The other day I was contacted by a realtor on behalf of the client and we booked a condominium inspection in Chicago. I sent an email introduction to the client which explains in great detail my credentials, what the inspection covers, what standards of practice I use, the price, and what form of payment I accept. As it turns out the client never made it to the inspection however we did talk at the inspection via facetime. I performed the inspection ( there was little if anything that the unit needed) and I sent an email to the client asking for payment prior to releasing the report. I didn’t get a response. I contacted them the next day and they said they decided not to buy the condo. I contacted them and asked to get paid. A couple of days later they responded by telling me they are a California based mortgage broker and if this was in California and if the buyer walks away from the sale the inspector doesn’t get paid. But they said they would pay a minimum trip charge for my inconvenience. In other words they ate the steak and complained about it afterwards. They are scammers. I still haven’t received a dime. What course of action would you take?
Sorry to hear about that. I would chalk it up as lesson learned to not only hold the report until paid, but to not discuss any findings until paid.
Try and get the trip charge out of them, and then do what Kevin suggests above… 
I wouldn’t go to the job site unless I was paid first.
I was scammed once. It was an out of state couple and they, too, didn’t prchase the property but I was remiss in that I sent the report before getting paid.
It was early in my career and I was stoopid. I asked my attorney what I could do. He said forget it (It was $790.00 back in the 90s). He also said get paid before you do the inspection.
I thought that was novel and did just that from then on.
Never had a problem after that.
What kind of bullshit is that??
The question is what kind of action would you consider taking?
I would at least try this
Payment prior to the inspection, always. You learned a lesson and now have a good excuse if any future client balks about paying in advance. You got scammed.
What Michael said. Advance payment! And no later than 24 hours prior to the inspection unless scheduled less than 24 hours prior to the inspection. In this case, I let them know I need payment made immediately.
In the last 3 years I’ve only taken one check on site and that was recently for a consistent realtor’s client. I don’t release the report until the check has cleared the bank.
Just keep going.Takes too much time to sue
Can’t believe no one has asked this… Did they sign a contract agreeing to the inspection and the fee? If yes, send a demand letter and pursue in small claim’s court. It’s super-easy and they are unlikely to ever let it get that far. If no, well… lessons hard-learned. Talking (or not) at an unpaid for inspection can cost you but is hard to enforce/live by when trying run a customer service oriented business.
Post their name and info so other inspectors can be on the lookout for them!!
Thank you.
I had something similar happened once. The buyer didn’t show up to the inspection and the agent was there instead. I tried calling the buyer and there was no answer. I proceeded to send the buyer an invoice for the inspection through Square. It was sent to their email address and phone number. I told the agent I will be leaving in 20 minutes unless the invoice is paid. They contacted their buyer and guess what happened, I was paid.
I’ve never performed a home inspection without getting paid first. This was the closest I came and I had no problem backing my truck out the driveway and getting an early lunch.
Same here! No pay no play! Always get the payment before I leave home. A lesson to learn. Sorry!
If they signed a client agreement then you can probably get them to pay like Matt said above. If not, chalk it up as a lesson learned.
I assume you had them sign a pre-inspection agreement, which legally obligates them to pay for the services. To avoid non-payment issues, I require all clients to prepay for inspections if they won’t be present to pay on-site. If a client objects to this policy, it’s a significant red flag, and it’s best to move on.
There are two things you mentioned here… “Chicago” and “California”. Where I am (Utah) I have only had one client that was a dishonest AH and would not pay (very early in my career) He was from “California” (and a know it all engineer). My mistake was to not get him to sign the Agreement before I stepped onto the property. It was not so much that he refused to pay, but refused to sign the PIA…So he did not get the report. I will say I’m very easy on when I get paid, but I always have them sign the PIA (online) before I step on the property. I probably only meet face to face with the client at the property about 20% of the time, so payment is almost always VENMO or CC. There is something to be said about where people (clients) are from as to how honest or dishonest they are. If they did sign a Pre-Inspection Agreement, I would send them a letter, followed by filing in Small Claims Court… Sure it is going to cost you more in time than what you will get, (as I understand it, in UT we can add up that time and expense and include it in the suit). Dishonest people know that most will just drop it…But not me…They will find not to tease the Gorilla in the Monkey House. At least Post their Info here and on other social media platforms so other are not ripped off by these scamming bastards. …my 2 cents.
So when you have a plumbing issue or at your own house and the plumber says Ill be there in 4 days and it will be around $1800.00 you all just pay him, today? immediately ?, $1800? Wow you are all more trustworthy of people then I am. I dont pay the tax guy, plumber, roofer etc. until the job has been completed.
I’ve thought about this aspect before. But here’s the difference, as I see it…
The tax guy, well, you will have no choice eventually. The plumber and roofer can both put liens on your home. We are different though because we are performing a service for the client, but not on a property they own. Therefore, we can not put a lien on it to get paid.