Hi, Carol!

That's not at all unreasonable.  Our no-record fee is clearly set forth on our pricing schedule, and we make it clear from the beginning that we expect to be paid for our time.  That's just the cost of doing business.

We recently had a similar situation arise with a client who had ordered a 60-Year commercial title with full copies of all docs.  When we faxed the order, some of the copies were illegible due to their age, and the fact that they were copied from microfilm.

They sent a second request asking that we re-send the illegible copies along with a request for some additional copies not originally requested.  They called us the following day questioning the fact that we charged them for another trip to the courthouse.

Client:  Why are you charging us a separate trip fee for this?

Jireh:  Because you requested documents that you did not ask for on the original order.

Client:  That seems a little excessive.  Why do you charge so much?  You were probably going there anyway!

HUH?????? (btw, I wasn't...it was the only order I had for that county)

I felt like telling her, OK, you get in YOUR car, drive for an hour and a half, fight the traffic, buy the gas and pay the tolls, find a place to park, PAY for said parking place, divest yourself of all your worldly goods so you can pass through a metal detector and get the copies you need...if you can find which office HAS the copies you need!!!

Instead, my response was, "You do understand that we do this to make a profit?"

I've gotta ask any VM's who may be reading this...what the heck difference does it make whether or not I'm "going there already"?  I've cited the FedEx analogy (do you ask them to waive their fee because they have a truck that's "going there already"?) to clients in the past and usually the response is, "Gee...I never thought of it that way!"

As far as checking the map goes, maps are not always a definitive indicator of the county in which a particular town is located.  Johnstown, Pennsylvania addresses for example, can be located either in Cambria or Somerset county.  You can't tell from a map in which county a specific property lies.  My response to that probably would have gone something like, "Well, if it's as simple as checking the map, why didn't YOU check it before you sent me the order?", followed by a reminder that while I do appreciate her business, I'm not here to be her whipping boy.

Depending on how much work this company sends you, you may want to consider whether or not it's worth going to the expense of keeping them happy.  Contrary to conventional wisdom, the customer is not always right.

Regards,
Scott Perry