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L'un des principaux obstacles auxquels se heurtent les propriétaires d'appareils lorsqu'ils cherchent à obtenir une réparation professionnelle est le manque de confiance. Pour se sentir en confiance et pouvoir faire confiance, il faut avoir fait des recherches. À la fois sur la nature de la panne (iriez-vous chez un mécanicien de voiture neuve en disant que vous n'avez AUCUNE idée de ce qui ne va pas avec votre voiture ?), mais aussi sur les réparateurs professionnels eux-mêmes.

Look for professionals who

• have positive independent ratings or testimonials
• have a transparent pricing structure
• inform customers when using non-genuine or used spare parts
• issue receipts
• provide some guarantee on the repair

For some appliances and devices, professionals need to charge a "bench fee" or a diagnosis fee. As a customer, you should consent in writing and in advance to a "bench fee".

Mapping London repair businesses

During the autumn of 2016, we ran a pilot in four east London boroughs, mapping repair SMEs. We talked about the ongoing research with Hackney Fixer James Diamond on Restart Radio in October 2016 and we've written up the experience on our blog.

Based on this work, we started building The Repair Directory. It's our tool to help people find a reliable repair shop in their local area. We are building a directory of local repair businesses, and making it simple for the public to find these businesses when they need an urgent fix to their gadget or device. It is still in "beta" and there is plenty of scope to improve and help build a tool to be used elsewhere.