And they don't do data recovery. I need to contact a specialist company to do this and be relieved of anywhere between another £250-£850...
... Yep
I know of somebody who can do it, and if he can't he knows a friend who can. Both work in the police and can't do this type of work outside of their office due to needing to use the police facilities. The Police can read data from a HD that has been cracked/smashed/burned etc but it'll vary the final cost.