R3 Data Recovery Ltd has a number of websites and has bought out several smaller companies as part of its expansion over the last few years.
When looking at the price of data recovery you need to be aware of the difference between software recovery for formatted and deleted files and more complex work by real data recovery engineers.
Most tech savvy users can do a software recovery, indeed we will often say why do you need us when its just a deleted file or formatted drive. Free software or well made programs for £50 can recover data from working drives, but it should be used on failed, failing or degraded drives!
Bad blocks, firmware faults, failed controllers, translators, motors and heads requiring experienced data recovery engineers and equipment and whilst it can be done cheaply by R3 Data Recovery it still is more than a £79+vat software recovery such as those offered by most computer suppliers and IT shops..
There are also risks to be aware of that not all data recovery services are able to manage truly failing drives and can make matters worse using software, so beware of the bait and switch cheap prices.
In one case R3 quoted £99+vat upfront for a logical and £199+vat if the data was of any use, this was after carefully listening to the situation and offering the correct solution. Unfortunately the client a solicitor had also has a quote for £97 from a competitor and believed it was true. In reality the solicitor was landed with a bill of £1255 and the exact same results we had quoted at for at the outset.
I can detail hundreds of cases like this but the reason for this article is to try and explain why data recovery comes at a cost.
The fact is data recovery at the engineering level takes considerable investment in engineers and resources to be reliable and cost effective.
R3 Data Recovery has not only invested heavily from its profits but is a real data recovery company with one of the best labs ever setup in the UK but it does not have the profits of the pseudo law firms and marketing gurus who have websites emblazoned with well known companies logos to give a false impression of trusted status.
Andy has built one of the very best labs in the UK and he did it because he needed it for his clients. Some are government agencies, financial institutions and National / International companies. But the same level of resource they are paying for is delivered to everyone who needs it.
You too can now benefit from the highest level of success rates at an affordable cost. Even for drives declared unrecoverable by ISO 9001 accredited larger companies.
Regardless of the hundreds of websites you find online there are only a handful of labs in the UK and R3 is one of the very best.. You can even visit their Security House lab and get a free assessment whilst you wait.
Approximately 75% of data loss situations are the result of a mechanical failure with the hard drive, dropped, knocked or as a result of repeated power outages. These cases typically have media damage and bad heads as a result. The only possible way to recover the data is by replacing the heads and this requires sourcing an exact matching “donor” hard drive for parts. We sometimes consume 2, 3, or even 4 parts drives in the pursuit of data but most are completed with just 1 donor and rebuild..
In the very worst case in 2015 we used 18 donors to get just 9GB of data but that database was critical data to the client and the RAID 0 member that failed had a scratch where some sectors used by database were located.
Now if a single parts donor costs £100 and you need 2 of them, it isn’t hard to see that the costs quickly add up. R3 hold a catalogued stock of over 6000 donors on hand for rebuild and recovery attempts, this enables R3 to speed up average turnaround times and reduce lost time and therefor keep costs down.
Interestingly enough, a lucrative business of selling matching donor hard drives to data recovery companies has resulted. R3 have access to another 20,000 donors in the UK and 70,000 in North America some companies claim to stock these drives themselves but in reality all data recovery providers have access to these suppliers.
So, be aware there are many so called data recovery companies that are actually marketing companies with little technical skill. There are many of these type companies operating in the UK.
Essentially they advertise “too try to do a recovery for £99” in order to attract as many cases as possible and then recover the easiest cases, often escalating the price for the easiest work, and then declare the rest unrecoverable with a fake forensic report (a real crime and disservice to the data recovery industry). Andy has helped hundreds of individuals and businesses affected by these scam artists and come under attack for helping the victims.
Those who operate in that way make more profit from less effort and have even set themselves up as pseudo law firms to fight off complaints, in one case Andy was even awarded damages by a Judge when a vexatious competitor tried to cover up how it was scamming dozens of consumers every month. And at hundreds and even thousands of pounds you can see why the Fields Group settled out of court paying one victim £70,000 damages after spending an estimated £250,000 trying to cover up what they were doing).
Providing a fixed rate for data recovery takes investment in money and energy.
Every data loss situation is unique and requires a proper in lab assessment, different procedures and resources are called on and a specialist engineer will decide on the best method to be attempted. For example, recovering data from a damaged hard drive may require additional file system and MFT repairs to get the full folder structure back.
Other cases such as power fluctuations and outages could involve troubleshooting and repairing a bad PCB and only then would you know if a replacement head assembly is needed.
Scratches caused by head crashes may require multiple rebuild attempts in an effort to get a good image of a hard drive (a good clone from which the data is actually recovered).
A drive with visible rings resulting from a sever head crash and software recovery attempts will reduce the chances of a full recovery but R3 are tenacious when it comes to rescuing your data.
So if you value your data engage a service that is geared to the highest possible success rates in data recovery, it actually works out cheaper and less stressful.
Whilst we cannot give you a “one price fits all scenarios” type price, we can give accurate average pricing, just call 0800 999 3282 and within the call we should be able to give an accurate price for data recovery.
Software / logical recoveries start at £79+vat in reality we only take these on to help out, or when there are complications like operating system reinstalls or upgrades or data overwritten to a lost partition.
Typically, starting prices for single failed hard drive recovery are £329+vat for electronic faults, degraded media or firmware issues, or £549+vat for a mechanical failure (heads, motor, spindle) requiring a single donor and rebuild.
The above is the majority of the monthly hundreds of drives that come into the R3’s lab every month.
The most expensive recoveries are true escalations, requiring much more involvement and is for drives that most of the sub £200 recovery services would not be able to handle and worse they cause further damage in their botched attempts.
This is reserved for those situations where several rebuilds are needed and the hard drive has physical damage. These situations are the most difficult and may require extensive parts, time and other resources. Cost can be from £1000 to £3000+vat.
Other Devices? Cost for data recovery on USB flash devices starts at £129+vat for a failed device. Larger devices and SSD drives with failed controllers and NAND chip problems will be more expensive but are quoted upfront on a no recovery no fee basis.
In some cases we do charge upfront for donors or extended recoveries, it is a matter of fact we can’t survive giving the best work for nothing and we really are as good as we say. We are not perfect but we do strive to help everyone, even those scammed by ruthless marketing gurus.
R3 Data Recovery is a true data / disaster recovery lab, we do not have many complaints and do our best under pressure not to allow any reason for complaint, but we also have to compete with less ethically minded.
Multiple drive boxes and RAID recovery fees are quoted on a case by case basis.However, it is not unusual for complex 10+ member RAID recovery fees to be in excess of 5, 10 or even £20K in situations where a failed rebuild attempt has occurred and multiple drive faults, so always get advice first. Some simpler RAIDs, like RAID 0 and RAID 1 are often priced as standard single drive prices unless there have been software recovery attempts or other interference / complication.
Andy and the team at R3 are real people just like you, doing their best to be helpful whilst making a living from the challenge of recovering data from SSD and HDD and most other types of storage including USB and mobile phones and VM / VHDD.
We understand that your data, whether it’s your accounting database or a folder of your personal pictures, is very precious. We also understand that nobody wants to pay more than they have to and we’re committed to offering the best chance of recovering your data for the least cost.
Andy built R3 on basic business principles.
- We are honest and our quotes will not be exaggerated or padded in anyway.
- Because our company repairs and tests all donor hard drives we buy and stock we have instant access to more parts drives and at cheaper costs than ANY data recovery company in the UK and it speeds up processing times hence efficiency.
- R3 offer the fastest recoveries in the UK because we have worked long and hard to build one of the most efficient data recovery hospitals ever achieved in Europe, this allows us to keep our costs lower and your price lower.
- Guaranteed results ensure we try harder. We are tenacious on your behalf.
- R3’s team of data recovery engineers have industry leading experience with more hard drive solutions than anyone in UK
- If we don’t have the solution we will try to point you to someone who has already found a unique solution.
- If your data is very important, business critical or sentimental Andy and the team at R3 are here to help.
When you really need your data back with a rapid response and don’t know who in the fields of data recovery to trust choose wisely – choose R3 Data Recovery Ltd.
