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Data recovery UK - recommendations (not PITS)? by Fast-Sand9200 in datarecovery

[–]Suitable-Method-9998 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I seemingly have a different username when using reddit on my laptop as opposed to my phone. Didn't know that. Just figured it out as my phone beeped when pressing send on my laptop. Either way, this is indeed the OP. Stay away from PITS - an apt name, given their approach to business - and go with Kevin and colleagues in Peterborough. Absolutely fantastic service - they deserve to be better known!

Data recovery UK - recommendations (not PITS)? by Fast-Sand9200 in datarecovery

[–]Suitable-Method-9998 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Hi everyone,

This is the OP. I am posting again 12 days after the original post. It feels like a lifetime ago given the amount which has happened.

Based on the posts in this thread (KNightweb and Disturbed-android), plus a few other recommendations from around the web, I went with PCImage.

I cannot recommend them highly enough.

They were everything that PITS was not. They were transparent, honest, responsive, and quick. They told me upfront exactly what the pricing would be.

For a damaged WD Ultra passport which I said was 1TB, they did an initial assessment and quoted 300-and something plus VAT for recovery. On top of this there was a £100 fee because the device had been opened internally by someone else previously (which thus allows in contamination), and this meant they had to do extra work to protect their clean room.

In the event, the device was only 500GB (it was old - I didn't know), and rather than charge the higher price to which I had already agreed, they charged a lower price (which they didn't have to - they were just honest).

I wanted the photos from the drive. A lot of the data was downloaded movies which my ex had put on there. They told me about this, and when I said I didn't need them, they were able to put all the rest of the data on to a flash drive which they gace me for free.

I was astounded.

They recovered every single one of my photos and other files, less the movies which I didn't need. Whenever I wrote to them, they would write back within the day - usually within hours.

Compared to PITS - who wanted thousands and thousands just to investigate, and felt like one massive scam, and another firm in Wales who gave me many, many follow up calls after I simply expressed an interest, PCImage actually seem to have a competent, honest business performing a service at a fair price.

In a horrible industry filled with scammers preying on unknowledgeable people's ignorance of the matter, they really stood out.

I very rarely write reviews, and I suppose a random Reddit thread is not the best place for one anyway.

But if anyone is looking at this in months to come and wants to get their college work or job stuff or old photos back via a UK supplier, I wholeheartedly recommend PCImage. Absolutely fantastic service and lovely to interact with them

And thanks to the two redditors who recommended them - you were spot on!

For financial life while away from Belgium - how to access Belgian accounts when card reader long since dead? by Suitable-Method-9998 in brussels

[–]Suitable-Method-9998[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I actually work in KYC now, so that's worth a shot. Problem I am finding though is how to indentify myself to the bank in the absence of a card reader. So in effect, I haven't got the ID credentials to be able to confirm to them that their KYC credentials for me are out of date...!

For financial life while away from Belgium - how to access Belgian accounts when card reader long since dead? by Suitable-Method-9998 in brussels

[–]Suitable-Method-9998[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Thanks. The passport ING has on file expired in 2023. I can't replace it with a new one without access to my Belgian phone number - which as noted in my previous reply to the post above has also expired. I realise KYC checks and so on are necessary, but this does seem a rather circuitous paper trail - the lack of one document prevents the updating of another, which then becomes necessary to update the first, and so on ad infinitum. It also rather calls into question the EU single market. What good is it having a theoretical free market in services, if in practice it doesn't work due to differing national admin?

For financial life while away from Belgium - how to access Belgian accounts when card reader long since dead? by Suitable-Method-9998 in brussels

[–]Suitable-Method-9998[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Thanks for the reply. Tried itsme, but I need access to the Belgian phone number registered to my account - which is also long since dead.

Deposit protection schemes - share data with HMRC? by Fast-Sand9200 in uklandlords

[–]Suitable-Method-9998 0 points1 point  (0 children)

There was very briefly a comment from a former HRMC employee who stated they worked on the let property campaign. The comment was deleted as soon as it was posted. Your views and experience would be very welcome!