HOW TO HIRE · MARKETING, DESIGN & TECH · CHECKED OCTOBER 2026
How to hire data recovery in Ireland
The checks, the questions and the paperwork.
A data recovery in Ireland costs €80–€700 per recovery, typically around €250. Here is how to check that in a minute, what to ask before you book, and what you must be handed when the job is done.
- Search and compare — no account needed
- Nearest to you first
- One score from Google, Trustpilot and Locufy reviews
THE 60-SECOND VERSION
Hiring data recovery in five steps
- Are you a trader, and can I see that in writing?No register covers data recovery work, so trader status is what your consumer rights hang on — diagnosis of the — diagnosis of the data loss issue.
- How does complexity of the recovery process change the price?The more intricate the work, the slower it has to be done. — ask before the quote rather than after.
- How does type of storage device involved change the price?A plain finish and a decorative one are hours apart. — ask before the quote rather than after.
- How does extent of damage change the price?Double the area and you are close to double the time. — ask before the quote rather than after.
- What is not included?Initial assessment of — initial assessment of the storage device — get the exclusions named in the quote, because a data recovery job is priced on what was agreed and not on what was assumed.
BEFORE YOU BOOK
Check before you book
No register applies
NO REGISTER APPLIES TO MECHANICS IN IRELAND — anyone may repair a car. The statutory thing is the NCT, which is carried out by the national testing service and not by a garage, so a garage cannot issue one. SIMI membership is a trade association rather than a licence, and it gives you a complaints route.
Look for the trader badge and the ID-checked badge on the Locufy profile — both are checked by us, not claimed by the provider.
What to check instead
Motor trade insurance covering your car while it is in their custody, which is separate from their public liability; A written estimate before work starts, and a call before any extra work; Whether parts are new, reconditioned or used, named on the invoice; The guarantee on parts and on labour, separately, in writing; Whether diagnosis is charged separately and whether it is credited against the repair; For a pre-purchase inspection, that the inspector is independent of the seller.
Ask for each of these before you agree a price, and get the answers in the same message as the quote.
Insurance
Expect public liability and motor trade cover for vehicles in their custody. From a company, ask for the insurer, the limit and the VAT number, and ask who actually attends: the team that turns up may be employed, subcontracted or both, and only one of those is supervised by the firm you are paying.
Ask to see the current certificate of insurance — the insurer's name, the limit and the date it runs to.
Trader or private seller
Under the Consumer Rights Act 2022 a trader must tell you they are a trader, and your consumer rights — work carried out with reasonable skill and care, and a cooling-off period on a contract agreed in your home or online — apply to traders and not to private sellers. On Locufy the trader status is shown on the profile.
Look for the trader badge on the Locufy profile, and ask anyone else for it in writing before you agree a price.
VAT
VAT at 13.5%, the reduced rate Revenue publishes for this service. Ask whether the price you were given includes it. A trader under the €42,500 registration threshold does not charge it; one over it must, and must show it separately.
Ask whether the figure you were given includes it, and for the VAT number if they are registered — Revenue publishes the rate for this service. revenue.ie →
A good answer: No register covers data recovery work, so trader status is what your consumer rights hang on — diagnosis of the — diagnosis of the data loss issue.
A good answer: The more intricate the work, the slower it has to be done. — ask before the quote rather than after.
A good answer: A plain finish and a decorative one are hours apart. — ask before the quote rather than after.
A good answer: Double the area and you are close to double the time. — ask before the quote rather than after.
A good answer: Initial assessment of — initial assessment of the storage device — get the exclusions named in the quote, because a data recovery job is priced on what was agreed and not on what was assumed.
A good answer: Expect public liability and motor trade cover for vehicles in their custody — mobile Device Recovery — retrieving data from smartphones or tablets that have been lost or damaged.
A good answer: A written scope and a price before the data recovery starts, and an itemised invoice after — USB Drive Recovery — recovering files from USB flash drives that are corrupted or accidentally formatted.
Getting the quote right
- Complexity of the recovery process — the more intricate the work, the slower it has to be done.
- Type of storage device involved — a plain finish and a decorative one are hours apart.
- Extent of damage — double the area and you are close to double the time.
- What does this service include? — it changes both what is used and how long it takes.
- In writing before anyone starts — a message on Locufy counts
- What is NOT included, named
- Who actually attends, and whether they are employed or subcontracted
- The VAT number, and whether it checks out on the Revenue register
Walk away if
- They will not talk about it: complexity of the recovery process — the more intricate the work, the slower it has to be done
- They will not talk about it: type of storage device involved — a plain finish and a decorative one are hours apart
- They will not talk about it: extent of damage — double the area and you are close to double the time
- A price for the data recovery before anyone has asked the size, the access or the condition of what they are working on
- Cash only, or a large deposit before anything at all has started
- No written quote, or one that moves once the data recovery has begun
What data recovery costs: €80–€700 per recovery
The figures are for the job, per recovery, and a quote for your own is the only number that binds anyone. Hard drive recovery and Ssd data recovery each carry their own band. Data Recovery price guide →
Guide prices compiled by the Locufy team from published Irish and UK provider price lists and 2026/27 cost guides. Updated 2026.
KNOW WHAT TO LOOK FOR? NOW FIND ONE
Data recoverys near you, with the badges that matter shown
ID checked, trader status and one score from every review — on the card, before you message anyone. Nearest first. No account needed to look.
Or post the job free and let them come to you.
- Look firstComplexity of the recovery process — the more intricate the work, the slower it has to be done — that is what the data recovery is judging on the first visit, and a price given without it is a guess.
- Agree what is being doneType of storage device involved — a plain finish and a decorative one are hours apart — put in writing before anyone starts, because it is the document you both read back at the end.
- The work itselfExtent of damage — double the area and you are close to double the time — and anything found on the day that was not in that is priced before it is started.
- Check it togetherWhat does this service include? — it changes both what is used and how long it takes — walked against the written scope rather than against the feeling of it, while the data recovery is still there.
- What you are handedThe itemised invoice and any guarantee on the workmanship and the parts, check if the service provider has relevant certifications.
- Day rate
- What a day of data recovery work costs where the job cannot be priced whole. Ask what counts as a day, whether travel is inside it, and what happens to the figure if the work runs into a second one.
- Provisional sum
- A figure held in the quote for something nobody can price until it is opened up. It is honest where it is marked as provisional and a problem where it arrives as a surprise on the data recovery invoice.
- Check if the
- Check if the service provider has relevant certifications.
- Hard Drive Recovery
- Recovering data from damaged or malfunctioning hard drives.
- SSD Data Recovery
- Retrieving lost data from solid-state drives, often requiring advanced techniques.
- RAID Recovery
- Restoring data from RAID arrays that have experienced failure or corruption.
AFTER
When the job is done
Hiring data recovery: questions people ask
The time required for data recovery can vary widely depending on the complexity of the case. Simple recoveries may take a few hours, while more complex cases can take several days.
Yes, it is advisable to engage a qualified professional, especially for complex recoveries, to avoid further data loss. Consider the importance of the data being recovered.
If the lost data is critical to your personal or business needs, investing in professional data recovery can be invaluable. Data recovery is the process of retrieving lost, corrupted, or inaccessible data from storage devices.
Not all data can be recovered, especially if the device has sustained severe physical damage or if the data has been overwritten. This service often involves diagnosing the issue, whether it's due to physical damage, logical failure, or accidental deletion, and applying the appropriate recovery techniques.
Data recovery services can be applied to various devices, including hard drives, SSDs, USB drives, and mobile devices. Check if the service provider has relevant certifications.
Avoid attempting DIY recovery methods, as they can worsen the situation and reduce the chances of successful recovery. Professionals utilise specialised software and hardware tools to recover data from hard drives, SSDs, USB drives, and other storage media.
MORE GUIDES
More hiring guides in marketing, design & tech
Data recoverys near you
Sources — checked October 2026
- CCPC — your rights when you buy a service
- Consumer Rights Act 2022
- Courts Service — small claims
- Revenue — MOTOR VEHICLES - REPAIRS (Certain repair and related services) — Reduced rate
- Revenue — current VAT rates (effective 1 January 2026)
- Revenue — VAT thresholds: €42,500 for a person supplying services only