Complaints

The complaint text that is displayed might not represent all complaints filed with BBB. Some consumers may elect to not publish the details of their complaints, some complaints may not meet BBB's standards for publication, or BBB may display a portion of complaints when a high volume is received for a particular business.

• Initial Complaint

  Date:09/12/2024

  Type:Service or Repair Issues
  Status:

  AnsweredMore info

  Complaint statuses

  Resolved:

  The complainant verified the issue was resolved to their satisfaction.

  Unresolved:

  The business responded to the dispute but failed to make a good faith effort to resolve it.

  Answered:

  The business addressed the issues within the complaint, but the consumer either a) did not accept the response, OR b) did not notify BBB as to their satisfaction.

  Unanswered:

  The business failed to respond to the dispute.

  Unpursuable:

  BBB is unable to locate the business.

  Price quote paid in full $1500 Dollars for exhibit plan for ******************************. ******* **** was e-mailed 70 pages of documents including deeds and 1982 plat map completed by the survey company that completed the subdivision. ******* **** was not happy with my first title search; therefore, I paid one of his friends $500 dollars for an A schedule /B2 schedule title search. The final deliverable, ***** Exhibit Plan was e-mailed to me on May 3, 2024, with a follow up e-mail on May 7, 2024, from me regarding several questions I wanted to clarify. I received a bill from Howell on June 3, 2024, for $1400 and I immediately contacted ******* ****. ******* **** **** up on me when I requested to speak to someone else. I spoke with ***** ****** at Howell with no resolution and received an e-mail August 29, 2024, asking me to pay $1400 by September 19, 2024. According to the agreement that I signed electronically after legal review, no finished work product will be delivered unless paid in full and customer will be informed if there would be any additional charges. I just want Howell to follow the agreement that I signed. I believe Howell is a great company with one bad apple, ******* ****. The company has a strong reputation however, **** has been employed for less than 2 years (Feb 2023 to present). ******* attempted to overcharge me for a simple work product that I provided all the information he needed to complete. ******* **** knew that I was using the information for a legal issue. ******* never gave me the opportunity to decline additional charges associated with the project. I have all supporting e-mails to support my claim. I would like to understand why the finish product was e mailed to me and there were no additional conversations about any additional money that I owed at that time. Notability the finished product was a copy of the plat map completed by the survey company in 1982. Total project $2250 = 2 title searches

  Business Response

  Date: 10/02/2024

  Colette Thompson contacted Howell Surveying to prepare a
  title report and Plan of Title. We provided her with a proposal which she
  signed and she paid the amount of $1,500 in advance. The Scope of Work was
  clear and typical. However, Colette took it upon herself to provide
  documents/files that she believed would be all that was needed for Howell to
  complete her request. These files were appreciated but not all that were
  needed. We also recommended to her that she obtain a new title report, but she
  insisted that what she provided was sufficient.
  
  I, Phillip
  Neill, PLS, and my team worked with Colette to prepare the agreed upon product, based on the documents she
  provided. When she reviewed the report/plan and
  realized it would not help her reach her end goal, she agreed that a new title
  report was needed. I gave her the referral to obtain a new title
  report (not one of my friends as she states). With the new title report in
  hand, we had to redo everything, which we shared. Both times we gave her the
  end products – title report review and Plan of Title.
  
  Howell Surveying takes pride in providing exceptional
  customer service and high-quality products. We helped Colette achieve her end
  goal, by basically doing the same work twice because of her decision to not obtain
  a new title report. During the project, Colette’s communication (email and
  phone) with our office required many hours of extra attention, beyond the
  typical estimated time we provide in a scope. To that end, as we tried to
  complete her project efficiently, we accumulated additional time for the
  complete redo of the product and communication with her, comprising the
  additional $1,400. The Howell
  surveying team earned this additional fee. We did what was needed to help her achieve her goal. Therefore, we stand by our decision to invoice her the additional amount.