Complaints

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

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  Secure Data Recovery Services

  700 Beta Dr Ste 100 Mayfield Village, OH 44143-2378

  
• 

  Secure Data Recovery Services

  895 McDonald Avenue Brooklyn, NY 11218

  
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  Secure Data Recovery Services

  3200 West End Ave STE 500 Nashville, TN 37203

  
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  Secure Data Recovery Services

  4208 Six Forks Rd Ste 1000 Suite 1000 Raleigh, NC 27609

  
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  Secure Data Recovery Services

  801 Brickell Ave Ste 800 Miami, FL 33131

  

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:08/25/2025

  Type:Customer Service 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 had a very negative experience with them recently. They were persistently annoying about contacting me over and over and pushing me to use their services. After I couldn't get a local place to recover my data, I decided to send to them (big mistake of not reading online reviews of them beforehand). They had quoted me over the phone a cost of $395 to $1000 max to recover. After I sent in my drive, they quoted me $2000!!! After I said no, they came back and said they could give me a discount to $1500. I still declined and now they want to charge me $40 to send my drives back (I had sent them 2 drives to place any recovered data on). The rep never told me or quoted me a price that I would have to pay to return my drives. He pointed me to a service agreement wording which was very vague and did not quote a price either. I will be sure to involve my lawyer to put this company in their place!

  

  Business Response

  Date: 08/25/2025

  We appreciate the opportunity to clarify the situation.

  
  This customer has not paid for any services, and no recovery work was performed on their devices.

  Our service agreement — which the customer reviewed and signed prior to sending their drives — clearly states:
  If the Client elects not to proceed with the data recovery procedure, the Client must request the Storage Media to be returned within 14 days of signing this Agreement and the Client will be responsible for all return shipping and handling costs (minimum of $37.95 per Storage Media for standard shipping within the ***** with higher costs possible depending on weight, size, and dimensions of Client's originals).

  
  Despite this, we offered to return the drives at no cost as a courtesy to resolve the matter quickly and amicably.
  

  Regarding pricing:
  *Initial phone estimates are always preliminary until we complete a physical evaluation of the drives.
  *After evaluation, the customer was provided with a formal quote reflecting the actual condition of the media.
  *The customer chose not to proceed, which is entirely their right — no charges were ever billed.

  
  We understand this process can be stressful, especially when important data is involved, and we strive to be transparent at every step. We remain willing to ship the drives back free of charge to close this matter.

• Initial Complaint

  Date:07/06/2025

  Type:Service or Repair Issues
  Status:

  ResolvedMore 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.

  Reading the attached 12 emails (some of which are long streams) will fill in a lot of what has transpired. This began when I called on June 9, 2025. ******* ***** said there was no issue with doing data recovery on my DVR expander (which is NOT an external hard drive). This device is ONLY good for recording off a TV service such as DISH, DirecTV, or TiVo. As instructed, I dropped my DVR expander off on June 15. The diagnostics were completed by the 19th and after discussion (see emails about the suddenly increased price) resolved with a return back to the original price, I paid using my credit card on June 25. When I received my DVR expander back, instead of arriving with a clone (as promised) I got an internal part for a PC. It has no case, an exposed circuit board, and has absolutely no way to plug it in to my DVR and DISH network. This again required emails and calls finally resulting in requiring me to return the original DVR expander so it could supposedly be used for my data - as should have happened in the first place. If you read all the emails you will see that despite promises, they have never worked on recovery for a DVR expander, had no clue how they work, or how to return the data to me. It's all been about sales and money. And they continue to refuse to check it before returning it to me to see if the data is actually there and going to work for me. I've sent them suggestions on how to test the DVR expander before returning it but because they don't want to spend a penny they refuse. The $1533.69 I have spent is an ENORMOUS amount for terrible service (won't return my emails or talk to me on the phone), and other than worthless verbal apology, no true goodwill offer has been made. Resolution: return of my recovered data on a device I can use - and which has been tested BEFORE returning it to me. A partial refund is in order for all the hassle, extended time, and as goodwill customer service. I shouldn't have had to file this to get contact!

  Customer Answer

  Date: 07/10/2025

  Hi,
  
  I was told today that if I wanted to add more to my complaint, as the terrible saga continues, I could send that information to you in email as it won't let me add it online.
  
  After I sent back the original case of the DVR expander, that was supposed to be the final step needed to correct this situation.  Timothy Rulan did call (voicemail of July 8) and confirm it was received, on the engineer's work station, and would be done in a few hours.  Then it would be ready to send back to me and he would call with the tracking number.  
  
  Instead that did not happen and the next call indicated they needed the cords (power and data) which I had never sent them - having been instructed not to from the outset. Tim said he would send me a label before he went home but he did not.  I called and talked to a co-worker who sent a label. You will see from Tim's next email that I had already packed up and shipped off the cords when Tim said 'out of the blue' they need the clone also - having told me repeatedly they keep a copy of the data in their lab and do not need it to reproduce another clone.
  
  The information changes by the minute, contradicts itself almost hourly, and the communication is awful, if there is any at all.  It's just one inconsistency and change after another.  I have no idea what is really going on and I paid them $1500 for this?   
  
  I'm attaching a new email stream with much of the above. I've also attached the voice mail.
  
  Please confirm receipt of my email.
  Thank you, ****** *****

  

  Business Response

  Date: 08/14/2025

  We are truly sorry to hear how the customer feels regarding this experience. Our goal is always to provide the best possible service and to return our customers’ data in a usable format.
  In this case, we were able to successfully recover the customer’s data and return it in a working format. Prior to proceeding with the recovery, we clearly outlined the results that could be expected and provided the following disclosure:
  Sector level clone
  Important Note Regarding the Clone
  Our Engineers strive to achieve the best possible recovery outcomes. However, due to the extent of the damage to the media, we are unable to guarantee that the clone of the original storage media will be provided in bootable condition. Therefore, the optimal result will be an "as is" image of the original device on a new storage media of the customer's choice. By electing to proceed with the recovery work, the Client hereby acknowledges and agrees to accept and be bound by the results as presented herein, AS IS, without any reservation or condition, prior to the commencement of said recovery efforts.

  
  The customer reviewed and accepted these terms before authorizing the recovery work to proceed. While we regret that this process has caused frustration, our team fulfilled the recovery as agreed and delivered the recovered data in line with the scope of work approved by the customer.

  
  We remain committed to customer satisfaction and are open to discussing any remaining concerns to help bring this matter to a positive resolution.

  Customer Answer

  Date: 08/21/2025

  This issue is NOT resolved. 
  No place in the contract I signed does it say that if I send in a 1 TB
  (one terabyte) recording device that I will receive back a device of HALF the
  size.  I sent in a 1 TB DVR expander and
  received back my original case with a new device inside that is only 500 GB – HALF
  the size of the one I sent to the company.

  Additionally, while the device returned to me had recordings
  on it (half of what I sent them) they were only temporary and after a few hours
  were GONE completely and could never be accessed again. There  is nothing in the contract that says recovered
  data is only temporary and will vanish forever in a matter of a few hours. 

  I have been using DVR expanders for about 15 years and they
  hold the data recorded indefinitely – all the recordings I have ever put on
  them are still there – all these years later (some as old as more than 10
  years).  They are not meant as a temporary
  storage lasting only a few hours.
  The company website clearly states the customer does not pay
  if no data is recovered.  It does not say
  that data recovered (half the size) which only lasts a few hours is considered
  to be recovered. I do not see that in the contract or on the website.
  

  I am again including a photo of my original device sent to
  them (the internal part which they returned to me) and it clearly states it is
  1 TB. I am also including a photo of the device that was returned to me when it’s
  connected to my TV service.  It shows
  BOTH that it is only 500 GB (lists 465 GB whereas the 1 TB expanders list about
  965 GB) and it also shows 465 GB free space which means it is EMPTY. The
  recordings which were on it have vanished. I informed the company  of this vanishing immediately after I
  received the device.
  

  I am also attaching a copy of the Secure Data Recovery
  website stating “No Data, No Recovery Fee” without any disclaimers that they
  will send a device HALF the size and recovered data will vanish within hours. 

   

  

  Business Response

  Date: 09/15/2025

  We regret that this case has caused frustration and we understand how important these recordings are to the customer. DVR expanders are proprietary devices and, unlike standard hard drives, they cannot be cloned in a way that guarantees DVR playback.
  In this case, our engineers did successfully extract and return data from the customer’s device, in line with the signed disclosure stating that results would be provided “as is” and could not be guaranteed to function as an original DVR expander. While the returned media differed in capacity from the original unit, it was provided as a vehicle for the recovered data, not as a replacement DVR expander.
  At this time, the customer has filed a chargeback with their credit card company and has not paid for any of the services rendered. Despite this, we remain willing to discuss potential next steps within the technical limits of this type of media.

  Customer Answer

  Date: 09/17/2025

  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.
  
  
  
  
  This issue remains unresolved. 
  And it is more than a mere inconvenience or “frustration” as you
  characterize it, as if it cost 5 cents and took a few days time.  It’s a very large expense for nothing in
  return, that has taken large amounts of my time over many months . 
  

  During all the business dealings regarding this transaction from the
  very outset, nothing was said about your company’s inability to recover and
  REPAIR this device.  I asked repeatedly if
  my DVR expander could be recovered and repaired (I always asked about the repair
  since it needed to function) and was reassued I would not pay if the data was
  not fully recovered and the device repaired to function.  If the device was returned with data, but
  could not function, then the data could not be accessed and it would be the
  exact same as it was before it was sent. 
  

  I was always told I would get a clone.  A clone is an almost exact, or close to identical,
  version of the original item or device.
  

  You returned a hard drive HALF the size of the original one
  (which was close to full).  Again, during
  all the many phone chats with *** *****, he explained the clone would be just like
  the original with all the data on it (if recoverable – which he said was) and
  not half the size with half the recordings.
  

  As far as willingness to work with me, it was your company who
  refused to talk to me on the phone or respond to emails – totally shutting down
  all communications prior to this reply through the BBB.
  

  When I filed with the BBB, I listed, per their
  form’s instructions, the three things for a desired settlement.  Please refer to the original complaint.  In fact, refer to ALL the filings I have sent
  as it appears they have not been studied in detail.  
  
  
  
  Regards,
  
  
  
  ****** *****
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
   

• Initial Complaint

  Date:06/04/2025

  Type:Customer Service 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.

  Our hard drive was shipped to this company back in February of 2025. It is now June 2025 and we have no idea where our hard drive is nor have received any sort of information from the company regarding its whereabouts. This was shipped ***** overnight and the company claims they never received it, although it was signed by M. ******** within ******* system. They’ve given us the run around for the last 4 months. Saying the tracking number wasn’t correct, “they’re looking into it”. According to them, they filed a claim with ***** in April. It is now JUNE and they’re telling me that the claim is still open with *****, but will not give me a claim number to verify. This is thousands of documents and images that were on this hard drive which are invaluable. Needless to say I also have major privacy concerns regarding the loss of this. We’ve called and continue to be told “someone will call you back”. Enough is enough.

  

  Business Response

  Date: 08/14/2025

  We sincerely apologize for the inconvenience this situation has caused. At this time, we have not successfully received the device from *****, and we understand how frustrating this must be. We are actively working with ***** to locate the shipment and resolve the issue as quickly as possible. Our priority is ensuring this matter is resolved to the customer’s satisfaction, and we will provide updates as soon as we receive any new information.