Anyone used Rapid Data Recovery (rapid-data.net)

[SteveH]

I have now had an (unsatisfactory) response direct from Trading Standards:

Dear Mr Hedger


Re: FIELDS DATA RECOVERY

Ref: 054348

Thank you for your recent email regarding the above. I have met with Fields Data Recovery in January and will be in contact with them again in due course. If this department believes there is justification in proceeding with a criminal investigation, then we may contact you for further information.

My understanding of this complaint is that you have supplied Fields Data Recovery with a computer in order to have certain data recovered from the device and that they have failed to return the goods to you. You may be within your rights to sue the trader if they have failed to provide a service with reasonable care and skill, as stipulated by the Supply of Goods and Services Act 1982. You may have to pay under protest for the return of the goods, and then sue the trader for that amount.

Your email also indicates that you have sent the computer to Fields Data Recovery in the course of business, and therefore this may not be deemed a consumer transaction. If the computer was used for your business (IFTS Ltd) then your rights may differ from those of a consumer.

You can also discuss this matter with your local trading standards service if you are a business caller.

Regards



Ellis Roberts

Senior Fair Trading Officer / Uwch Swyddog Masnachu Teg

Trading Standards Service / Gwasanaeth Safonau Masnach

Public Protection Department / Adran Gwarchod y Cyhoedd

Bridgend County Borough Council / Cyngor Bwrdeistref Sirol Pen-y-Bont ar Ogwr

Civic Offices / Swyddfeydd Dinesig

Angel Street / Stryd yr Angel

Bridgend / Pen-y-Bont ar Ogwr

CF31 4WB

Tel / Ffôn: (01656) 643275

Fax / Ffacs: (01656) 643285

E-mail / ebost: ellis.roberts <at> bridgend <dot>gov<dot>uk

The contact details may be of use to others. I have taken legal advice following this and if I can show that Trading Standards have received previous complaints and failed to act with due diligence to halt Fields unlawful practices I can make a claim against them.

The bit about Supply of Goods and Service Act is irrelevant rubbish. I have logged complaints with the police of theft (under the theft act) and criminal damage.

If anyone has made a complaint to Trading Standards prior to December 2009, can they let me know some details please?

Cheers

Steve

[Hambone]

Hello all,

I have sent off a damaged hard drive to Rapid Data Recovery (before reading this thread unfortunately).

So far my experience hasn't been all that bad, however the intial estimate as between £97 and £250 and now they are saying the cost will be £425 (+VAT) as the recovery was especially difficult.

My account manager said they have recovered the files I have priorities and are now going through some advanced recovery process to find the rest of the files. I have said I will only pay once the recovery process is complete and I have a full list of recovered files.

Do you guys think I should go ahead and pay or should I just say I want my drive back?

Either way I am planning to pay using a credit card so if I dont get the data I will be covered, however I really need the data and if these guys cant do it then I need my damaged drive back so I can send it to someone who can.

Thoughts?????

DON'T PAY THEM ANYTHING! I got ripped off by Rapid-Data last October, I have tried calling,emailing and writing letters - all with with no response. I have never had my HDD returned or received any invoice or receipt for money paid which was by a Lloyds TSB American Express card. I contacted Lloyds TSB to request that the payment be withdrawn and a dispute be opened. Because I pay my card off in full and owed Lloyds nothing they have not made this a priority and have not put the payment on hold from Rapid Data. I'll keep you posted on how that goes with my refund via the credit card company but my advice is get your HDD back and send it to reputable company. Rapid Data is clearly an internet scam and under no circumstances should anyone do business with these ''.
Do yourself a favour and steer well clear of them and if you've not paid yet, cut your loses before you join the ranks of us who didn't do our research before hand.

[angrysmurf]

A discussion forum for reporting scams by Fields and Rapid Data Recovery has now been opened at:

http://www.data-recovery-blog.co.uk - blog, lots of useful information
http://www.data-recovery-blog.com - forum

Sorry for posting this again but I had problems using blogware and have since setup a forum instead.

[angrysmurf]

DON'T USE THESE GUYS. HAD THE SAME SCAM WHERE THEY OFFERED GBP 97 to recover and then suggested it was too complicated and would cost GBP399. I sent them a backup drive origianlly too. I declined their offer and then had to chase them to get my hard drives back, but they only sent the broken one!!!! I am pursuing legal action against them now.

Sorry to hear about yet another scam perpetrated by Fields, please help my efforts to deal with this company by posting your experience on my discussion forum dedicated to Fields.

http://www.data-recovery-blog.com/viewtopic.php?f=2&t=1

I also have a blog

www.data-recovery-blog.co.uk

If you contact me I cant let you know more about what I'm trying to do to deal with this problem.

This is not an advert but a serious attempt to deal with fraud

[ritchiem]

Hi, If you are looking for data recovery then I would recommend Data Clinic I sent my failed drive to OnTrack as it was the top listing on Western Digital's site.

They failed to recover the data. The guys at Data Clinic(http://www.dataclinic.co.uk/) though had the tools to do the job. As far as I know they are the only company in the UK offering commercial Spin Stand recovery services.

It may have been pricey and taken 4 months to get back a large amount of the data but it was well worth it.

[SpinStand]

"Data Clinic though had the tools to do the job. As far as I know they are the only company in the UK offering commercial Spin Stand recovery services".

I doubt very much that Data Clinic actually use Spinstand for data recovery, it would take years to transfer any useful data even from an older smaller drive.

Data Clinic sell Data Compass by SalvationData so are more likely to use that than SpinStand.

Have you seen Xytrons video they claim to use SpinStand too :-)

If someone can point me to an item which actually descibes SpinStand being used for any commercial data recovery please post it here.

[peterb]

<---snip

If someone can point me to an item which actually descibes SpinStand being used for any commercial data recovery please post it here.

Hi SpinStand - interesting post, but HEXUS is not here for your commercial purposes! If you wish to use members' expertise for commercial purposes, please email

david.ross@HEXUS.net.

I have closed this thread pending the outcome of any such discussion.