Complaints

This profile includes complaints for SalvageData Recovery Services's headquarters and its corporate-owned locations. To view all corporate locations, see Find Local Branches.

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SalvageData Recovery Services has 71 locations, listed below.

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  SalvageData Recovery Services

  43 Alpha Park Ste A Highland Heights, OH 44143-2202

  
• 

  SalvageData Recovery Services

  14482 Cedar Rd Cleveland, OH 44121-3328

  
• 

  SalvageData Recovery Services

  5829 Turney Rd Garfield Hts, OH 44125-4480

  
• 

  SalvageData Recovery Services

  36265 Euclid Ave Willoughby, OH 44094-4676

  
• 

  SalvageData Recovery Inc.

  1825 Forest Ave Staten Island, NY 10303

The complaint text that is displayed might not represent all complaints filed with BBB. 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.

• Initial Complaint

  Date:02/19/2023

  Type:Service or Repair Issues
  Status:

  AnsweredMore info

  Complaint statuses

  Resolved:

  The complainant verified the issue was resolved to their satisfaction.

  Unresolved:

  The business responded to the dispute but failed to make a good faith effort to resolve it.

  Answered:

  The business addressed the issues within the complaint, but the consumer either a) did not accept the response, OR b) did not notify BBB as to their satisfaction.

  Unanswered:

  The business failed to respond to the dispute.

  Unpursuable:

  BBB is unable to locate the business.

  November of 2022 I contacted SalvageData for possible recovery of a desktop PC hard drive, understanding that there would be no charge unless my data recovery was completed and I approved. I have repeatedly requested that all communications with Salvage Data take place via Email, starting early on in this process as I have a flip phone and email is more efficient. I was repeatedly sent text messages despite my repeated requests for email contact. I sent the PC to Salvage Data at their expense. I also mailed to Salvage Data a newly purchased ******* **** *** outdrive at my expense.. I was contacted by Salvage Data in a timely fashion stating that recovery was complete and ready for my review. After reviewing what was recovered, I found that all files were in RAW format, losing all folders and labeling. This means that all photos (thousands) and documents (hundreds) would require individual handling and relabeling, likely hundreds of hours of work. When asked, Salvage Data stated this was the only way I could have my data. I have no use for this data in RAW foremat. Salvage Data has threatened me with collections despite being informed that the recovered data is not of use to me. I have repeatedly requested (by email) that my PC and my Outdrive be returned to me at my cost. Despite these requests, Salvage Data continues to hold my PC and my Outdrive, refusing to return them to me. I do NOT expect data to be left on the Outdrive I sent in and I requested that it be returned to original condition. I feel threatened by Salvage Data's offering to send me to collections and I resent them refusing to return my property to me.
  
  I have all saved emails from this process.

  

  Business Response

  Date: 02/27/2023

  As per our procedure, client was informed regarding the RAW recovery of his data and client has approved the file list which constitutes the agreement to proceed with payment. Client is yet to pay for the services rendered.

  Customer Answer

  Date: 02/27/2023

  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.
  
  
  
  
  [To assist us in bringing this matter to a close, we would like to know your view on the matter.] I did not agree to a contract at any time with Salvage Data and dispute that I agreed or contracted with Salvage Data at any time. 

  
  
  
  Regards,
  
  
  
  ***** **********
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
   

• Initial Complaint

  Date:02/15/2023

  Type:Service or Repair Issues
  Status:

  AnsweredMore info

  Complaint statuses

  Resolved:

  The complainant verified the issue was resolved to their satisfaction.

  Unresolved:

  The business responded to the dispute but failed to make a good faith effort to resolve it.

  Answered:

  The business addressed the issues within the complaint, but the consumer either a) did not accept the response, OR b) did not notify BBB as to their satisfaction.

  Unanswered:

  The business failed to respond to the dispute.

  Unpursuable:

  BBB is unable to locate the business.

  On July 12th 2022 I spoke to ****** ******* a sales rep with SalvageData Recovery Services. It was at that point he processed my credit card over the phone with him and said I would be sent a physical copy of my hard drive with the data in tact. They then sent an email with some data in it, so I reached out and then they said they would send the physical drive working and in tact and I waited for it, but never recieved it. Now SalvageData is saying the data was deleted and my hard drive is lost and my $300 is gone... This really is not cool. For the record I initially sent 3 drives in, 2 HDDs and 1 SSD they did send me back 2 HDDs that I did not pay for the data recovery for, but they never sent the SSD I had paid for back, so just a waste of money and time.
  
  Ideally I would like to recieve my data that I had paid $300 for, but if that is not possible I would like a refund as the service I paid for was not rendered.
  
  Case ID:
  Description: Data Recovery Service (Auto)
  Invoice Number ******* Customer ID ************** Total: $300.00 (USD)
  Payment Information
  Date/Time: 12-Jul-2022 7:30:08 EDT
  Transaction ID: ***********

  

  Business Response

  Date: 02/15/2023

  Client was sent a download of his data multiple times  and had ample opportunity to download it. Per our policy we only retain data for a short time after recovery completion. We have provided the service to the best of our ability and since we no longer have the originals or the copy, we are unable to offer a refund or replacement.

• Initial Complaint

  Date:01/25/2023

  Type:Product Issues
  Status:

  AnsweredMore info

  Complaint statuses

  Resolved:

  The complainant verified the issue was resolved to their satisfaction.

  Unresolved:

  The business responded to the dispute but failed to make a good faith effort to resolve it.

  Answered:

  The business addressed the issues within the complaint, but the consumer either a) did not accept the response, OR b) did not notify BBB as to their satisfaction.

  Unanswered:

  The business failed to respond to the dispute.

  Unpursuable:

  BBB is unable to locate the business.

  In June of 2022 I contacted Salvage Data about repairs to a damaged hard drive. We specifically needed data that was inaccessible because the drive had stopped working.
  
  After talking with the company and the assigned rep, ***** *******, we sent the drive to the company and waited for an assessment. About a week later we received an evaluation report of the damage and a phone call from *** ******** In that phone call I was told the damage to the drive was constrained to the reader head and by replacing that the company could recover more than 90 percent of the data on the original drive. In addition I was sent a file list that included the names/locations of the majority of the missing files. These were only previews and could not be viewed.
  
  It was at this time the rep asked me to commit to the $1,600 payment to receive the files. A note in the evaluation report stated that some files within a certain location might not be fully intact, but combined with the rep's statement that more than 90 percent of my files were safe and the inability to view more than the files names we moved forward with the contract.
  
  Upon receiving the drive, I checked some of the files and it looked like the recovery was successful (the drive contained about a terabyte of data). About a month ago I needed older files off the drive and I began searching for them, but I realized the vast majority of the contents were corrupted or unreadable. Only 1/9th of the files sent back to us actually functioned.
  
  When this complaint was brought to company we were told that they had already discarded the original drive so couldn't attempt again. When asked about the corrupted files they told us that there was a disclaimer present in the file list.
  
  It's my claim that the company deliberately mislead me about the quantity of files recovered to convince me to complete a $1,600 payment. Salvage Data has refused to provide a refund.

  

  Business Response

  Date: 01/25/2023

  We are very sorry to hear about your issue. Upon reviewing your case, we discovered that your recovery has been completed on 08/23/2022. Should you have contacted us sooner we would've gladly revisited your recovery. Unfortunately you're far outside of the grace period and we are no longer able to offer you a refund or re-examine your data since it was wiped per our standard procedure.

  Customer Answer

  Date: 01/25/2023

  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.
  
  
  
  The company is claiming that because we're outside some grace period, which I dont believe was ever mentioned prior to payment, they cant refund or re-examine the data. I continue to claim that they mislead me about their ability to recover this data and regardless of a grace period could not have lived up to their claims for recovery. Either their claim to me prior to payment about the amount of data recovered was wrong/intentionally misleading or they didn't do a basic quality check of the hard drive before sending it to me to confirm I was not being sent unusable data. Either way the company has not acted in good faith and has not held up their end of our agreement.
  
  At best Salvage Data sent a product without checking to make sure it was functioning, at worst they checked the product, saw it wasn't working and sent it regardless - perhaps hoping the issue would not be noticed until after this "grace period." 
  
  A refund should be issued immediately.
  
  
  
  Regards,
  
  
  
  ****** ******
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
   

  

  Business Response

  Date: 01/31/2023

  As a Data Recovery company, we deal with sensitive and personal data on a daily basis. As such, in order to honor our customer's privacy, we do not check the data manually in order to maintain their integrity and peace of mind. An explicit request and permission from customer is required from the customer for us to manually check the data, otherwise we fully rely on our software to determine the data integrity, which was evaluated at 99% for this particular recovery case. Should the customer have asked us to check the data prior to being shipped out and agreeing to the terms and conditions of the recovery service - we would've gladly examined the case further. Needless to say that we have no way of checking the validity of the complaint that the data was not recovered successfully after months of being in customer's possession. 

• Initial Complaint

  Date:01/24/2023

  Type:Service or Repair Issues
  Status:

  AnsweredMore info

  Complaint statuses

  Resolved:

  The complainant verified the issue was resolved to their satisfaction.

  Unresolved:

  The business responded to the dispute but failed to make a good faith effort to resolve it.

  Answered:

  The business addressed the issues within the complaint, but the consumer either a) did not accept the response, OR b) did not notify BBB as to their satisfaction.

  Unanswered:

  The business failed to respond to the dispute.

  Unpursuable:

  BBB is unable to locate the business.

  I sent my hard drive in and was quoted 300$ to repair, they then told me it would cost 1400$!!! When I said I no longer wish to use their service, they insisted they wont return my hard drive, unless I pay their ransom fee.

  

  Business Response

  Date: 01/24/2023

  The cost of service was never $300 and you customer was explained that we will provide an accurate quote after the evaluation. Since the customer does not wish to continue with the service - he is responsible for return shipping cost which is $40. No extortion involved. We also offer an option to pick the drive up from us or provide your own return shipping arrangements.

  Customer Answer

  Date: 01/24/2023

  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.
  
  
  
  
  [To assist us in bringing this matter to a close, we would like to know your view on the matter.]
  
  
  
  Regards,
  
  
  
  ******* *******
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
   

• Initial Complaint

  Date:10/19/2022

  Type:Service or Repair Issues
  Status:

  AnsweredMore info

  Complaint statuses

  Resolved:

  The complainant verified the issue was resolved to their satisfaction.

  Unresolved:

  The business responded to the dispute but failed to make a good faith effort to resolve it.

  Answered:

  The business addressed the issues within the complaint, but the consumer either a) did not accept the response, OR b) did not notify BBB as to their satisfaction.

  Unanswered:

  The business failed to respond to the dispute.

  Unpursuable:

  BBB is unable to locate the business.

  SalvageData bricked my laptop and will not provide any support.
  
  I sent my laptop to SalvageData for data recovery. Immediately upon going through the effort of sending it in, they informed me it was not recoverable because of the type of laptop it is. They could have told me this without sending it in.
  
  Prior to sending in the laptop, I was able to boot it up to an operating system and to the computer's firmware which is installed on the logic board and would allow me to reinstall the operating system when needed. They warned me that they would probably have to delete the data from the hard drive while attempting recovery, which was fine, because that's separate from the firmware and I would still be able to reinstall the OS and use the laptop. But when I received my laptop it now will not even power on to the firmware to reinstall the OS, making it completely useless. They destroyed my laptop. I have called them multiple times and emailed for support and when I finally got a response they told that they will not provide any support. I have been in contact with ***** Support who confirmed the issue and quoted me around $700 to repair it.

  

  Business Response

  Date: 10/21/2022

  Customer was provided with shipping label to have the Laptop sent back for examination to determine if there was fault during evaluation that could've caused the issue.

  

  Business Response

  Date: 11/08/2022

  As stated previously, we've conducted an investigation of the matter and determined that there was no modification performed by us to the laptop. As such we are unable to offer any repair or replacement service as we have not damaged the laptop in any way. We are very sorry that your laptop is not functional, but we are unable to assist with the matter as we are not liable for repairs or replacement because we have not performed any work on the laptop that could result in its damage.

  Customer Answer

  Date: 11/15/2022

  Are you requesting the same level of documentation from SalvageData?

  I already explained that ***** said that the issue is the logic board and that if I were to send it in I would be paying about $700. I spent a lot of time on the phone with them troubleshooting and this is the conclusion they came to. SalvageData have not provided any clarification on the questions that I sent to them, which are much more pertinent to the situation. Have you requested this information from them?