ -~]'
+UNION ALL
+SELECT
+    'addresses',
+    COUNT(*)
+FROM addresses
+WHERE address REGEXP '[^ -~]'
+   OR city REGEXP '[^ -~]'
+UNION ALL
+SELECT
+    'contacts',
+    COUNT(*)
+FROM contacts
+WHERE firstname REGEXP '[^ -~]'
+   OR lastname REGEXP '[^ -~]';
+"
+echo ""
+
+echo "=========================================="
+echo "Verification complete!"
+echo "=========================================="
+echo ""
+echo "INTERPRETATION:"
+echo "- If table_count for 'latin1' is ~59: NOT YET FIXED"
+echo "- If table_count for 'utf8mb4' is ~62: FIXED!"
+echo "- Test insert should show proper characters if fixed"
+echo "- Corrupted data will still show mojibake until manually repaired"
+echo ""
diff --git a/scripts/verify_charset_manual.sql b/scripts/verify_charset_manual.sql
new file mode 100644
index 00000000..5a27ea35
--- /dev/null
+++ b/scripts/verify_charset_manual.sql
@@ -0,0 +1,207 @@
+-- ============================================================================
+-- Manual MariaDB Character Encoding Verification Commands
+-- ============================================================================
+-- Run these commands directly in MariaDB to verify the charset fix
+--
+-- Connect to database:
+-- docker exec -it cmc-db mariadb -u root -psecureRootPassword --default-character-set=utf8mb4 cmc
+-- ============================================================================
+
+-- 1. CHECK DATABASE-LEVEL SETTINGS
+-- Should show: utf8mb4
+SELECT @@character_set_database as db_charset,
+       @@collation_database as db_collation;
+
+-- 2. COUNT TABLES BY CHARACTER SET
+-- BEFORE FIX: ~59 latin1 tables
+-- AFTER FIX: ~62 utf8mb4 tables
+SELECT
+    CASE
+        WHEN TABLE_COLLATION LIKE 'latin1%' THEN 'latin1'
+        WHEN TABLE_COLLATION LIKE 'utf8mb4%' THEN 'utf8mb4'
+        WHEN TABLE_COLLATION LIKE 'utf8mb3%' THEN 'utf8mb3'
+        ELSE TABLE_COLLATION
+    END as charset,
+    COUNT(*) as table_count
+FROM information_schema.TABLES
+WHERE TABLE_SCHEMA='cmc'
+GROUP BY charset
+ORDER BY table_count DESC;
+
+-- 3. CHECK SPECIFIC TABLES (Key business tables)
+SELECT TABLE_NAME, TABLE_COLLATION, ENGINE
+FROM information_schema.TABLES
+WHERE TABLE_SCHEMA='cmc'
+AND TABLE_NAME IN (
+    'principles', 'customers', 'addresses', 'contacts',
+    'products', 'quotes', 'purchase_orders', 'invoices'
+)
+ORDER BY TABLE_NAME;
+
+-- 4. CHECK ALL COLUMN CHARSETS FOR 'principles' TABLE
+-- All text columns should show utf8mb4 after fix
+SELECT
+    COLUMN_NAME,
+    DATA_TYPE,
+    CHARACTER_SET_NAME,
+    COLLATION_NAME
+FROM information_schema.COLUMNS
+WHERE TABLE_SCHEMA='cmc'
+AND TABLE_NAME='principles'
+AND DATA_TYPE IN ('varchar', 'text', 'char')
+ORDER BY ORDINAL_POSITION;
+
+-- 5. TEST INSERT WITH SPECIAL CHARACTERS
+-- This will be rolled back - just testing if charset accepts them
+START TRANSACTION;
+
+-- Insert test record with various special characters
+INSERT INTO principles (
+    name, code, address, city, state, postcode,
+    country_id, currency_id, short_name, url
+)
+VALUES (
+    'Test Müller & Söhne GmbH',     -- German umlauts (ü, ö)
+    999999,
+    'Straße 123, 2. Stock',         -- German ß
+    'München',                       -- German ü
+    'Bayern',
+    '80331',
+    1, 1, 'TEST', 'http://test.com'
+);
+
+-- Read it back - should show properly if charset is correct
+SELECT id, name, address, city
+FROM principles
+WHERE code = 999999;
+
+-- Expected output if FIXED:
+-- name: Test Müller & Söhne GmbH (proper umlauts)
+-- address: Straße 123, 2. Stock
+-- city: München
+
+-- Expected output if NOT FIXED:
+-- Characters will be corrupted or insert will fail
+
+ROLLBACK;  -- Don't actually save the test record
+
+-- 6. VIEW KNOWN CORRUPTED RECORDS
+-- These show what the corruption looks like before manual repair
+
+-- Principle ID 9 - Czech characters corrupted
+SELECT id, name, address, city
+FROM principles
+WHERE id = 9;
+-- BEFORE FIX: BezruÄova 2901, Rožnov pod RadhoÅ¡tÄ›m
+-- AFTER FIX (still needs manual repair): Same corruption
+-- AFTER MANUAL REPAIR: Bezručova 2901, Rožnov pod Radhoštěm
+
+-- Principle ID 18 - German umlaut in city
+SELECT id, short_name, city, country_id
+FROM principles
+WHERE id = 18;
+
+-- Customer corrupted names
+SELECT id, name
+FROM customers
+WHERE id IN (253, 1006, 1387, 1608, 2174);
+-- Look for: ’ (should be '), É (should be É), “ (should be ")
+
+-- Address corrupted data
+SELECT id, address, city
+FROM addresses
+WHERE id IN (19, 25);
+-- Look for: â€" (should be –)
+
+-- 7. COUNT RECORDS WITH NON-ASCII CHARACTERS
+-- Shows how many records might need manual repair after charset fix
+SELECT
+    'principles' as table_name,
+    COUNT(*) as records_with_non_ascii
+FROM principles
+WHERE name REGEXP '[^ -~]'
+   OR address REGEXP '[^ -~]'
+   OR city REGEXP '[^ -~]'
+
+UNION ALL
+
+SELECT 'customers', COUNT(*)
+FROM customers
+WHERE name REGEXP '[^ -~]'
+
+UNION ALL
+
+SELECT 'addresses', COUNT(*)
+FROM addresses
+WHERE address REGEXP '[^ -~]'
+   OR city REGEXP '[^ -~]'
+
+UNION ALL
+
+SELECT 'contacts', COUNT(*)
+FROM contacts
+WHERE firstname REGEXP '[^ -~]'
+   OR lastname REGEXP '[^ -~]';
+
+-- 8. VERIFY CONNECTION CHARACTER SET
+-- Your client should also be using utf8mb4
+SHOW VARIABLES LIKE 'character_set_%';
+SHOW VARIABLES LIKE 'collation_%';
+
+-- Should see:
+-- character_set_client: utf8mb4
+-- character_set_connection: utf8mb4
+-- character_set_results: utf8mb4
+-- character_set_database: utf8mb4
+
+-- ============================================================================
+-- AFTER CONVERSION - TEST NEW INSERTS
+-- ============================================================================
+-- After running convert_charset_to_utf8mb4.sql, try these tests:
+
+-- Test 1: Insert with German characters
+START TRANSACTION;
+INSERT INTO principles (name, code, address, city, state, postcode, country_id, currency_id, short_name, url)
+VALUES ('Müller GmbH', 999991, 'Hauptstraße 1', 'München', 'BY', '80331', 1, 1, 'MUL', 'https://test.de');
+SELECT * FROM principles WHERE code = 999991;
+-- Should show: Müller, Hauptstraße, München (correctly)
+ROLLBACK;
+
+-- Test 2: Insert with French characters
+START TRANSACTION;
+INSERT INTO principles (name, code, address, city, state, postcode, country_id, currency_id, short_name, url)
+VALUES ('Société François', 999992, 'Rue de la Paix', 'Orléans', 'FR', '45000', 1, 1, 'SOC', 'https://test.fr');
+SELECT * FROM principles WHERE code = 999992;
+-- Should show: Société, François, Orléans (correctly)
+ROLLBACK;
+
+-- Test 3: Insert with special punctuation
+START TRANSACTION;
+INSERT INTO customers (name, trading_name, abn, created, notes, discount_pricing_policies, payment_terms, customer_category_id, url, country_id)
+VALUES ('O'Connor & Sons — "Quality" Products', 'O'Connor Trading', '', NOW(), '', '', '', 1, '', 1);
+SELECT name FROM customers WHERE name LIKE '%O''Connor%' ORDER BY id DESC LIMIT 1;
+-- Should show: O'Connor & Sons — "Quality" Products (with proper apostrophes, em-dash, and quotes)
+ROLLBACK;
+
+-- ============================================================================
+-- SUMMARY OF WHAT TO LOOK FOR
+-- ============================================================================
+
+/*
+BEFORE FIX:
+- Table charset: latin1_swedish_ci
+- Column charset: latin1
+- Test insert: May fail or corrupt characters
+- Existing data: Shows mojibake (É, ’, etc.)
+
+AFTER FIX (charset conversion only):
+- Table charset: utf8mb4_general_ci
+- Column charset: utf8mb4
+- Test insert: Succeeds with proper characters
+- Existing data: STILL shows mojibake (needs manual repair)
+
+AFTER MANUAL REPAIR:
+- Everything displays correctly
+- New inserts work properly
+- Old data has been corrected
+*/