Complexity sets the price, not capacity: recovering two terabytes from a working hard drive costs less money than recovering twenty gigabytes from a failing drive with a dead motor. Here are our real pricing figures. How they work and what drives them. In addition, here are examples of what we mean by “in most cases you only pay if we recover your data.”
The exact amount you will be quoted is provided in writing when the complimentary diagnostic is complete; prior to completion there are no amounts. All prices listed here do not include VAT.
One of the biggest misconceptions about recovery costs (and the thing that usually makes estimates look arbitrary).
All pricing excludes VAT and all quotes are confirmed in writing once we have completed the complimentary diagnostic test.
SD, microSD cards, CompactFlash, USB/flash memory sticks with broken or snapped connectors, monolithic flash drives etc.
Internal & external hard drives, SATA/NVMe solid state drive (SSD), any Mac computer with a removable storage device.
Two separate devices recovered and combined back together into the one “logical” volume they were originally intended to be.
All the members are imaged, and the array is built back together from the images, no matter the level or controller.
An encrypted volume can be restored if you have a valid encryption key, and data can be captured from proprietary format video recorders.
Restoration of VMDK and VHDX files, as well as write-blocked forensic imaging along with documentation of every step taken during the process in order to create a proper chain of custody.
Multiple shelf arrays where all data is grouped together into pools and LUNs, which must be rebuilt before any data will appear on the file systems.
It is worthwhile to read this information and/or any other information used to quote you.
In most cases you only pay if we recover your data. If the retrieval is unsuccessful then no charge will be made. When a job requires physical drive-level work (including, but not limited to, physically opening the drive; sourcing / installing new donor components; or performing controller level SSD work), we request a 50% deposit before commencing. The remaining 50% can only be invoiced once the recovery has been successful; the deposit relates to parts and/or bench time used in either case.
The three services listed (forensic investigation, CCTV and DVR work and data destruction) will be charged regardless of the results obtained, as the effort is the same whatever is found. With forensic investigations, an investigator can establish that no evidence exists (a valid and useful finding). We clearly state it at the start instead of hiding it in the fine print.
Not targeting anyone specifically: just the questions to determine whether your quotation or estimate was a “real” quotation/estimate or a “hook”.
Will you give me a fixed price in writing before starting? “It depends upon what we discover” is reasonable prior to conducting a diagnostic but not after. The most common complaint in our industry is when clients receive a headline price that increases after the hard drive arrives.
Do you charge for the diagnostic? Our diagnostics are completely free and take no longer than 48 hours. And what happens if it fails? Clarify if there will be a deposit required and if so, how much and under what conditions will the deposit be refunded. We would add a fourth: be cautious of quotes that include promises to “decrypt” modern ransomware or “recover” a soldered Mac from a dead logic board; neither can be done by anybody and the fact they are quoted as such says everything about the remaining portion of their quote.
The most common questions asked when it comes to pricing of our services.
Cards and USB sticks (from £250 + VAT), single drives (SSDs & laptops) (£300), drive with removable storage (laptop/Mac etc.) (£300), Fusion Drives (£550 flat fee), RAID, NAS & servers (from £500), BitLocker (£800 flat fee), CCTV (£300 flat fee), enterprise SAN (from £1,250).
Not much, we charge by the amount of work required to get at your data. Recovering 2TB from an operational drive will cost considerably less than recovering 20GB from a drive whose motor has failed. Whether the drive needs to be physically opened is the largest single factor in determining how much this service costs.
Yes, we offer a free diagnostic service. This can take up to 48 hours and there is no obligation to proceed. We provide a fixed written quote based on the information that we obtain during the diagnostic service. If upon completion of the diagnostic service we determine that nothing is recoverable, or that you would have been able to recover your data using software, then we will tell you and there will be nothing to pay.
If the recovery fails you pay nothing. Where physical drive level work is necessary we charge a 50% deposit (covering parts and bench time), and the remainder will only be billed when the recovery is successful. Forensic/CCTV/data destruction work is always billed regardless of whether the recovery was successful or failed.
No. All quotes are made in writing once the diagnostic has been completed, and cannot increase. If an unforeseen issue arises, we would contact you before continuing with the recovery and billing you.
Cease use of the device upon onset of failure; do not attempt to recover a failing unit by running recovery software on that failing unit; include all external enclosures as well as the drive itself when shipping. Each of these options keeps a job within the lower cost category instead of increasing the price to the higher cost category.
Start with a free, no obligation written diagnostic. We will identify exactly what can be recovered and how much it will cost, and then it’s up to you. When you receive a quote from us, just bring the device to Oxford or post it in completely insured.