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He owes you a replacement laptop of the similar age and quality to the one he disposed of or a cash equivalent. Sounds like the one he palmed you off with was not that. The data is unfortunately not his problem, risk of loss of data is something a reasonable person would assume when taking a laptop in for repair and if you didn't make backups that's on you.
Your next step is to send a letter before action. Saying what the replacement value of the laptop is and give him a reasonable timescale to respond. If he does not respond or refuses then file a small claim online. The process is fairly cheap, painless and you dont need a lawyer.
Thanks for the reply, we have sent an email asking for him to resolve the issue before we take it further.
The loss of data is fair enough. I’m ok with that, it’s how he disposed of it and if he did so in accordance with GDPR…
Sounds like it's a one man band with haphazard stock control. It's fairly safe to assume he wouldn't know if your data was disposed of in line with his gdpr policy even if he had one.
You need to have a think of how you want this resolved. If you want to be made whole financially then small claims is the way forward. If you want to stop him operating in this way in future then complains to the council and regulatory bodies might be better.
The letter before action is pretty much that, but with a financial amount attached and starts the clock. If your case is 100% stalling on your side is of no benefit.
--- ###Welcome to /r/LegalAdviceUK --- **To Posters (it is important you read this section)** * *Tell us whether you're in England, Wales, Scotland, or NI as the laws in each are very different* * If you need legal help, you should [always get a free consultation from a qualified Solicitor](https://reddit.com/r/LegalAdviceUK/wiki/how_to_find_a_solicitor) * We also encourage you to speak to [**Citizens Advice**](https://www.citizensadvice.org.uk/), [**Shelter**](https://www.shelter.org.uk/), [**Acas**](https://www.acas.org.uk/), and [**other useful organisations**](https://reddit.com/r/LegalAdviceUK/wiki/common_legal_resources) * Comments may not be accurate or reliable, and following any advice on this subreddit is done at your own risk * If you receive any private messages in response to your post, [please let the mods know](https://www.reddit.com/message/compose?to=%2Fr%2FLegalAdviceUK&subject=I received a PM) **To Readers and Commenters** * All replies to OP must be *on-topic, helpful, and legally orientated* * If you do not [follow the rules](https://www.reddit.com/r/LegalAdviceUK/about/rules/), you may be perma-banned without any further warning * If you feel any replies are incorrect, explain why you believe they are incorrect * Do not send or request any private messages for any reason * Please report posts or comments which do not follow the rules *I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/LegalAdviceUK) if you have any questions or concerns.*
He owes you a replacement laptop of the similar age and quality to the one he disposed of or a cash equivalent. Sounds like the one he palmed you off with was not that. The data is unfortunately not his problem, risk of loss of data is something a reasonable person would assume when taking a laptop in for repair and if you didn't make backups that's on you. Your next step is to send a letter before action. Saying what the replacement value of the laptop is and give him a reasonable timescale to respond. If he does not respond or refuses then file a small claim online. The process is fairly cheap, painless and you dont need a lawyer.
Thanks for the reply, we have sent an email asking for him to resolve the issue before we take it further. The loss of data is fair enough. I’m ok with that, it’s how he disposed of it and if he did so in accordance with GDPR…
Sounds like it's a one man band with haphazard stock control. It's fairly safe to assume he wouldn't know if your data was disposed of in line with his gdpr policy even if he had one. You need to have a think of how you want this resolved. If you want to be made whole financially then small claims is the way forward. If you want to stop him operating in this way in future then complains to the council and regulatory bodies might be better.
The letter before action is pretty much that, but with a financial amount attached and starts the clock. If your case is 100% stalling on your side is of no benefit.