How we charge for investigative work.

We bill an hourly fee for investigative services such as surveillance, interviews, report writing, court testimony, travel etc.

There are different “markets” in investigative work just as in other professions. For example you can expect to pay more per hour for an investigator in the large metropolitan areas than in smaller rural areas. We make sure our hourly rates are at or below the current market value for investigative work in the areas we are based in, and if we travel to the more expensive areas where local investigators charge more, we only charge our standard hourly rates, not more.

In fact in many cases it may be more affordable in the long run for the client to pay us to travel to the larger metropolitan areas, even with our travel rates, than to hire an Agency there. We charge half our normal hourly rates for travel; i.e., to get to/from the surveillance location, etc. Other investigators may tell you they don’t charge travel. They do. They just lump it in with their investigative time so you never know how much time was spent on travel vs. actual investigative work. With Gumshoe Detective Agency you will see travel separated from investigative work which saves you money!

We take our Hourly Fees out of small retainers. Retainers are a “deposit” for services to be provided. Our minimum retainer is the equivalent of ten hours of investigative work. However the more a client can put down up front, over and above our minimum, the further we can go without having to stop in the middle of a case. How fast we use up a retainer depends upon how many hours are worked and the amount of the retainer. This is why we will ask you what the best days and best time of day is to watch the target. We don’t want to watch an empty house all day any more than you would want us to.

Some investigators accept only non-refundable retainers. Frankly that’s scary. They can take your money and say they didn’t find anything and you’re done. Any unused portions of our retainers are refundable within sixty days of a written request for the refund. We discourage our clients from requesting a refund too quickly as many times they find they need our services again, and if we’ve already refunded them their unused portion, we can only resume our work with another full retainer. If the client leaves the funds on the books we can resume our investigation on the same case at any time. But after 90 days on the books unused retainer funds are not refundable and not transferable to another, different case.

Some specialty searches we do such as locating someone through utilities searches, reverses on phone numbers, backgrounds, financial searches, etc are billed at a flat rate. This is because we have to pay a flat rate for those searches. Flat rate fees are also deducted from retainers, however many attorneys find they need some specific searches performed and order only the flat rate search they need. It is still advisable for private party clients to start with a retainer however, since more than one flat rate search may need to be ordered in order to get the answers you are needing.

We use a very sophisticated Case Management software developed by a private investigator/computer programmer which means you will see all costs associated with your case on a detailed invoice, available to you on an ongoing basis or after the case is completed, at your choice. All time is broken down by date, time, investigator, rate and with a detailed description of everything we do for you.

Clients are provided a log-on to our secure Client Web Portal to which only the Client and the Investigators have access. You will be able to follow the case as it progresses, view and download photos, videos, reports, etc; and even upload your own case updates as needed. And even after your case is closed you will always be able to log on and view your case.

It would be much easier for us to do what others do and show an entry for “Investigative Work”, 8.2 hrs. With Gumshoe, you’ll see when we got there, what happened while we were there, and when we left, total miles, etc. Our invoices are so detailed in fact, that some attorneys have told us our invoices alone show the due diligence they need to win their case.

Remember the old adage, “You Get What You Pay For”. You may be able to pay less, but someone else’s investigation may take longer and in the end, cost you more. After more than 15 years of being in the investigations business we’ve learned how to be very efficient and time saving; and our time is your money. We’ll make it count.