The lab · fault found, price fixed
Start your Exeter case. First find out what broke, then one firm price.
Two quick questions tell you what has probably failed, what to do (and not do) right now, and roughly how long the lab work takes. After that, send over the details. Diagnosis is free when the device arrives, and the price we put in writing is the price you'll pay.
Talk it over with an engineer
0800 6890668
Run the free fault check first.
See how your case runs →What are we looking at?
Pick whatever comes closest.
Two questions, an honest answer, and the one thing worth doing before the device goes anywhere. It isn't the free diagnosis; that happens when an engineer actually has your device on the bench. Think of it as the phone advice we'd give you, available at two in the morning.
Now tell us about it.
What happens on our side next.
An answer within a working day
An engineer reads every enquiry personally. Expect an honest early opinion: the likely odds, what not to touch meanwhile, and the address to send the device to.
Assessment when it arrives Free
Your device gets its own case number, then a proper look on the bench: what failed, and whether the files are recoverable.
A single figure, your decision
The quote reaches you in writing. Accept it and work starts; decline and we simply send the device home. The assessment stays free, and no hard feelings either way.
Fill in the shipping form.
Rather have the PDF? →Fill it in on screen and your answers appear on the printed sheet. If a biro suits you better, download the PDF and write it out by hand. Either version does the job, so long as one rides in the box.
Packing it for the post.
Before you seal the box
- Include any passwords: BitLocker recovery keys, FileVault or Windows logins, noted on the shipping form. An encrypted drive shuts us out just like anyone else.
- Name your priority folders: point us at what matters most and we check those files first.
- External drives travel bare: keep the cables. With WD portables especially, drive and board belong together as a pair.
- No power bricks unless we request one, and if bits have snapped off, box them up with the drive rather than binning them.
Once more, because it matters: whatever the checker told you, don't power the device up for one final look. A good share of the preventable damage we see comes from exactly that last hopeful try.
Straight answers to the questions we hear most.
Is the online checker the same as the free diagnosis?
It isn't, and the distinction is worth understanding. The tool on this page gives you an immediate first steer based on what you've told us. Free diagnosis is something else: an engineer at the bench with your actual device, establishing the true fault. The first suggests a direction; the second is the foundation of your quote.
How much does data recovery cost?
Each device type has a starting band, and the checker above tells you yours. A single drive of whatever type starts at £300 + VAT; memory cards and USB sticks sit lower, at £250 + VAT; CCTV and other recorders start at £400 + VAT; and a job that involves two or more disks begins from £500 + VAT. The full table lives on our pricing page, and once the free assessment is done the band becomes one firm figure in writing.
What does 'no fix, no fee' apply to?
On most jobs you pay nothing if the files you asked for aren't recovered. The exceptions are quoted separately up front — mainly mechanically or electronically damaged drives, plus devices another company has opened or attempted first.
How soon will you reply?
Within a working day — often within half an hour. Messages sent out of hours wait a little longer. Once your device lands, a single-drive diagnosis typically completes inside 48 hours.
Give it two minutes; get one price.
Run the checker, fill the form, box up the device. Every decision after that is yours, and the assessment is free whichever way you go.