Terms and conditions — partner referral service
These terms describe how Datastrophe receives a data recovery inquiry and refers it to an independent specialist partner. In this service pathway, Datastrophe does not perform data recovery, receive storage media for technical work or enter into the partner’s recovery contract. Sending an inquiry does not place an order for recovery work.
1. Service and scope
1.1 Datastrophe is the name of the referral service described in these terms. The customer is the person or organization submitting the inquiry. A partner is an independent business that may offer its own assessment, data recovery or related services to that customer.
1.2 Datastrophe’s role is limited to receiving relevant inquiry details, assessing which partner may be suitable and arranging the introduction. The customer’s location or the language of a page does not imply that Datastrophe operates a laboratory or has premises in that location.
1.3 These terms govern the referral relationship only. They do not authorize Datastrophe to accept a recovery quotation, order work, collect the partner’s charges or make technical commitments on the customer’s behalf.
2. Information supplied with an enquiry
2.1 The customer must provide accurate contact details and, to the best of their knowledge, a useful description of the device, fault, previous interventions and intended result. Datastrophe may request clarification or decline a request that cannot reasonably be referred.
2.2 The customer must be entitled to submit the inquiry and disclose the information supplied. An inquiry made for another person or organization requires the appropriate authority.
2.3 Do not send passwords, encryption keys, payment card details, copies of personal files or unnecessary sensitive information with the initial inquiry. If the partner needs technical access information, agree an appropriate secure channel directly with that partner.
3. Selection, information and referral
3.1 A referral takes account of the information available, the type of device or fault, the location and the partner’s stated capabilities and availability. It is not an exhaustive comparison of the market or a guarantee of the lowest price, a particular response time or a successful recovery.
3.2 Before an inquiry is disclosed to an independent partner, the customer is informed of the intended recipient, the purpose of the disclosure and the information concerned. Datastrophe obtains any consent required by applicable law; acceptance of these terms is not a substitute for a specific consent where one is required.
3.3 Only information reasonably necessary for the requested introduction is forwarded, such as the customer’s contact details and the description of the case. Referral is not permission for unrelated marketing or unrestricted onward disclosure.
3.4 The customer is notified of the referral through the contact channel used for the inquiry. If another partner is subsequently proposed, the same information and applicable consent requirements apply. Datastrophe may decline or discontinue an introduction where no suitable partner is available or a lawful referral cannot be arranged.
4. The partner’s separate contract
4.1 Once referred, the partner acts in its own name and contracts directly with the customer. These terms never govern the partner’s technical work: its quotation and its own terms govern that separate service, subject to applicable mandatory law.
4.2 The partner is responsible for identifying its business, explaining its offer and obtaining the customer’s agreement before chargeable or irreversible work. Merely sending an inquiry to Datastrophe does not accept the partner’s quotation or waive any cancellation right.
4.3 The customer remains free to decline the partner’s offer or use another provider. A refusal does not create a recovery charge payable to Datastrophe. Datastrophe does not invoice the customer for the referral described here or collect the partner’s recovery payment.
4.4 Referral does not end Datastrophe’s obligations concerning its own conduct, the information it holds, the lawfulness of the disclosure or rights that cannot lawfully be excluded.
5. Devices, shipping and technical instructions
5.1 Do not send a storage medium, device, accessory or return drive to Datastrophe under this referral service. Obtain the receiving address, shipping instructions and acceptance conditions directly from the identified partner before dispatch.
5.2 The partner’s separately agreed terms must address custody, transport, assessment, dismantling, destructive operations, return, storage and disposal as relevant to the case. These referral terms do not declare a device worthless, transfer ownership or authorize its destruction.
5.3 Datastrophe’s receipt of an unsolicited parcel does not create a recovery contract or authorize technical work. Any mistaken delivery must be reported promptly so that appropriate handling or return arrangements can be discussed; it does not automatically permit destruction or impose an unagreed charge.
6. Quotations, charges and recovery results
6.1 The partner determines and explains the scope of its proposed work, the price, currency, taxes, payment arrangements, delivery method and any separate charges. The customer should obtain these details before accepting its offer.
6.2 An indicative estimate or preliminary technical comment supplied during referral is not a recovery quotation or a guarantee of recoverability. No file list, integrity assessment, recovery quantity or completion date is guaranteed by Datastrophe in this referral pathway.
6.3 Any spare part, return shipment, delivery medium, file repair or other additional service belongs to the partner’s proposal and requires the agreement applicable to that service. These terms neither make those services free nor authorize the partner to charge for unapproved work.
7. Confidentiality and security of the enquiry
7.1 Datastrophe uses inquiry information for assessing and arranging the requested introduction, communicating about it and meeting applicable obligations. Access is limited to people and service providers who need it for those purposes, subject to appropriate confidentiality and security measures.
7.2 Datastrophe will take reasonable technical and organizational measures appropriate to the sensitivity of the inquiry information. No communication or storage system can be described as risk-free.
7.3 The partner is responsible for explaining the safeguards applicable to the media and recovered files entrusted to it. A referral is not a certification that every partner uses identical equipment, offline rooms, storage arrangements or file-inspection procedures. The customer may request those details before entrusting a device or files to the partner.
8. Personal information, retention and transfers
8.1 Datastrophe remains responsible for the personal information it processes for its own referral activities. A partner receiving the inquiry to offer its own services is responsible for its own processing; describing that partner as a specialist does not by itself make it a processor acting solely on Datastrophe’s instructions.
8.2 The purposes, applicable legal basis, recipients, retention arrangements, international transfers and available rights must be explained in the information provided at collection. These terms do not replace that information or the partner’s privacy notice.
8.3 Enquiry records are retained only for as long as justified by the referral, necessary follow-up, legal obligations or the proportionate preservation of evidence. A partner’s storage or deletion period for devices or recovered files does not automatically apply to Datastrophe’s inquiry records.
8.4 A disclosure to a recipient in another country is subject to the information, safeguards and any additional consent required by applicable law. Submitting an inquiry is not blanket consent to transfers to any country or recipient.
9. Communications, withdrawal and follow-up
9.1 The customer should use an accessible email address or other agreed contact channel, monitor incoming messages and promptly report an error or change. Datastrophe is not responsible for a delivery failure caused solely by incorrect details supplied by the customer; this does not exclude responsibility for its own errors or remove any legally required notice.
9.2 Before referral, the customer may ask Datastrophe to stop the introduction using the contact channel for the inquiry. Where consent is the legal basis, it may be withdrawn for future processing without affecting the lawfulness of processing already carried out.
9.3 After disclosure, Datastrophe cannot undo a completed transmission. It can identify the recipient and deal with requests concerning its own processing. Cancellation of the partner’s work and requests about the partner’s records must also be addressed to that partner; contacting Datastrophe alone does not automatically cancel a separate contract.
10. Responsibility and limitations
10.1 Datastrophe is responsible for carrying out the referral service with the care required by applicable law. It does not act as the partner’s technical operator, guarantor or insurer and does not guarantee that a partner will accept a case or achieve the requested result.
10.2 To the extent permitted by law, Datastrophe is not liable merely because the partner’s independently contracted assessment, recovery, transport, storage, return or disposal causes a dispute or an unsatisfactory result. This does not exclude liability for a loss attributable to Datastrophe’s own breach, misleading statement or unlawful disclosure.
10.3 Nothing in these terms excludes fraud or any liability, consumer guarantee, privacy right or remedy that applicable law does not permit to be excluded or restricted. The absence of a fee payable to Datastrophe is not a zero-value liability cap.
11. Mandatory protections applicable to this market
11.1 Applicable federal and state consumer-protection and privacy laws remain in force. The rights and notices relevant to a request depend on the customer’s state and the scope of the laws concerned; these terms do not assume that every state has identical requirements.
11.2 Where a transfer qualifies as a sale or sharing of personal information under an applicable state privacy law, the legally required disclosures, choices and opt-out rights apply, including applicable recognized preference signals. Calling the transfer a referral does not determine or remove those obligations.
11.3 A request to be contacted about this case is not blanket permission for unrelated marketing, automated calls or text messages. Any additional consent required for those communications must be obtained separately.
12. Questions, complaints and version
12.1 Questions about an introduction, a correction to inquiry details or a complaint about Datastrophe’s own actions may be raised through the contact page. A complaint about the partner’s quotation or work should be addressed to the partner, without preventing the customer from reporting a referral concern to Datastrophe.
12.2 The version provided when the referral is requested applies to that referral. Later changes apply prospectively and do not retrospectively amend an existing referral or the partner’s separate contract.
12.3 If a provision cannot lawfully be applied, it is ineffective to that extent; the remaining provisions continue only insofar as permitted by applicable law. These terms do not impose exclusive jurisdiction, compulsory arbitration or a waiver of access to a competent court or authority.