ComplaintsforSalvageData Recovery Services

• Initial Complaint

  09/19/2022

  Complaint Type:

  Service or Repair Issues

  Status:

  Answered

  More info

  My laptop had files deleted. I was able to get into the BIOS. Using a bootable USB key, I was able to get a command prompt to verify that files were missing from the C drive. I sent the laptop in. When it came back, I could no longer get into the BIOS nor access a USB key. They also sent back a bag with 7 screws. I sent several e-mails asking what they did so I could fix it. I was told they only take out the SSD/HD and the screws were for the mounting. Both drives were screwed down so the screws must have been from something else. After getting no response from my e-mails I called and talked to manager George. He said it isn't their responsibility. He offered to have me send it back and they would put the screws in but would not guarantee that I would be able to get into the BIOS. I only want to get it back to where it was before I shipped to them. I was never told to send just the affected SSDs. I was able to see that no files were deleted from the HDD.

  

  Business response

  09/20/2022

  We are a data recovery company and deal exclusively with data recovery related issue. This was the case with the customer who had a laptop with internal hard drives installed that seized to function. Customer shipped the entire laptop to us without first removing the storage media, which defaults us to extract the hard drives. The process is fairly simple and is essentially consists of taking off couple screws and detaching the storage device. We examined the faulty storage media, provided customer with the quote, which he agreed to and the service was provided. Customer verified their file list, confirmed the data we recovered and both his data and his laptop were shipped back to him. 

  Upon arrival, customer reported that he's missing "both 32gig SO-DIMMs" and his laptop is not functioning. Customer insisted we "stole" his ram to multiple company representatives and insisted to talk to manager. I've reached out to the customer and upon questioning him regarding the RAM, he informed me that he mistaken the expansion slots for something that he already had. After that he insisted that 7 screws that he received ( that were part of the laptop that held the original hard drive units) somehow are related to the laptop not functioning. The only service we performed on the laptop was to remove the said hard drives and perform data recovery on them. What most likely happened is the hard drives were installed back with spare screws that are abundant in our lab since there is no difference between one laptop screw to another and the extra bag of screws was simply attached along.

  We never verified whether customer's laptop is working, as it is not the scope of our job and thus we are not liable to offer repairs or replacement on customer's laptop.

  We extensively cover the information on how to ship the storage media to us at the following page which does specify that storage media should be removed prior to being shipped for service: https://www.salvagedata.com/shipping-guides/

  Customer response

  09/20/2022

  Better Business Bureau:
  
  I have reviewed the response made by the business in reference to complaint ID ********, and have determined that this does not resolve my complaint.  For your reference, details of the offer I reviewed appear below.
  
  I was never given any instructions that I was to only send the drives.  I never received that link to the instructions.  When I first tried to send my laptop, I took it to one of their drop-off locations.  That site called Salvagedata to refuse to ship my laptop.  Salvagedata was aware that I was trying to ship my laptop.  I still did not receive instructions at that point to only ship the SSDs.  If they weren't going to take any responsibility, then they should not have opened the laptop up.  
  
  Regards,
  
  ******* *******
  
  
  
  
   

  

  Business response

  09/20/2022

  As previously stated - we are a data recovery company. Customer sent his laptop to recover data. The data recovery service was performed. All our policy statements are public and available on our website. We are neither aware of whether the laptop was functional prior to being sent in for data recovery service, nor are we responsible for any damages that the laptop might have suffered afterwards. We are unable to offer any type of repair service for the laptop because that is simply not the scope of our business nor has there been established any fault on our part.

• Initial Complaint

  07/26/2022

  Complaint Type:

  Billing Issues

  Status:

  Answered

  More info

  In November 2018 I contracted SALVAGEDATA to recover data from a thumb drive that was estimated to take several weeks. Nearly 13 months later, at the end of November 2019, SALVAGEDATA contacted me to inform me that the data had been recovered and was ready for review. In their emails, they state that I had a limited amount of time (5 days) to review the detail and at the end of that time my payment method on file would be charged in full. After their 48-hour notice for review email, I never heard from them again. Fast forward another 2+ years, it's now February of 2022 and I'm out of the country on business. When I return, I have a message waiting from SALVAGEDATA that they are going to send me to collections if my bill is not paid in 7 days. Unfortunately, those 7 days had expired. More unfortunate, I never even knew there was a bill due. From December 2019 through February 2022, there was no communication from SALVAGEDATA. No notifications that the "payment on file" was not approved, no phone call saying that they needed a payment, and no files, which had at this point (and even in December 2019) had become meaningless. Their 2-4 week estimate turned 13-month delivery has turned into a collection case on me... with no notification in 27 months that the payments had not been made. Today I spent an hour or so talking to the collections agent and then the company who had sent me to collections, SALVAGEDATA, to understand there reasoning for, 1) not notifying me that the charge was not completed as their email stated it would be, 2) how a 2-4 week estimate turns into 13 months, and 3) whether or not they were willing to admit that they were somewhat culpable for this non-payment. Luckily, they were able to answer all 3, but not with anything good. 1) Genrally, "We don't notify people if their payment is declined.", 2) No real comment, 3) "Yes. I admit that we could have done that better, but COVID..."

  

  Business response

  07/27/2022

  1) not notifying me that the charge was not completed as their email stated it would be    - we made multiple attempts to contact the customer via phone, e-mail and text over the course of his recovery.
  

  2) how a 2-4 week estimate turns into 13 months  - the initial recovery quote for the case was double of the final amount, customer was notified that the delivery times may increase due to the nature of the recovery process as well as the fact that we deeply discounted the service and it was put into economy queue.

  3) whether or not they were willing to admit that they were somewhat culpable for this non-payment - customer is responsible to ensure the payment is provided for the completed service. Customer had access to their account where an invoice and all applicable information is available for view at any time. 

   

  In conclusion - customer was provided with their data at a deeply discounted rate and no refund is deemed to be due as such.

• Initial Complaint

  04/11/2022

  Complaint Type:

  Sales and Advertising Issues

  Status:

  Answered

  More info

  This business advertises in 40 or 50 locations in the US that they have a local office at that location. They are all mailbox etc. type places, and they rent a postal box that provides a physical location. They also have local phone numbers on the internet in each location, when you click on it it tricks you into calling their 800 number. I think that is false advertising. When you are trying to find a local business, their advertising and fake phone numbers and addresses trick you into thinking they are local. They are deceiving the public and deceiving ******'s business location rules.

  

  Business response

  04/21/2022

  We are partnered with many repair shops around the United States and offer our services to anyone in need. We also provide our customers with convenient ways to ship their damaged media to one of our certified labs via ***** drop points. We are not violating any business or corporate guidelines, especially ****** Business location rules. 

• Initial Complaint

  03/18/2022

  Complaint Type:

  Customer Service Issues

  Status:

  Answered

  More info

  I started a case on February 22, 2022. I had my hard drive shipped from WeRecoverData directly to SalvageData after speaking to the representative assigned to me, ***** *********. He said they can do most data recovery, and encouraged me to send the hard drive over so they could do a diagnostic. My item was sent and then delivered and signed for on March 4th, 2022 by ******* ** ************ ** ***** ***** ********* *** From this point on, I have not heard back about my hard drive. I emailed and called ***** and he said he would track down my hard drive. The last time I was able to talk to anybody at SalvageData was on March 10th, 2022. Now, anytime I call they don't answer the phone, don't respond to emails, or text messages.

  

  Business response

  04/05/2022

  The hard drive was returned to the customer: ****************************************************************************************

  Recovery was not possible due to severe pre-existing damage to the media.

• Initial Complaint

  02/25/2022

  Complaint Type:

  Billing Issues

  Status:

  Resolved

  More info

  I found Salvage Data (also goes under multiple other names) and sent them my hard drive to recover the about January 3rd 2022. Their website and voicemail says they are a national company with certifications from multiple vendors and that they have ISO certified clean rooms. They told me I had to pay $200 and then they would recover my data and then I would have to pay another $1300 to get the data and my drive back. I have tried calling every day for weeks to get my data. They sent me a "snapshot" of some file drive names that I did not understand. I explained that I could not verify that was my data. After multiple calls they said I could have 30 minutes to look at the data, at which point I said that they had not recovered 80% of my data. After multiple calls again, they said they looked again and found a lot more data. After multiple calls again they sent me another "snapshot" of file names I don't recognize. I replied in email again that I did not understand and called back asking for a walkthru. They say the only person I can talk to is ******* because no one else knows what is going on. ******* never answers the phone or returns my calls. One person told me ****** ******* was *******'s manager, so I managed to track him down but he said on 2/18 that he will not help since I am assigned to *******. I started investigating on BBB and it looks like this company has registered hundreds of companies all under slightly different names and locations. When you look up the addresses they look empty. When I ask if I can visit an address they say no. I now believe after reading other complaints they are a scam company. I don't believe they are certified or know what they are doing. Please help investigate...it is terrible that I may have lost all of my personal data but need to make sure this does not happen to others.

  

  Business response

  03/15/2022

  Attached our Response.

  Customer response

  03/15/2022

  Better Business Bureau:
  
  I have reviewed the response made by the business in reference to complaint ID ********, and have determined that this does not resolve my complaint.  For your reference, details of the offer I reviewed appear below.

  I believe this business is fraudulent.  After they quoted me a price, I shipped my drive to them and then they told me it would be an additional $200 which I had to pay immediately.  I believe they assigned a person who did not have the certifications listed on their website and performed the work at a site that was not an official clean site as listed on their website.  All of the addresses listed on their website appear to be homes or buildings that have no sign of a proper certified lab.  I think they permanently damaged my drive.  I have records of calling them multiple times and they would never call me back even though I was more than polite, although terribly frustrated.  I believe they lied to me multiple times when I tried to reach anyone in charge and it was only after I filed the complaint with BBB that they suddenly returned my call and then acknowledged they could not recover most of the data.  I am out $200 and my drive is permanently damaged now so I am unable to access any of my personal files.  I believe they need a deep investigation into their certifications, facilities, organization structure and all the same businesses under the same "CEO" with different names/locations.  They absolutely do not deserve the A+ rating that they have been given - the number of complaints on your website against them that look just like mine indicate a major problem.

  Thank you for looking into this on behalf of all consumers.
  
  [To assist us in bringing this matter to a close, we would like to know your view on the matter.]
  
  Regards,
  
  ********* *******-****
  
  
  
  
   

  

  Business response

  03/23/2022

  The situation by ***. ******* had been handled internally within the company. On
  March second the client did perform another inspection of the data recovered after a second scan
  was performed on the drive by a senior engineer.

  The data that was recovered was still not to the clients 100% satisfaction. We did let her
  know that she could pay for the service at a heavily discounted rate for what was recovered or
  she could elect to receive no data back and have the Original drive sent back to her free of
  charge. The client elected to have the drive sent back one day later.

  The client's drive was shipped on march third with the below tracking number. The client
  was not charged for our services.

  TRACKING: ************

  ******* ********, Customer Support Manager
  Salvage Data LLC

• Initial Complaint

  12/29/2021

  Complaint Type:

  Product Issues

  Status:

  Answered

  More info

  STAY AWAY FROM THESE PEOPLE!!!!!… FOR WARNED. They are liars and lure you in with hopes that if they can’t recover corrupted over written files that you just have to pay shipping and handling. There is a option to verify that the data is yours on a online server… with out even verifying that the data was mine they charged my card for the full amount. They said they just needed my card on file to charge a dollar at the start. They sent me a file to se if a corrupted video file was fixed, and it wasn’t. After making a police report and reporting the issue to consumer reports about the shady sales people and system they are running they refunded my money. They sent back my hard drive, and it was destroyed, they sent me a usb stick… every thing was in the same condition that I sent it to them, none of my corrupted videos were fixed, in facts some files I had before that were on my drive were not there anymore. I had used a 100 dollar software to un erase my hard drive and got my files back, but wrote the data over previous data so it was not able to be recovered, which leads me to think this company just copies the data you have on your drive onto a separate card and sends it back to you thinking they did something magical with there pictures of a lab and guys in space suits but really no one knows what’s going on there. You are just sending your drive to people you don’t know. If it was really that professional of a service why would they have such shady sales process and system that automatically charges you if you don’t verify your data. Sounds like a lawsuit, or a company just trying to make money, or scam, either or, not a place you want to be involved in. This is such a nightmare to me. I suggest people to take there drive to Best Buy, a place you know is a reputable company you can trust.

  

  Business response

  02/01/2022

  Customer was provided with a refund on January 5th, despite receiving the services in full and after confirming that the files he received were correct prior to being delivered to him.

*Some consumers may elect to not publish the details of their complaints, some complaints may not meet BBB's standards for publication, or BBB may display a portion of complaints when a high volume is received for a particular business. ↩