How to hire
Match the fixer to the job first. Midland Computers exists for business networks, servers and support contracts, not for a single poorly laptop. Household machines belong with the Wellington counters, the home-visit firms or the Newport and Madeley shops, while Apple hardware has its own specialist in Appel. Postal repair suits a console or laptop no local bench covers. When you first enquire, give the make and model, the symptom in plain words and how urgently you need it back.
No law names a register a computer repairer must join, so check what can be checked. For iPhones and Macs, Apple's verification page shows whether a firm has genuine-parts access, training and diagnostics [2]. Microsoft partnership claims live on the firms' own websites, so ask for the partner ID and confirm what it covers. For limited companies, the Companies House register shows whether the company is active and where it is registered [4].
Protect your data before the device leaves your hands. Copy photos and documents to an external drive or cloud storage, sign out of banking and email where you can, and note down your passwords somewhere safe. Ask the shop how it stores customer data, who can see it and when copies are wiped. A careful firm explains this without being asked; a vague answer is itself an answer. Lose your passwords and even a perfect repair leaves you stranded.
Get two or three itemised written quotes on the same fault description, splitting diagnosis, parts, labour and VAT so you compare like with like [3]. Each quote should state the diagnosis fee and whether it comes off the repair bill, whether parts are genuine or pattern, the warranty length in months and the turnaround in days. Treat an outlier far above or below the rest as a question rather than a bargain, and ask what is included or excluded.
Agree the call-out terms before anyone travels. Come-to-you fixers and remote helpers should state the visit fee, whether time is charged hourly or fixed and what you pay if the fault cannot be fixed. For home visits across Telford, confirm parking and access, back up files first and keep children and pets clear of the work area. Hand over a machine only with a written record of its condition and serial number.
On collection, test the device before you pay: open the programs you use, check the screen, keyboard, ports and sound, and confirm the original fault has gone. Take an itemised invoice showing parts, labour, VAT and the warranty terms, and file it with the quote. If the repair fails inside the warranty, return promptly with the paperwork; if the firm will not help, Citizens Advice sets out your next steps [3].
Telford and Wrekin adds local texture rather than red tape. The council's licence lists cover activities from street trading to scrap metal, with no licence in them for mending computers [8]. Borough conservation controls touch alterations to buildings rather than bench work: eight conservation areas stand across Telford and Wrekin, including Wellington, Newport and the Severn Gorge, with extra dwelling controls inside the Gorge [5]. What changes by postcode is practical. Ironbridge's gorge streets park tight, and the council runs pay-and-go in its Ironbridge car parks while keeping two dozen council car parks free across the borough [6]. Lawley Village keeps adding family homes on its western edge [7]. Name your estate and parking spot when you book, and say how many machines need attention.
A typical job runs the same course whatever the route. First contact states the make, model, symptom and deadline, and the firm answers with a diagnosis fee, a turnaround and a booking or a counter slot. Diagnosis names the fault and the parts it needs, and you approve a written figure before anything is fitted. The bench confirms your data position in writing, then hands the machine back for testing on collection. The invoice closes the job, and the warranty dates run from that paper rather than from any handshake.
Two pieces of paper decide whether a dispute ends quickly. The written quote should carry a validity period, the machine's serial number and noted condition, the data position while the device is open, and the term that moves the price if the bench finds worse damage inside. The closing paperwork should mirror it: an itemised invoice with parts, labour and the VAT position, the warranty length with its start date and exclusions, and a contact route for faults inside the term. Where the two papers disagree, the earlier figure carries the argument, so keep both.
Pricing
As of autumn 2026, rough ranges run like this: laptop screen supply and replacement £50–£300; laptop battery £30–£180; keyboard £30–£200; power socket £45–£210; liquid-damage dry-out £50–£250; laptop motherboard £100–£500 [1]. These come from a Which? survey of ten traders in November 2025, cover labour and parts but exclude VAT, and Telford usually sits below London and South East prices [1].
For desktops: power supply replacement £50–£150; hard drive with software reinstall and data transfer £85–£250; motherboard £75–£300; general service for a slow machine £40–£120; virus or malware removal £45–£120 [1]. Touchscreens, OLED displays and high-spec machines cost more and take longer [1].
Parts move the price most: Apple screens and rare boards cost more than standard laptop parts, liquid damage often needs extras beyond the dry-out, and data recovery adds hours where files must come off first. Call-out and express lanes add to the bill, while asking the bench to come to you costs more than dropping the machine off. Ask which parts are genuine and which are pattern, since that choice shifts both price and warranty.
Ask whether VAT is added on top, since published ranges exclude it [1]. Firms in this round publish almost no repair rates, so treat any single fixed price for a large job with no breakdown as a question, not an answer. Get the scope in writing before work starts: the fault covered, parts and labour split, warranty length and what changes the price if the bench finds worse damage than expected.
Phones and tablets follow their own logic, and this round's benches mend plenty of them. Screen cost tracks the model and display type, and newer handsets cost more than older ones to put right. The genuine-versus-pattern part choice shifts both price and warranty, board-level faults and water damage take bench hours with no certain outcome, and a priced express lane for urgent handsets adds a stated fee to the job. Which? lists the make, model, age and location among the factors that move any repair price [1].
Data recovery is bench time rather than parts on the invoice. Which? notes that a hard-drive job takes longer where files must come off first [1], and a failing drive can run further still. A no-fix-no-fee promise caps the downside where one is offered, so settle how many hours sit inside the estimate before the drive is opened, and keep your own backup current regardless.
Red flags
Quotes a screen or motherboard replacement without asking the make and model or seeing the device.
Will not break the price into diagnosis, parts, labour and VAT when you ask [1].
Takes a password-locked machine full of personal files without a word about backup or data handling.
Shows no business name, address or landline on its site or paperwork, only a mobile number and a first name.
Promises your data will survive before diagnosing the drive.
Claims genuine Apple parts for an iPhone or Mac you cannot find on Apple's verification check [2].
Asks for full payment in cash before starting, with no written quote or terms [3].
Hands the machine back with no invoice, no warranty terms and no note of the parts fitted.
Takes your device for postal repair without giving a tracking number or booking reference.
Lists vendor qualifications on its site but cannot say which engineer holds them when you ask.