This is how we process everything that comes in to us, from a £250 memory card to a fifty-thousand-pound server, the same way every time. Each one of these steps is safe; the sequence is the safety, and safety is always first. And the same goes for all of our data recovery services. When you need emergency data recovery, you just move to the front of the queue.
Before you send your device to us by post or take it in to be processed here at Tay House, you should get a quote from us via phone or using our form. Regardless of how you decide to send it to us, we will log the receipt of the device into a documented chain-of-custody. We will photograph it, document its initial condition, label it so we know who sent it to us and store it safely. In no way will we connect the device to anything (it won’t receive power) until it is properly connected to the proper hardware for its type.
After being placed behind a write blocker, the device will be given one careful assessment. If the device is mechanical, we will listen to it once. If it is solid state, we will assess it at the controller level. If it is an array of devices, we will check each individual device. The end result will be a plain English diagnostic report regarding what failed and what you may realistically expect to recover. This diagnostic report will cost you nothing regardless of whether you choose to continue processing your device or not.
The fixed price arrives when we deliver the diagnosis: £250 for cards & sticks (or £300 for individual drives) and from £500 for arrays, quoted to the job. You can decide to "go" (i.e. allow the work to proceed), "wait", or to "send it back", and sending it back will cost only return postage. We do nothing until you have given your consent, nor can we extract your consent by withholding the device.
Your device receives the appropriate repair (new donor heads installed, a ROM transferred onto a donor board, firmware recreated, NAND read directly or an array repaired virtually using member image copies) and then the device is read gently, once, weakest areas last. Each subsequent repair will be performed against the copy of your original. Your original is now simply an evidence item and evidence is not put at risk.
We check your recovered data (to ensure files open, footage plays and databases mount) and then deliver your recovered data on new encrypted media alongside your original device. Once you confirm that data was successfully recovered, payment is made. In most instances you only pay if we recover your data. Your data may be collected from our premises at Bath St, or sent via insured tracked delivery to any address within the United Kingdom.
Yes, you will receive contact from us at those times when it matters, i.e. when we provide a diagnosis with the associated written quotation, should any material changes become apparent during imaging and finally upon completion when you see what we have recovered. Would you like further clarification? Call us anytime and speak to the engineer working on your job in plain English, as there are no ticket walls here.
You then get to know it before you pay for it. The fixed price will usually cover all unexpected costs (that's its point), and if there are changes to a "quoted to job" project they will be sent to you in writing prior to proceeding. The rule is that we never do any work that has not been properly priced for you.
The new media will be created using encryption as a data storage medium that is sized to the job, typically an external hard drive or a USB stick, and will be checked and returned with your original device. Collection can take place at our premises in Bath Street or we can ship it via an insured, tracked courier service, your choice. We'll also talk you through the sensible next step: copying your data somewhere else straight away.
Once you have a quote, drop off your device at Charing Cross or post it in and our data recovery will begin based upon your instructions and you can continue to control your project until completion. Our data recovery process: five steps, no surprises, one honest bench.