PC repair can be uncomfortable if you don’t know the tricks of the trade. It’s kind of like taking your car to the repair shop - you depend on your car to get you from point A to point B, but you have no idea how it works, and you have to put your inherent trust into the mechanic.

If you don’t know who you are working with, you might find yourself depending on a shady mechanic. Likewise, PC repair from a shady repair shop can get expensive as you rack up expenses for services you don’t need. Or it can be nerve-racking as you trust a machine you depend on to an unreputable store.

We’re going to tell you 5 secrets about shady PC repair companies so when you do need to get your computer fixed, you can avoid these practices.

Some shady repair stores might install used parts in your computer - while charging you for a new one.

Pay attention to shops that seem to charge you very low prices for a lot of work. If you’re being charged an ultra-low price for a new hard drive, data backup, installation of a new copy of your OS and the restoration of all of your old information, your new hard drive might actually be used. Repair shops that charge low labor costs might be making their money by telling you you’re getting new hardware when in actuality, you’re not.

You might be paying for counterfeit copies of software or operating systems.

This can sometimes happen at untrustworthy repair stores. If you go to buy software or an OS that will be installed by a PC repair company, always ask for a copy of the product key. Take the key, and make sure your installation is genuine.

If after checking your product key, you find out you have counterfeit software or even a fake version of Windows, contact the seller, ask for a genuine copy, and report the shady repair shop to Microsoft or the software developer to prevent the store from duping other customers.

An unsavvy repair tech might damage another part of your computer during a repair.

 While not every computer fix can go perfectly, shady computer repair shop techs might damage an additional computer component during the repair and blame it on you or the last tech that worked on your PC.

A good repair shop will tell it to you straight and admit they made a mistake if a different part of your computer gets damaged during a repair. Accidents happen, particularly if your computer has been repaired in the past.

The difference between a good repair shop and a bad one is that a reputable tech will tell you the truth and not try to charge you more money for the extra repair. They will remedy the situation by fixing the damage they have caused.

Shady PC repair shops might not hire certified techs.

Good computer repair shop employees can tell you that they see tons of botched repairs attempted by “experts” who claimed they could solve any type of computer problem.

Bad computer repair shops will rarely turn down any business, whether they are qualified to tackle a repair or not.

That’s why you should always ask if the store techs are certified if the store has experience with the type of repair you need, what types of certifications the employees have, and of course, if anyone without certification will be touching your computer.

5. You should always make sure you have your data backed up because repair stores will not be held responsible for information loss.

Cheap PC repair shops are not going to take the time to backup your data. Stories abound about techs erasing clients’ data by formatting hard drives or simply reinstalling operating systems over old information.

In fact, a good computer company might spend a sizable portion of time digging out data from machines that have been wiped by less knowledgeable repair techs.

Ensure you have a good backup of all of your files and any other data before you bring your computer into a repair shop to be fixed, no matter what store you use.

How to Find a Trustworthy Repair Shop

Not all PC repair shops will perform these shady practices. Look for a computer repair store that offers warranties on its repairs to ensure your PC fix is of good quality. While you’re at it, check online reviews and question the store techs about the replacement parts and tools that they use. Ensure that the employees are certified. With these tips in mind, finding a good computer store you can trust will be a lot easier.