Frequently Asked Questions about Computer repair

We've tried to answer some of the most common questions we're asked about our computer repair services. Please find the answers below. If you can't see your question listed or find an answer, give us a call on 020 8059 8100. One of our Customer Account Managers will be happy to help.

How does your computer repair service work?

• You contact us and explain the symptoms fo your broken computer
• We'll visit you at home or at work to make a thorough diagnosis of the problem
• Before we start work we'll give you an estimate of how much the repair is likely to cost
• At this point you can make a decision to go ahead with the repair or not
• If you decide not to, all you'll pay is our first hour diagnostic charge of £80 + VAT
• If you do go ahead with the repair, we'll try and repair it there and then
• If this isn't possible, we'll take the equipment to our workshop and return it working within 28 days with a full service report
• In the unlikley event that we can't repair the equipment, all you'll pay is the first hourly cost

How do you price your computer repair services?

We charge £80 for the first hour of service. During this time the engineer is yours for that entire hour. If your computer problem is diagnosed and repaired before the hour is up, by all means ask your engineer to perform more services up until the hour is complete.

We charge in 1/4 of an hour slots after the first hour. This is so that you do not get charged a complete hour if you don't need that much time. This keeps the cost down.

It is always difficult to estimate how long it is going to take to diagnose a problem or eradicate a virus. If it looks as if the time to repair or fix the problem is going to take more than an hour, the engineer will give you an estimate of the time to complete the project. We will present you with the most cost effective option. Sometimes, this may be to transfer the data from your hard drive onto another hard drive. It is advisable that you are always on the premises when the engineer is there to enable you to make informed decisions. You will need to sign a completion document when the project is finished.

Why do you charge per gigabyte for data transfer?

Data is precious. If you lose it, it's gone forever. Hardware, such as hard drives, are relatively cheap. Transfering data from one device to another takes time. Generally, over a USB connection, it takes around 9 minutes to transfer 1 Gigabyte of data. On an hourly rate that gets very expensive. We therefore charge per Gigabyte of data transfer to make it more cost effective for you. (This charge only comes into effect after the first hour). Recovering and transfering data will often cost significantly more than the device it is stored on.

Once our engineer has started the data transfer process, he or she can show you what to do once the transfer is complete. If you purchase the leads or any other materials used, the engineer can leave your premises. As long as you are comfortable with this arrangement, you can save a significant amount of money. If however, you need to call the engineer back, we will charge an hourly rate - this will probably still be cheaper than keeping our engineer at the premises.

Ordering our services

Our contract with you, and your service order, is not legally binding until close of business (7.00pm) the day before our IT professional is due to visit your premises (or 7.00pm on the Friday before a Monday visit). You may cancel your scheduled visit at any time up to this point without incurring any charges. Cancellations made after this time may incur an administrative charge of £50.00. If we are unable to fulfill your service visit we shall not be liable for any costs associated with our inability to fulfill your service visit.

Charging for our services

We accept card payments by Visa, Delta, Mastercard, and Maestro. We do not accept payment by cheque or cash however. All prices shown on this site are in UK pounds and exclude VAT unless otherwise stated.

The information contained within this site is checked for accuracy however on occasions an error may occur. Multi-trade will not be liable for any errors to service descriptions or prices, however we will endeavour to supply the service you require on a best endeavours basis.

Our service slots 

We allocate 2 hour time slots from Monday to Saturday for your visit. These are supplied on a first come, first served basis.

Sometimes it may be necessary to re-schedule an appointment due to factors beyond our control. If it is necessary to do this, we will attempt to telephone you to re-schedule another appointment as soon as is reasonably possible.

Missed Appointments

If you are unable to keep a service appointment please contact us to re-book the appointment on 020 8059 8100. If you are out at the agreed appointment time and subsequently cancel your service order we may apply an administrative charge of £50.

Warranty

All of our services carry a three month warranty on parts and labour. If a problem reoccurs on a fault which we fixed or any fault occurs which directly relates to the work we carried out we will rectify the problem at our cost. If you ask us to visit you for a fault which is not covered by this warranty or is subsequently found to be due to user error, user damage or because of something that you have done to cause the problem, we will levy a call out charge of £80 + VAT.

Requirements from you before our IT professional calls

You are responsible for making sure that all data contained within your computer is backed up and saved before we access your system. We will not be held liable for any loss of data, information or records contained within your system. If you have called us out to work on your computer we will require you to be present at the time of the call or at least a person with administrator level access. We will also require software recovery disk(s) and a DVD or CD reader or writer.

Liability

If your device is within a manufacturer's warranty period, work that we may undertake may invalidate this warranty - it is your responsibility to ensure that you check the terms of your warranty.

Multi-trade will not be held responsible for any loss or corruption of data, information or records; any loss of goodwill, or any loss of (or interruption to) business or contracts; any failure by you to follow our reasonable advice, recommendations or instructions; any losses you may suffer arising from your use of (or failure to use) any anti-virus software; and any loss that is not reasonably foreseeable.