Check list:

1. Business License
2. Certification
3. Pay Rate
4. Documentation
5. Beware!

These five simple topics can help you separate the good from the ugly.

Business License

It is illegal to charge for products or services if you do not have a business license. Do not pay anyone you don’t know for computer services unless they have a business license.

Certification

Ask if they are certified and who they’re accredited by. You shouldn’t trust someone who isn’t certificated, even if they say they have the experience, certification is proof of education/training. Don’t accept certification from private schools or organizations, these are often referred to as fake or purchased certification. Look for people with academic certification from post-secondary institutions like your local college.

Pay Rate

How much should they charge? Computer repairs should always be a flat fee, there is no reason to pay by the hour.

Documentation

99% of all computer technicians and repair shops do not provide documentation. Documentation is a mandatory part of all computer services. Documentation provides a record of all services and tasks done to your computer, every change to your computer is recorded because if anything was changed or removed from your computer you need to know what that is.

Anyone who does not provide documentation is a clear sign of fraud. A technician that does not provide documentation may be inexperienced, hiding something or fraudulent.

Beware!

Beware of services that claim they can fix your computer remotely from the Internet or fix your computer at your home.

It is impossible to test and fix a computer over the Internet. Remote assistance services are in-fact limited to technical support.

Do not allow someone to come in your home and fix your computer. Real computer problems cannot be fixed at your home. Hardware tests can take over one hour per part and virus/malware removal can take at several hours. Not only house calls are very costly, why do you want someone to work with your computer for eight hours in your home.

Pick-up and Delivery scams, businesses put up with a lot of red tape to provide this services legally, and for good reason. Make sure the people you’re dealing with is legitimate cause you could easily end up handing your computer away to a criminal.

Finally, follow the check list and beware of services that sounds too good to be true and avoid the hundreds of frauds out there.

 

 

 

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