What I do — and what I don't
I provide software troubleshooting and upgrades for Windows PCs, laptops and small business systems:
- PC and Windows software troubleshooting
- SSD and RAM speed upgrades
- Virus and scam pop-up removal
- Data recovery and backup setup
- Printer setup and connectivity help
To be honest with you up front, I do not offer Mac repairs, or laptop screen, keyboard, motherboard, battery or hinge hardware repairs. If your problem needs that kind of workshop work, I will say so plainly rather than take your money.
How support works
I am a fully mobile service with no shop premises. Scheduled support is delivered by secure remote screen-share or at your home or office. For emergency virus, malware and scam jobs in Ascot I visit, pick up the device(s), and return them the same day if possible — there is no remote session for that emergency service, and still no public workshop or drop-off counter.
Pricing
- Scheduled (non-emergency) remote screen-share: £25 per 15 minutes, capped at £75 per hour, normally a 24-hour turnaround (longer if complex).
- Scheduled on-site home or office visits: Home visits are £75 minimum outside Ascot (covering the first hour) and £50 minimum in Ascot (covering the first 30 minutes); after that it is £25 per additional 15 minutes, with ordinary labour capped at £75 an hour. Outside Ascot that one-hour minimum is firm — the visit is chargeable even if you decline the repair — unless you and I agree a free, no-obligation diagnosis before I start, in which case nothing is charged if you decline.
- Emergency virus, malware and scam cleanup for Ascot residents (engineer collection and return; no remote session): a fixed price, not an hourly rate. Tier 1 is £550 for a same-day attempt, booked before 12:00 noon UK local time — attempted, never guaranteed. Tier 2 is £350 for a 48-hour priority recovery. Both carry a £200 booking deposit, with the balance payable only when the machine is back with you. If a Tier 1 job cannot be finished safely the same day, it drops to Tier 2 on its own and the balance falls to £150, so the total becomes £350 — the price can only ever move down. If the infection cannot be removed, the completion balance is never charged. The £75 hourly cap does not apply to this service. Full service terms: emergency virus removal.
- Phone and remote diagnostics are always free, with no obligation. In Ascot, the first 30 minutes of a home visit covers diagnosis and repair together, so a visit of 30 minutes or less costs nothing if you decide not to go ahead. Outside Ascot the one-hour minimum is firm: the visit is chargeable at £75 even if you decline the repair, unless you and I agree a free, no-obligation diagnosis before I start. If I diagnose a fault I can fix and you go ahead, the diagnosis is simply part of the repair.
- I am not VAT registered — no VAT is added to any quote or invoice.
My promise: 100% No-Fix, No-Fee. If I cannot solve your problem, you pay nothing for the attempt.
No-Fix, No-Fee — the details
- Re-check — 7 days: if the same fault returns within 7 days of my visit, I will re-check and re-fix my work at no labour charge. Seven days is the general rule of thumb for every job — a goodwill promise that sits on top of your statutory rights, never instead of them. One service-specific limit narrows it rather than extending it: on virus and scam cleanups the seven days covers the exact malware strain I removed, not a new infection picked up afterwards (see virus & scam removal).
- If work looks likely to overrun the estimate I gave you, I stop and get your approval before going past it — you are never billed beyond an agreed estimate without your explicit go-ahead.
- If you decline a recommended repair in Ascot, you pay nothing for the callout or the diagnosis, and the only exception is extra time you specifically asked me to spend beyond the first 30 minutes. Outside Ascot the one-hour minimum is firm, so the visit is chargeable at £75 even if you decline — unless you and I agree a free, no-obligation diagnosis before I start.
- Hardware parts, third-party software licences and specialist off-site data recovery are quoted separately and agreed upfront — I never buy or install anything without your approval.
- Hardware carries its own manufacturer warranty, not mine — I provide no separate workmanship warranty on the parts I fit. Where you buy the part yourself (which is what I usually recommend for drives) that warranty is in your own name, so if it fails you claim from the manufacturer directly; I will help with the return if you need me to.
- Invoices show my trading name, my sole-trader status, a breakdown of work performed, any parts supplied and the total amount due.
Full plain-English guarantee terms live on my pricing page.
Bookings and appointments
All appointments are arranged by phone during opening hours (Mon–Fri 9am–7pm, Sat–Sun 12pm–5pm). If you need to move or cancel a booking, please give me 24 hours' notice where possible so I can offer the slot to someone else.
Payment
Invoices are payable within 14 days of the invoice date. If I have not received payment by then, I send a friendly reminder so nothing is ever forgotten.
If an invoice is still not settled by day 21, a one-off late-payment administration fee of £15 is added. This is a fixed fee that covers my genuine admin and recovery costs — it is never a percentage of the invoice and is never charged daily.
For business customers, the same 14-day terms apply and, where the Late Payment of Commercial Debts (Interest) Act 1998 applies, I may also charge statutory interest (8% over the Bank of England base rate) plus the statutory fixed compensation sums (£40, £70 or £100 depending on the invoice amount).
Liability, data loss and backups
My liability for any claim connected with a service is limited to the fees paid for that service, except where such limitation is prohibited by law — including where loss is caused by my negligence. Nothing in these terms removes any right you have under the Consumer Rights Act 2015.
Your data. Working on a failing, infected or already-damaged computer always carries some risk to the files on it. I take care, and I will explain the risks in plain English before I start. I am not responsible for data that was already lost, corrupt or unreadable before I began, or for anything you could have protected by keeping a backup. If data is lost because of something I did wrong, the limit above does not apply.
Backups are a shared responsibility. Please keep your own copy of anything irreplaceable. If you have not got one, tell me before I start: I will offer to make a copy first, and if you would rather I did not, I will explain what is at risk and ask you to confirm that you accept it. Where a backup is not possible because the drive is too unhealthy to read safely, I will say so before I touch anything.
Before destructive work. Where I am about to do something that could affect your files — a Windows reset or reinstall, partition changes, or malware removal that touches system files — I take a restorable image or backup first if the machine's condition allows it. If it does not, I will tell you before I start and we will decide together whether to go ahead.
Governing law
These terms are governed by the laws of England and Wales.
Contact
Berkshire IT Services is the trading name of Paul Kirby, an independent sole trader based in Ascot, Berkshire.
Questions about these terms? Call me on (01344) 935008
Phone lines open Mon–Fri 9am–7pm and Sat–Sun 12pm–5pm.