Repair Terms

Section 01

Diagnosis before price

Some jobs can be quoted from the exact model and repair. Others cannot be priced honestly until the fault is identified, because the same symptom can have very different causes and very different costs.

Free initial assessment

Basic in-store checks, such as a visual inspection and preliminary power testing, are performed at no charge.

Internal diagnostic, $40

When a device requires teardown and more extensive internal testing, a $40 diagnostic fee applies. It is paid upfront and is non-refundable, because it pays for the skilled work of finding the fault, which has value whether or not you proceed. If you approve the repair, the $40 is credited toward the final cost.

The diagnostic fee is not refundable if you decide not to proceed, if the device turns out not to be economically worth repairing, or if the fault is one we cannot repair. In each of those cases you still receive the answer you paid for, and we will tell you plainly what we found.

Section 02

Approval before work

No repair work is performed before you approve the price. After diagnosis you receive the fault, the price, the options, and the expected timeline, and the job waits for your go-ahead.

If, once work is underway, we find something that materially changes the cost or the outlook, we stop and come back to you rather than continuing and presenting a larger bill at the end. Approvals given by text or phone are treated as valid approvals.

Section 03

Back up your data

This is the single most important paragraph on this page. You are responsible for backing up your data before leaving a device with us. Please assume that any repair carries some risk to the data on the device, and act accordingly.

We take real care with your device, and the overwhelming majority of repairs are completed with data untouched. But storage devices fail, sometimes during the very testing that is required to diagnose a fault, and a drive that was already failing when it arrived can finish failing while it is with us. Repairs may also require resetting, reflashing, or replacing components, which can erase data.

Except in the case of our own gross negligence or wilful misconduct, we are not liable for the loss, corruption, or unavailability of data, software, applications, licences, accounts, settings, or media stored on a device. This includes data loss occurring during diagnosis, repair, or the return of the device.

If you cannot back up the device because it will not power on, tell us at drop-off. If the data matters more than the repair, say so before anything begins, because it changes the order we do things in and sometimes changes what we recommend.

Section 04

Data recovery

Data recovery is attempted on a reasonable-efforts basis and is never guaranteed. Physical damage, severe corruption, failed storage hardware, encryption without credentials, and prior recovery attempts by others can all make recovery partial or impossible. Diagnostic and attempt fees reflect the work performed and are payable whether or not the data is recoverable.

Where we recover data, we return it to you on media that you supply or that is charged separately. Recovered data is removed from our equipment once the job is complete and collected, unless you ask us to hold it. Keep your own copy: we do not act as your backup.

If a device arrives with a drive that is clicking, grinding, or repeatedly failing to mount, stop powering it on. Every additional power cycle can reduce what is recoverable.

Section 05

Liquid damage

Liquid damage is treated as a special case, and we will not pretend otherwise. Corrosion continues after a device dries and can spread across a board over days or weeks. A device that works after cleaning can fail again later from damage that was already present but had not yet caused a failure.

Because of that: liquid-damaged devices are excluded from our standard warranty, work on them is performed on a reasonable-efforts basis, and no outcome is guaranteed, including outcomes that appeared successful when the device left the shop. Diagnostic and repair charges for liquid damage reflect the work performed regardless of the eventual result.

Bring a liquid-damaged device in as soon as possible, and do not charge it or attempt to power it on in the meantime.

Section 06

Condition on arrival, and prior repairs

Devices arriving for repair are frequently already damaged, worn, or previously opened. Cosmetic marks, weakened housings, brittle plastics, stressed hinges, adhesive that has already been broken, and screws or clips damaged by an earlier repair are common, and disassembly of an already-compromised device can worsen them even when handled correctly.

We are not responsible for pre-existing damage, for latent faults that surface during a necessary disassembly, or for damage that could not reasonably be avoided when opening a device that had been opened before. Where we can see that a device has had prior work, we will tell you before proceeding, because it affects both the risk and the price.

Devices are photographed at intake in some circumstances, at our discretion, depending on the repair and the condition of the unit. If you would like the condition of your device documented at drop-off, ask and we will do it.

Section 07

Parts

• We use new or high-quality replacement parts appropriate to the repair. Depending on the device, the model, and availability, these may be original manufacturer parts or quality aftermarket equivalents. Ask which is being used and we will tell you.
• Some repairs require special-order parts. These may require a deposit, and a deposit on a part ordered specifically for your device may be non-refundable once ordered.
• Replaced parts removed from your device become our property unless you ask for them back at the time of approval.
• Customer-supplied parts. We will install parts you supply, and we test them as part of the installation. Our warranty then covers our labor only, not the part. If a customer-supplied part is defective, incorrect, or fails, the diagnostic and labor to establish that are chargeable, and refitting or sourcing a replacement is a new job.
• Manufacturer repairs on some modern devices are tied to parts pairing or serialisation, which can produce onscreen notices about a part after replacement. We will tell you where this applies before the work.

Section 08

Warranty

Qualifying repairs include a one-year warranty covering parts and labor. Liquid-damaged devices are excluded. Motherboard and board-level repairs are warranted for the specific component or circuit repaired, not for the board as a whole and not for a later, unrelated failure elsewhere on it.

Warranty coverage does not apply to subsequent failures caused by physical damage, misuse, liquid exposure, improper use, or lack of reasonable device maintenance. It does not cover customer-supplied parts, software problems unrelated to the repair, normal wear, or a device that has been opened or worked on by someone else after our repair.

To make a claim, bring the device back to the shop with your receipt or ticket number. A valid warranty repair is corrected at no charge. If we find the new fault is unrelated to the original repair, we will explain why, and normal diagnostic and repair terms apply to it.

Our warranty obligation is limited to repairing or, at our discretion, refunding the repair in question. It does not extend to the value of the device or to any consequential loss.

Section 09

Turnaround

Most diagnostics are completed within 1 to 3 business days, depending on current workload and the complexity of the issue. Board-level faults, liquid damage, intermittent faults, and difficult no-power conditions can take longer. Same-day service is available for most phone repairs when the required parts are in stock and the device arrives with enough of the business day left to complete the work.

These are honest expectations, not contractual deadlines. Special-order parts, supplier delays, and faults that prove more involved than they first appeared will extend them, and we will keep you informed when that happens rather than letting the device go quiet.

Section 10

Payment

Payment is due in full when the repair is complete and before the device is released. The $40 diagnostic is payable upfront. Deposits may be required for special-order parts. We do not release a device against a promise of later payment.

Section 11

Collecting your device

Please collect your device promptly once we tell you it is ready. We are a repair shop, not a storage facility, and space on the bench is genuinely limited.

If a device is left uncollected for 60 days after we notify you that it is ready, or after we notify you that you have declined or not responded to a repair, we may treat it as abandoned and dispose of it, to the extent permitted by New York law, to recover unpaid charges and storage costs. We will make reasonable attempts to reach you first, using the phone number and email you gave us, before doing anything of the kind.

Keeping your contact details current with us is your responsibility. If your number changes while a repair is with us, tell us.

Section 12

Passcodes and accounts

Many repairs cannot be verified without powering the device on and confirming the repaired function actually works. If you give us a passcode, it is used only for testing your repair, only while the device is with us, and it is handled as described in our Privacy Policy.

You may decline to give a passcode. Where that limits how far we can test, we will tell you, and the repair is then returned untested to that extent. We cannot bypass activation locks, account locks, or manufacturer security such as Find My or an FRP lock, and we cannot remove them for you. If a device is locked to an account you cannot access, the repair may not be completable.

Section 13

Ownership

By leaving a device with us you confirm that you own it or are authorised by the owner to have it repaired. We do not knowingly work on stolen equipment, and we reserve the right to decline a device and to comply with any lawful request from law enforcement.

Section 14

Limitation of liability

To the fullest extent permitted by law, the total liability of Benjamin's Computer Repair LLC arising out of a repair is limited to the amount you paid us for that repair, or at our discretion the cost of repairing or replacing the device with one of comparable specification and condition, whichever is lower.

We are not liable for indirect or consequential loss, including lost profits, lost business, lost income, loss of use, or the cost of recreating lost data. Devices are left with us at your own risk as to their pre-existing condition and the data on them.

Nothing in these terms limits liability that cannot lawfully be limited, including liability for death or personal injury caused by negligence or for fraud, and nothing here removes rights you have under New York consumer protection law.

Section 15

Governing law

These terms are governed by the laws of the State of New York. Any dispute will be brought in the state or federal courts located in Nassau County, New York. If any provision of these terms is found unenforceable, the rest continues to apply.

Questions about any of this, before or after a repair: call or text (646) 656-7886, email barnett@benjaminscomputerrepair.com, or come into the shop at 5500 Sunrise Hwy., Massapequa, NY 11758. We would rather explain something in advance than have it come as a surprise later.