I have a client who has ask for his money back because he did not like the result of his survey.
Has anyone else had the same experience? And if so what did you do about it?
All replies will be appreciated.
thanks,
Never heard that one. I would be temped to ask him if he also wanted his money back after a checkup from the doctor. I'm afraid I would have to respectfully turn down his request.
When there is a boundary dispute of some sorts, I always ask my clients is if they're prepared to pay for my services even if I discover something they don't like. In my memory, all have agreed.
We're supposed to be impartial. The result is the result. Maybe offer some suggestions of ways to accomplish what the client is hoping to achieve through other means, but there's no way they're getting the money back.
Can you imagine the precedent that would set? All of a sudden there would be no more houses in the flood zone and no encroachments on any survey to ensure a quick closing and payment!
Maybe he has figured it out.
Not all surveyors do the same thing.
You give him back his dough, he goes, pulls the flagging, hires dumb nuts surveyor, (Who rarely ever finds any problems) and, his transaction goes off as planned. He sells, and "he gone". So, if you give him back his dough, he will give it to this next surveyor.... Or opt to "Not get it surveyed".
Is this the buyer, or the seller?
Or, owner? You see, maybe he sees you as fouling up his title, if you record your work, or if it circulates.
Have you ever heard of "Slander of Title"?
So, are you gonna give him his 300 bucks back? (OK, I make foul joke) but you get the point!
What you might do, is go and record it, regardless. NOW, the next surveyor, (who does research) will find it.
OR the one who does NOT do research, will have liability.
Post your plat here. This is a bit of fun. Folks trying to take the surveyor by the hand, and modify his work, for their own motives. Where is the cricket chirping music?
Da da da de dum! da da da de dum!
---------------------------------------------
Go to doctor, he diagnoses you with gall stones. Since you don't like gall stones, do you get your money back?
Ha ha ahahah
The doctor example is good.
If that didn't convince him, I'd probably laugh at him.
I've had some coffee and my mind is a little clearer now. I've thought some more on this and have determined the answer is buried somewhere in the slight difference between a customer and a client. Although there are several definitions of both, and the distinction between the two is at times slight, there is a big difference in the case of professional services.
REFUND: ˈrēˌfənd/
1. a repayment of a sum of money, typically to a dissatisfied customer.
While in a broad sense our clientele could be considered customers, they are not in a true sense. The dissatisfied individual did not purchase goods or services in a retail setting. The dissatisfied individual sought the services of a professional.
A customer:
It is a person that purchases goods or services from another person or company. It is also called buyer or patron. I.e. when you buy milk at the supermarket, you are a supermarket customer.
In a retail or point-of-purchase setting, where consumers are offered a standard product, refunds can be common.
A client:
A person seeking the protection and engages the professional advice / knowledge of another person/business leader.
I.e. when you employ the services of a lawyer, you are his/her client.
In the light of the distinction of employing a professional, the time and effort that professional exerts are the purchased products, not the results. Barring fraud or negligence on the professional's part his time is the actual purchased commodity. When retaining a professional for services there is a different, if not higher understanding of services rendered compared to retail goods or common task labor.
Tell him to take a flying leap at a rolling doughnut...
Survey was no good because.............
We never got the house sold
Our loan wasn't approved
Dad changed his mind
My neighbor says he's going to sue me
We were told it went all the way down the lake shore
.
.
.
.
.
Bottom line. The answer is: NO! We did exactly what we were told to do.
This is no different than a mechanic fixing a car and the car owner then deciding to buy a new one because they can't drive the old one now because grandma died in it.
Yes, it has happened to me. But as I always explain when starting a boundary re-tracement, half the people think I'm a genius and the other half think I'm a dumb a*s. I'm just there to give my interpretation of the facts and be able to defend what I come up with in court if it goes there now or in the future. My problem...he was standing there with his check in his hand and we were re-viewing the plat when he seen a few things he didn't like. I was worried I'd have to get my money through the courts but he finally agreed to give me the money after he asked me to explain my process and thoughts. He hired another surveyor and he changed the line in question by a few tenths further into (what I think was) the client’s property. This was on a 3/4 mile long boundary line so it really didn't matter one way or the other because he needed it moved 15 feet to make him right. He paid for two surveys he didn't like. I believe he gave up.
I assume you have a written agreement with fees and work to be performed laid out. While not a pleasant conversation, as long as you did what you were contracted to do you should get paid. Good luck.
🙂 or he could call another firm and have them do the survey because he didnt like your result. This happened to me... my daughter works at the other firm and passed the call on to someone else in her company because they said they didnt like the result of her father's survey lol
Sorry Charlie. If I did it, we are under contract and you will pay the fee. Now, if it's found that I made a mistake or something, then maybe. If it's a REALLY good client that spends lots of dollars with me, then maybe or if it's someone who can do irreparable damage to my business, then maybe, and only if they ask properly. If they come at me wrong, I don't care anymore and have spent more money than it cost to do more than a few surveys to sue someone over $500.
JEFLS, post: 325114, member: 1771 wrote: I have a client who has ask for his money back because he did not like the result of his survey....
Well, of course he isn't entitled to his money back just because his corners aren't where he wanted them to be. But you haven't told us if that is why he "did not like the result of his survey".
Remember, most complaints to the board originate out of business arrangements gone awry. If I were you I'd think long and hard about just exactly how you are going to explain the circumstances of this transaction, from start to finish, to your state board - keeping in mind that your board will be obliged to take your clients rantings at face value until proven untrue. You just might decide that it isn't worth standing on principle and to cut your losses.
JEFLS, post: 325114, member: 1771 wrote: I have a client who has ask for his money back because he did not like the result of his survey.
Has anyone else had the same experience? And if so what did you do about it?
All replies will be appreciated.
thanks,
Yes. I made a deal with them that they would give me my time back (10 years of education and experience to earn the license, plus time on their project), and I would give them back the fee. They couldn't live up to their part of the bargain.
On the other hand, I had one attorney client that kept calling for 6 months trying over and over to make an argument that would change my mind on a boundary decision, even retained another attorney to argue with me. At 6 months I had enough and told him I'd give him his money back if he would stop calling. He told me to keep the money, and stopped calling.
Duane Frymire, post: 325147, member: 110 wrote: On the other hand, I had one attorney client ....He told me to keep the money, and stopped calling.
I'd definitely be suspicious of an attorney that turned down money....:-S
You return to me the time I spent working on your survey and I will happily reciprocate by returning my fees, but only if you promise to never call me again.
Thanks for all your opinions..
I have no intention of giving him his money back ($2,000).
He & I have a written contract, that includes scope of service and fee.
This was a 4,800+- sf., residential boundary survey based on deeds and a recorded plat going back 1826.
My client's deed was the last parcel out, and had bounding calls only. No distances. He lived on the land since a little boy,
and remembered where the line always was.
I suspect that he has a good case for adverse possession, based on long use, but not on the basis of deed distances.
So, thanks again.
It has been nearly 30yrs since that has happened, it was like an epidemic at the time.
Somebody got the word out that if the survey did not go the way they wanted, they should not have to pay for it.
No, not gonna happen on my watch. Nothing is guaranteed to be a favorable outcome in surveying as in most every other goings on.
Surveyors get paid for our Professional opinions, our labor, our research, our time spent and the liability placed upon us by the industry and our standards set by the BOR.
Our surveys stand as what they are whether we accept payment or not.
Nobody rides the bus for free.
0.02
JEFLS, post: 325171, member: 1771 wrote: I suspect that he has a good case for adverse possession, based on long use
AP is a title issue. It sounds like he has a boundary issue with no question of who owns each parcel, just a question of where the parcels stop. What are the acquiescence rules in your state?
You could charge him more. Maybe just a $ 300.00 fee for "additional research".
N
I look at it this way, when I do a boundary survey it is not my job to make the customer happy. It's my job to tell them the truth, if they don't like the truth well that is their problem not mine.
