And some of you have probably heard horror stories about someone whose computer really got messed up after they took it in for repairs or had a technician come out to their house to fix it. Unfortunately, we computer technicians are only human, so sometimes stuff like that really does happen, and I can't say that I'm immune to it either.
So if I make a mistake, I'm willing to fess up and pay for it, but there are limits to that.
For one thing, I'm not going to be liable for the value of any data or programs that you have on your computer when I work on it. If you've got a million dollar piece of data on your computer, and you've only got one copy of it, and I accidentally reformat your disk with it on there, I will not pay for that. Sorry to say, but you should've had a backup copy. That's your responsibility.
Now, if you tell me about that in advance, I'll be extra careful not to hurt anything, but that still doesn't relieve you of the responsbility to backup your data. In situations where something like that is at risk, I make a habit of backing up the data myself before I start working on it, but that doesn't relieve you of your responsbility to do it yourself either.
I'm also not going to be held liable for your failure to correctly follow my instructions when that results in damage to your computer or your data. If I tell you the wrong thing to do, that's a different matter.
And I'm not going to be liable for anything else that's in your house that might damage your computer or your data, such as magnets, water, or static electricity. Nor will I be liable for anything that you, your family, your customers, or your guests do to your computers or your data that might damage them.
So what will I pay for? I'll pay to replace any actual part that I damage through my own actions or instructions, or lack thereof. Also, if I mess up a program on your computer, I'll reinstall it free of charge, using your existing disks.
Now for anyone who might want to sue me in court, you might get a judgment against me, but getting money from me is a different matter, because I don't have a lot of that. And at least right now, I don't have business liability insurance either, because of the tight budget I'm on. So it'd be better for all concerned for you to follow the advice in I Corinthians 6:1-11.
Oh, by the way, one thing I will not do is copy copyrighted program disks or pass out copies of programs that I have, such as anti-virus programs, etc, so don't even ask me about that. I will buy them for you though.
Thanks,
Tim