Making Headlines

South Florida computer repair outfits are largely unregulated.

That much is becoming more obvious by the day, as many Ft. Lauderdale computer repair seekers have publicly lodged complaints.

What you might not know is that two local women are working to fix that, the St. Petersburg Times reports.

When Julia Royal's brand new laptop began acting up last year, she returned to the store where she purchased it and got another.

A stranger called a month later. "Did you return a computer to Circuit City in Spring Hill," he asked. "Because I'm looking at photos of your daughter."

Weeks later, Julie Komenda, an artist who brought her PC for computer service at the same store, found some of Royal's files on it.

Komenda's own data, however - letters from two sons in the military, as well as notes and chapters from a novel she is in the process of writing, and even her husband's medical records - had been permanently deleted.

You'd think there would be some recourse. But when a Fort Lauderdale computer repair provider deletes, corrupts or shares your files, there's virtually nothing you can do about it, lawyers and officials say.

Several factors give computer repair shops the edge in such disputes:

1. Lack of regulation. No licensing or qualification requirements for Florida computer repair shops or technicians exist.

2. You sign a release. Most big PC fix-it units like Circuit City and Best Buy won't repair a computer without a release. The language of which states that company "accepts no responsibility" and is "not liable" behind the fees rendered for repair or network support.

How did these South Florida computer repair jobs go wrong? Circuit City won't say, but the case is clear - given the array of data people store on computers, having a stranger repair them is worrisome. Experts' advice:

• Back up files. The simplest way to preserve files is to copy them onto an external hard drive. By the time your computer fails, making copies may not be an option. If this is too hard for you, consider having your local Fort Lauderdale computer repair firm help you as a preemptive measure.
• Read the fine print. If you do not want to release a store from all liability for its own negligence (see above), do not be afraid to take your computer elsewhere, even if it's a pain.
• Always go local. Big stores have an edge on price and selection, but the smaller South Florida / Fort Lauderdale computer repair companies usually have an edge on repairs. They are less likely to make you sign one-sided releases, and have more invested in quality work from their own perspective, as their livelihood depends on it.