Hardship Help
Who We Help With Friendly Tech Support
Ayrshire Tech Help is a paid repair business, but a small number of free jobs are still kept aside for people who genuinely cannot afford help. This page explains who that is for and the one rule that keeps it fair.
The one rule
Free help is by prior agreement only, never retrospectively. Say cost is the barrier in your first message — before any job is quoted or started.
How it works
Four rules that keep free help fair
This has to work fairly for the people who genuinely need it, and fairly for me, and fairly for the next person in the queue. These four rules are how that balance holds.
By prior agreement only
Free help must be agreed in writing before the job starts. It cannot be claimed after the fact, and it cannot be switched on retrospectively once paid work has been quoted or done.
Trust, not paperwork
I do not ask you to prove hardship or hand over benefit letters. If you tell me cost is the genuine barrier and I have capacity that month, we can agree a free job — that is the whole process.
Small and finite
Only a handful of free jobs are taken on each month, and they run around the paid work that keeps the business going. Some months there is space, some months there is not.
Reserved for the people who need it
Pensioners on fixed incomes, disabled people, unemployed people and low-income households are the people this is for. Asking for a free job because you would rather not pay is not hardship, and will be politely declined.
Who I help
The people who most often book me
Some people book paid work. Some genuinely need free help. Either way, the important thing is being clear before anything is booked.
Homes across Ayrshire
Most of my work comes from homeowners and families who want a dependable local name rather than a faceless chain shop.
Families booking for a relative
Adult children, grandchildren and carers regularly book me on behalf of a parent or grandparent who is stuck.
Small businesses and home offices
Sole traders and small teams across Ayrshire use me as their on-call IT person without the overhead of a monthly contract.
Older residents
A good proportion of my regulars are retired. Patience, plain English and never making anyone feel foolish are non-negotiables.
People in genuine hardship
A small number of free jobs are kept aside each month for people who truly cannot afford paid support and would otherwise go without.
Community referrals
Housing staff, community groups, support workers and neighbours sometimes refer people who need paid help or genuinely cannot afford it.
Why this support still matters
When technology becomes a barrier, people end up cut off from loved ones, from appointments, from benefits, from online forms, from work. That burden falls hardest on people who are already dealing with illness, isolation, limited money or reduced mobility.
The business has to run on paid work to be sustainable. But a small number of free jobs are still kept aside because some problems genuinely do not get fixed otherwise, and I would rather not live with that.
If you are unsure whether you qualify, just describe the situation plainly. I would rather you ask than stay stuck.
Arranging help for someone else
You do not need to have all the answers before getting in touch on a relative or neighbour's behalf.
- You can book a visit or collection on behalf of a parent, grandparent, neighbour or friend — I deal with them directly, or loop you in, whichever works.
- You do not need to know the technical detail. Tell me what keeps breaking and I will work out the real problem on the day.
- If the person you are helping genuinely cannot afford paid support, say so in the first message so free help can be discussed before anything is agreed.
Why the "agreed in advance" rule exists
The one non-negotiable — and the reason it has to be this way.
Hardship help is agreed up front, never retrospectively. You cannot book a job, have it quoted, have it done, and then ask for it to be free at the end.
That is not me being difficult. It is the only way to protect the free help from people who would rather not pay and would happily claim hardship at the invoice stage. If I let that happen, the free slots would disappear inside a month and the people who genuinely need them would get nothing.
So the rule is simple: if cost is the genuine barrier, say so in your very first message. Any free help is agreed before work is quoted. If it is not said up front, the job is paid work at normal prices - no exceptions.
Ready to ask for help?
If cost is the real barrier, say it up front
Describe the situation plainly and mention clearly that paying is not possible. Any free help is agreed before work begins.