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Patient Tech Help for Older People in South West London

One-to-one help with the computer, tablet or phone you already own — at your pace, with the question answered as many times as it takes

4.8-star Google rating 25+ years experience Fully insured Insured, 25+ years

Last updated: August 2026

Overview

Nobody here will sigh at you

Most technology is explained badly, quickly, and by someone who already knows the answer. That is not a failing on your part. These sessions are the opposite: one person, sitting alongside you, working on your own device rather than a demonstration, going at whatever pace suits you and happy to go over the same thing again next week. We cover the things people actually want — reading and sending email without dreading it, video calls with children and grandchildren, getting the photos off the phone and somewhere you can find them, shopping online without being stung, and recognising the messages and phone calls that are trying it on. Nothing is too basic to ask, and there is no such thing as a silly question here.

Help using the computer, tablet or phone you already have
Email, video calls, photos, online shopping and banking made manageable
Devices simplified — bigger text, fewer prompts, less to go wrong
Written notes left behind, in plain English, so you are not relying on memory
At home or in the shop No jargon, no rush Same person each time
What you get

What every patient tech help at home job includes

Established and insured

We have run our Putney workshop for over 25 years and the business is fully insured — worth knowing when someone is coming into your home or office. Security and network work is led by a CISSP-certified consultant.

Same-day turnaround is available on many jobs — ask when you book and we will confirm availability and any additional cost before we start.

Features

What We Can Help With

Email Without the Dread

Reading, replying, attaching a photo, and knowing which messages to ignore. We sort out the account itself so it stops asking for passwords, then show you the handful of buttons you actually need rather than the whole screen.

Video Calls with the Family

WhatsApp, FaceTime, Zoom or Teams — whichever your family already uses, set up on your device and practised with you until answering a call is not a small ordeal. We will happily do a test call with a relative before we leave.

Photos You Can Actually Find

Getting pictures off the phone or camera, organised somewhere sensible, backed up so they cannot be lost, and shared with family without needing a rescue call afterwards. Printing them too, if that is what you would rather have.

Shopping and Banking Online

Ordering the shopping, using a supermarket account, checking a balance, paying a bill. We walk through it on your own accounts, explain which security prompts are genuine, and make sure you can tell a real payment screen from a convincing copy.

Spotting the Scams

The text about a missed parcel, the call claiming to be your bank, the pop-up saying your computer is infected. We go through the ones doing the rounds right now and give you a simple rule you can use under pressure, when it matters most.

Making the Device Easier

Larger text and icons, better contrast, the clutter cleared off the screen, notifications turned down, the useful things put where you can find them. Twenty minutes of this often does more good than an hour of instruction.

Process

How a Session Works

Simple steps to get your problem solved quickly and professionally.

1

A chat first

Tell us what you would like to be able to do, or what keeps going wrong. If a family member is arranging it, they are welcome to make the call and explain.

2

We come to you

Usually at home, at your own desk or armchair, with your own devices. If you would rather come to the Putney shop, that works just as well.

3

One thing at a time

We work through your list at your pace, on your device, with you doing it rather than watching. Repetition is expected and entirely welcome.

4

Notes to keep

We leave written instructions in plain English for the things you want to do again, so the knowledge does not walk out of the door with us.

In Depth

What to Expect

Prefer the quick version? The sections above cover most needs. Expand any topic below for more detail.

Who these sessions suit

This is not a repair booking and it is not a course. It is an hour or two of somebody's undivided attention, and it tends to suit four sorts of person:

Someone who has been left behind by a change

A bank closing its branch, a doctor's surgery moving to an app, a bill that is now online only. The technology arrived uninvited and nobody was asked whether they were ready.

Someone with a device nobody explained

A tablet given at Christmas, a phone chosen by a well-meaning relative, a computer set up by a grandchild in fifteen minutes flat. Good intentions, no instructions.

Someone who has lost confidence

Often after a scam call, or after being made to feel slow by a helpline. The technical part is usually quick; rebuilding the willingness to try is the real work.

A family arranging help from a distance

Adult children who cannot be there every week and would rather someone local, insured and unhurried spent proper time with their parent.

Age is not really the point. Patience is. Anybody who wants things explained properly rather than quickly is welcome to book.

What is and is not included

Being clear about the edges saves everyone a wasted appointment:

  • We help you use computers, laptops, tablets and phones — settings, apps, email, calls, photos and safety
  • We repair and upgrade computers and laptops in our own workshop
  • We do not repair phones or tablets: cracked screens, batteries and charging ports on those devices need a specialist
  • We do not take over your accounts or keep your passwords — they stay yours, and we will help you store them safely
  • We will not talk you into a new device you do not need; if what you have is fine, we will say so
  • We do not sell subscriptions or extended cover on the doorstep

If what you need is outside what we do, we will tell you at the point of booking rather than after a visit you have already paid for.

Getting the most from the hour

A little preparation makes a surprising difference to how much you come away with:

  • Write your list beforehand, with the thing that annoys you most at the top
  • Have the devices to hand, charged, along with any passwords you already know
  • Find the broadband router and the piece of paper with the Wi-Fi password on it if you can
  • Keep any letters or emails you were unsure about — going through them together is genuinely useful
  • Tell us if reading a screen, hearing clearly or using a mouse is difficult, so we can set things up to suit
  • Do not tidy up first — seeing the device as you actually use it tells us more than a tidied one

And if you get to the end of the list early, there is always something else worth showing you. Nobody watches the clock at your expense.

Not sure what you need? We're happy to help.

Pricing

What a Session Costs

Starting from

£90

Home visits are charged at our standard rate of £90 per hour, including travel within South West London — the same rate as any other visit, because the engineer's time and travel are the same. There is no special senior discount, and we would rather be straightforward about that than pretend otherwise. What you get for the hour is different: an unhurried pace, plain English, and someone happy to answer the same question three times. If you can get to the shop in Putney, bring the device in and we will agree a price with you before starting.

Agreed before we start · Written notes left with you · Same engineer on repeat visits where we can

FAQ

Frequently Asked Questions

Do you repair phones and tablets?
No — that is worth being clear about. We help you use a phone or tablet: setting it up, making the text bigger, sorting out email and video calls, moving photos across, showing you how something works. We do not carry out repairs on phones or tablets, so a cracked phone screen, a swollen tablet battery or a charging port that has stopped working needs a specialist repairer rather than us. Computers and laptops are a different matter — those we do repair and upgrade in our own workshop, and we are happy to look at one during a visit.
Can I book this for my mother or father?
Yes, and a good half of these bookings are made by a son or daughter, often from another part of the country. Ring us on 020 7610 0500, tell us what your parent is struggling with and what has already been tried, and we will arrange a time that suits them. Two things tend to make it work well: your parent knowing in advance that we are coming and why, and their passwords staying theirs rather than being handed over. You are very welcome to be there, and equally welcome not to be. Afterwards we can give you a short account of what we did, with their agreement.
Will you come to the house?
Yes, and for this kind of help it is usually much better. Your own chair, your own broadband, your own printer sulking in the corner — everything behaves differently at home from how it behaves in a shop, and instructions learned somewhere else have a habit of not surviving the journey. We visit homes across South West London and the practical arrangements are the same as any other onsite visit. If getting out is easier than having someone in, the shop at 66 Lower Richmond Road in Putney is open Monday to Friday, 10am to 6pm, and Saturday, 10am to 5pm.
I have asked the same thing before and still cannot remember it. Is that a problem?
Not in the slightest, and it is the reason these sessions exist. Something explained once at speed by a relative who is late for something is not really an explanation. We go at your pace, you do the clicking rather than watching us do it, and we go round again as many times as it takes. We also leave written notes for the steps you want to repeat, because remembering where to look is easier than remembering the whole sequence. Plenty of people book a follow-up a few weeks later, once they know which parts stuck and which did not.
Somebody rang claiming to be from my bank and I let them onto my computer. What now?
First, please do not be embarrassed — this happens to careful, sensible people every single day, and the callers are extremely good at it. Stop using that computer, and contact your bank from a different device if any money or card details were involved. Then ring us. There is a proper procedure for this: getting the remote-access software off, checking what was left behind, and securing the accounts in the right order, and it is all covered on our hacked or scammed device check page. It is a job we do often, and nobody here will make you feel foolish about it.
I have bought a new computer and I do not know where to start.
That is two jobs, and they work well together. The first is getting everything off the old machine and onto the new one — files, photos, email with its history, the printer, the Wi-Fi — which is what our new computer setup and data transfer service covers, from £89 in store or £120 at home. The second is being shown how to use it, which is this. Done in one visit, the new machine arrives already familiar: your things where you expect them, and someone sitting with you while you find your way round it.
How long does a session take, and how much can we get through?
An hour is enough for two or three real things — email sorted out and understood, a video call set up and tested, the text made readable. Two hours suits a longer list or a device that needs tidying up first. We would honestly rather do three things properly than nine things you cannot repeat tomorrow, so it helps to write your list in advance and put it in the order that matters to you. If we run out of time we will tell you what is left and roughly what it would take, rather than rushing the end.
What if I am worried I will break something?
You almost certainly will not, and that fear is one of the things we are there to remove. Very little on a modern computer or tablet is one wrong click away from disaster, and we will show you how to undo the things that can be undone. Before we change anything that matters we make sure your files and photos are safely copied elsewhere, so there is a way back. Confidence usually arrives the moment somebody explains that pressing the wrong button is how everyone learns, including the person sitting next to you.

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Coverage

Service Areas

We provide Patient Tech Help for Older People in South West London across South West London

Serving Wandsworth, Wimbledon, Putney, Clapham, Balham, Tooting, and surrounding areas.

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Would an Hour of Patient Help Make the Difference?

Call 020 7610 0500 — for yourself, or for a parent. Tell us what you would like to be able to do, and we will arrange a time that suits, at home or in the Putney shop.

Same day service available
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