Google ‘Data Recovery Scams’ and you will find lots of articles about how many data recovery companies will charge you upfront, even when there’s absolutely no chance of recovering your files. It seems that some of the less reputable companies are out to discredit the competition, whilst promoting their own services. Given this minefield of alleged ‘dirty tricks’ and ‘scams’, how can you be sure that the data recovery company you choose is reputable?

The simple truth is that all established data recovery companies are reputable. Businesses don’t last when they are built on ‘shaky’ foundations. If your clients are happy and you can recover data, they will keep coming back and your business will grow. If your clients are not happy and your business is based on a ‘scam’, you will rapidly fail.

Data recovery is often complicated business. It’s not ‘black and white’. Where one company can fail, another can succeed. As a service user, you are relying on the skills and expert knowledge of the engineers, as well as the technical equipment. Sometimes the data recovery can be relatively straight-forward and most companies now offer a ‘no fix no fee’ for this type of service.

However, there are often times when the recovery can present a technical challenge. It’s normally these that attract shouts of ‘scam’ when the data cannot be recovered. All data recovery companies that we’re aware of will ask for an upfront charge for donor parts, when presented with a technical challenge. Even those that claim they don’t charge upfront have unhappy users that have paid an upfront charge and received no data...just check their reviews.

So you’ve paid upfront and received no data? That’s not to say that the data recovery company didn’t try everything within their ability. As I said before, established data recovery companies are not about ‘scamming’ their clients and making a quick sale. Better to retain the ‘goodwill’ and positive reviews, rather than make a few quid and jeopardise your business.

Let’s think about how we can choose a data recovery company with the best ability. We can check their claimed success rates, reviews or clients but this is subjective and may not offer you the best indication. Better still to check their technical capability. What equipment do they have? How extensive is their lab? Are they ISO accredited? Take a look at their promo video to see what their lab looks like. Discuss your concerns in more depth with your data recovery consultant. Ask them what experience they have given your particular symptoms and how they propose to recover your critical files. It will become apparent very quickly whether they are reputable or not.

Moreover, if you do pay an upfront charge for a technical challenge, what happens if the data is unrecoverable? If you get a differing second opinion, will you be refunded? Regardless, be assured that all established data recovery companies will do their best to recover your data. It’s just about finding the right one with the best capabilities.

Take a look around our lab and see how we recover data.