We still do our free assessments here...too many labs in Canada doing it for us not to follow suit. That being said, we have since started to require that clients pre-approve at least our minimum level of service prior to our doing the free assessment.

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Luke
Recovery Force Data Recovery

I think confusion here is between the words Diagnosis (or assessment) and Work. I firmly believe that the initial diagnosis and quotation should always be free of charge. I know we will always get a certain amount of time wasters in this area, but correct qualification of the case BEFORE it's sent in to you should sort out the serious from the not so...

My point here is the No Recovery - No Fee (or working for free) cut off.... where do you draw the line? You have to look at your case and make a judgment call BEFORE you spend time and money on a fruitless 'Fishing Trip'... If the drive hasn't been played with or DIY'd to death (correct diagnosis will determine this), you have your best shot at a positive outcome.....

Judgment call made.... Inform the client, let them make the decision.

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East Anglian Data Recovery Services
http://www.eadr.co.uk

"If it's your only copy - then it's not a backup!"

As soon as I realized (CRM helps...) that the time wasted exceeded a certain % (and it was a 1 digit figure, low...) as also the loss of revenue because of a.... ehm, time wasters , the policy changed OVERNIGHT.

When I draw the line :

- When I hear the word "internet" or "forum" (immediate trigger!)
- When I see traces of attempted soldering on PCB
- When I see already touched screws
- When I see evidently tampered drive
- When my "lie detector" triggers (threshold depends on day)
- When the source is black listed

Where I draw the line : on the words "FREE" and "EVALUATION"

That's in general. I decide case by case when it's time to take a look at it - it's different when I receive a drive/media/device that have already been evaluated by a colleague I know and I trust (happened countless times). Everything else doesn't concern me , life is too short to be lived in a complicated way because of such people. Plain and simple.

Been there, seen that, got the T shirt!!!

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PC Image Data Recovery
http://www.pcimage.co.uk

New!! HDD-PCB.COM for all your PCB and donor HDD requirements!

It's almost like you need techs to take a hippocratic oath of sorts... "First, do no harm". First thing almost all drives that come in here get is a cloning to the server, "just in case", takes a couple of extra hours, but the insurance is nice. Obviously that's a bit harder when the drives are physically dead / damaged.

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