a while ago laptop was damagd, aftr an inspection they have agreed to replce, now i asked for my hard drive back as info on it very opersonal and if someone got hold of it they could access all my accounts etc, cis who have my laptop want to charge me 32.50 to return the drive???


surely data protection act tc comes into this they just cant hand the laptop over to anywre? i resum they sell em off for spares

 

they should wipe it or reinstall it before selling on

 

I had the same issue with the computer specialist my insurance company used they wanted to charge me to delete the hard drive as an extra service they offer ffs

 

i wouldnt mind if they guaranteed they would wipe or destroy it


if they sell this laptop on as soon as someone powers up the hard drive they have instant access to all my emails, business website, all acount details, naes adresses, passport details, you name it they got it


this cant fucking be right, anything i can do or do i just sit tight and hope, im not foiokin paying 32.50 rip off coonts

 

should have removed it before you sent it back

 

we know that now

 

so ur not willing to pay £32.50 to protect your personal data, is it worth not paying £32.50 to stop someone getting your details and committing a fraud using the data and you end up with lots of hassle sorting it all out

personally id pay it just for peace of mind

 

It does.
They will have to wipe it before re-using it... however, that wont guarantee some dodgy kid doesnt go through it first. Windows passwords are a joke. Unless you turned on encryption they can see what they like.
All they do is re-image the disk, effectively wiping it. A specialist could still access some previous content.
As for the charge, the data protection act speculates that companies can charge a 'reasonable' fee for return of such things.

 

saved my fingers there, spot on

 

right ok so if i write to them saying i dont wish to buy th drive back but as i undrtsand it under the data pretection act blah blah blah they have to remove info before passing the laptop on, i will be happy aksing them to make sure this is done


so that i dont look a right dick does anyone know if its data protection act section paragraph blah blah


id like to atlast look like i know what the fuck im going on about

 

Don't forget they have to pay someone to remove, box and deliver it...

 

---YEAH!!--------LOL ---AS IF---

 

-------------WHY DID YOU HAND IT OVER WITH THE HD STILL IN??/???

 

im sure they have to provide some kind of certificate if wiping the hard drive. ask them to either return for free or provide you witha copy of the certificate. if they cant do either they're taking the piss.

if we want to get any of our IT equipment disposed of we HAVE to get an accredited company to do it and give us certificates for it. we can't take it down the dump or give it away or sell it some stupid law, dunno what.

 

i had a hard drive replace twice under warranty, both times they came to my house and swapped them over, but had to take the old hard drive away with them to proove that they had changed it

there was no way for me to sort the drive out as it was fucked, so i stuck it on top of the big speaker magnet in the hope that something would get wiped form it

don't know if it worked or not

 

sod that I would just pay to get the hard drive back, and then if you dont want it wipe it yourself, then you know it's wiped much safer that way.

 

Bang on, we have to do the same when we want shot of stuff. Think they have to provide a WEEE form.

 

WEEE has got nothing to do with data, just that you can't dump old electrical stuff - it has to be recycled properly.