Computer Doctor Virus removal for €150

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I'm going to give my own 2 cents here.

I do virus/spyware removal for about €60 (more if I had to travel a distance to pick-up/drop-off PC).

This would include full virus/spyware removal, plus a sit-down with the customer (approx. 15mins) in front of their PC/laptop explaining what was done, and some tips to prevent problems in the future (for instance, one customer had an out of date version of Norton. I installed AVG Free as an alternative and explained how to use it).

Being honest, I have never had to format a PC in order to solve a virus/spyware issue and I have came across badly infected PCs. I'd be sceptical of any person using a format for this type of problem, it's a hint that the person doesn't really know what they're doing.

Formatting or 'reloading' a PC will definitely remove any virus/spyware but it's like using a sledge hammer to kill a fly.

Then again, maybe I should charge more!

elambra

Good news all (except craichoe cos he's just looking for confrontation, shame on you it's christmas)....

We went in and they said they would reverse the 'work' they done and give it back to us for free. The processor was still running at 250mhz and after pulling out a few technical questions they admitted that they could not fix the processor speed as it was a 'hardware problem'

Anyway I got home and realised that the charger is nearly bust, so I stuck in my own charger and the laptop immediately became faster, now running back at 1.4ghz. Fixed.

Internet is still a bit slow but I'm working on scanning the crap out of it to see if I can get rid of these nasty things slowing it down..

Happy days

elambra

craichoe wrote: »

Come on... Complaining about a 150 euro charge and then admitting that the laptop wouldnt even be worth it to repair hence you sold it to your dad...

On top of that you posted this on a public forum .. On the internet and ask people to keep their opinions to themselves.. Give me a break.

Its up to them what they charge because you are paying for their time. you could make the same argument about a plumber but ffs .. Your dad didnt lose anything ..so where is the issue ?

Listen, this is a public forum entitled 'Consumer Issues' therefore relevant opinions regarding the topic and my concern are welcome. If your here to pick a fight then I suggest you go somewhere else. Why do people always write with their ego's on forums? ooo your going to have to write back now arent you? to get the last word?

back to the point, It's up to ME how much I let someone charge me, and I was not going to let someone charge me that huge amount for such little work. My dad was about to lose €120, that was the issue.

Anyway, this issue has been resolved now, so this thread is finished.

craichoe

elambra wrote: »

Listen, this is a public forum entitled 'Consumer Issues' therefore relevant opinions regarding the topic and my concern are welcome. If your here to pick a fight then I suggest you go somewhere else. Why do people always write with their ego's on forums? ooo your going to have to write back now arent you? to get the last word?

back to the point, It's up to ME how much I let someone charge me, and I was not going to let someone charge me that huge amount for such little work. My dad was about to lose €120, that was the issue.

Anyway, this issue has been resolved now, so this thread is finished.

A. Its not your money its your dads, and there was no money exchanged in the first place. You dad did not no how to do this himself to resolve the issue, the company he went to is a business and they provided a service for a charge.
B. If someone does a job for you just because you know how to do it doesn't automatically make the work a rip-off, a plumber for example could charge 180 euro for cleaning your boiler, your paying for their knowledge. I could get a mate to do it for free.
C. Thats not an unreasonable charge for the amount of time involved in doing it.

Theres no fight, just if someone in Consumer issue bitches about a business, but theres two sides to every coin.

elambra

craichoe wrote: »

A. Its not your money its your dads, and there was no money exchanged in the first place. You dad did not no how to do this himself to resolve the issue, the company he went to is a business and they provided a service for a charge.
B. If someone does a job for you just because you know how to do it doesn't automatically make the work a rip-off, a plumber for example could charge 180 euro for cleaning your boiler, your paying for their knowledge. I could get a mate to do it for free.
C. Thats not an unreasonable charge for the amount of time involved in doing it.

Theres no fight, just if someone in Consumer issue bitches about a business, but theres two sides to every coin.

There are people on this who will do it for €60, which to me sounds more reasonable. If they provided the service for a more reasonable charge then I would have advised my father to go ahead. But it was too expensive. I am now going to do it myself and go about the more tedious route of re-installing windows.

It is well known that there is a rip-off culture in Ireland. I try my best not to get caught out my it. Based on the advise on this thread and also my own judgement, I feel as a consumer that the price was too much, so I didn't go ahead with the service. That's the way things happen. That's why pubs are empty in Ireland, that's why not as many people eat out as in UK/EU/USA, because people charge too much for things and consumers have a choice.

While I accept what you are saying, in my particular situation this is my choice.

Regarding my financial relationship with my father, I'm not going to get into it on a public forum.

AARRRGH

This thread is ridiculous.

The cost of the laptop is irrelevant.

The only issue is this -

If your father clearly asked them for a quote, and they went ahead and fixed it anyway, well then that's their problem and you shouldn't have to pay them anything.

Are you absolutely certain your non-technical father made it clear he only wanted a quote?

Regarding the "rip off" price. Get real. You brought the laptop to a professional. €150 is not a huge amount of money to pay a professional.

Also, as someone with strong technical skills and who has done a lot of virus removal for people in the past, some viruses are nasty ****ers and take quite a few hours of work.

Sid71

First things first! If they quote for free then they should have done so.
As regards virus's, Microsoft have admitted that a virus can get so deep into the kernel of the operating system that it just cant be removed. so the most cost effective way is just save what you can and reinstall:)

I work in Marx and we normally charge between €100-150 depending on how difficult the machine is to clean, though if it's a simple fix we'd use common sense and go lower. The ballpark figure is actually more than what we charge for a Windows reinstall. It can be much more time consuming than simply formatting the drive and reloading Windows but at least none of the customer's data or applications will be lost - so many people don't realise that you lose MS Office by doing a clean install. I only reinstall if I absolutely have to or if the customer decides to.

Sid71

Yes but with a reinstall you know its back to its original state, and sure you have to have to install all the drivers and apps but its the only way to know for sure that its clean and free of virus.
Thats the way I do it.You could spend all day and night and still not get all the trash that has accumulated on the drive.
So as I said save what you can and reinstall.