Complaints

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• Initial Complaint

  Date:12/09/2022

  Type:Delivery 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.

  I text Ashely, she quoted me via text for drone pictures and video $375. Over the phone Ashley said that they would be able to get shots of the creek even if the drone wasn’t able to.
  The photographer was not able to get the creek and never offered to use a different camera. I told him I walked the property and had taken creek shots the other day on ground but was under the impression that they had a “special camera” to get above shots of creek. I received an email with payment and download instructions, I was busy and didn’t get around to asking her if I could view them first before payment, mention the creek wasn’t shot and that the invoice was not what she quoted me originally. Ashley text me a picture and it looked correct, however still no resolution on getting the creek and the amount owed. I replied to Ashley with a drone photo a friend had taken, and she told me I would be fined 22,000 if I use those photos. Thursday September 15th Ashely demanded payment in full of no mention of trying to resolve any issues. She threated to notify my broker and seller and place me on a blacklist. she threatened me with 3x the debt owed plus court cost and notify my seller. Ashley emailed my broker and myself. Again, with what she said was official notice of suit and a threat if I was to say anything negative to anyone about her company, she would file a complaint against my license. she emailed again If not settled by 3pm she would place a lien on my sellers’ property.she emailed my broker and myself again saying “I want it paid immediately or this will become a bigger issue for all”! I requested for further communication to end from Ashley, she then replied with that she hasn’t contacted me since September 17th, which is untrue given the emails. Ashley has threatened me with court, fees, reporting my license, contacting and going after my seller with a lien on property, has contacted my broker, and has called me sneaky, a liar, manipulative.

  Business Response

  Date: 12/09/2022

  We understand that this is a direct retaliation to an ethics complaint we filed for theft of services against the agent above. Please cease all further harassment.

   

  We quoted Kaylee $375 for aerial photos and video (taken with a drone) and explained that a drone can only fly ABOVE the tree line, and that if the lot was wooded that we would not be able to see the creek from the air, but could add on ground stills if needed, Kaylee was shown all of the photos taken by my photographer ****** the day of, and he offered ground stills both upon arrival, and before he left, as that would be the only way that we could capture photos of a creek below tree line. Kaylee declined both times. There is no "special camera". Kaylee contacted me claiming that my photographer photographed the wrong property, she provided photos that her neighbors kid took for reference, I responded to Kaylee with an identical photo taken by my photographer to prove we photographed the correct property, and informed her that there is an $11k fine to an agent, and $11k fine to a pilot if they are unlicensed and fly for commercial use, as per the FAA. Kaylee informed me that she would not pay for photos, since she had almost the same from her neighbor, and I replied that payment for services rendered are due regardless as we did the job we were hired to do. We did not invoice Kaylee for ground stills as we did not take them, only for the $375 that the package cost, and $60 (which we discounted to $30) for a travel fee that is stated in our Terms of Service, on our Website, and on our Booking Site, as this was a 2 hour trip each way.

   

  Furthermore, once Kaylee refused payment, we are within our own rights to refuse service, however Kaylee was offered a reshoot at a discounted rate as ground stills were not included in the $375 she was quoted, and the trip to the property is 4 hours round trip, she declined that as well. 

   

  Kaylee is now harassing us, slandering us, and has committed many ethical infractions. We would like for this harassment to stop. 

  Customer Answer

  Date: 12/13/2022

  Better Business Bureau:
  
  
  
  I have reviewed the response made by the business in reference to complaint ID ********, and have determined that this does not resolve my complaint. Ms. S****** never offered to come back out and take creek shots as originally promised, she also has not accepted my offer to settle this. As a business owner I would have expected a solution or compromise over $375. She has made some serious accusation against me and it all seemed to escalate extremally fast. I have checked the public index to see that this is not Ms. S******** first time suing a realtor. I fear there may be a pattern here? I will not give into her threats and demands, however would like for this to be behind us and not try and hurt each others livelihood. Ms. S****** is threatening me
  with Harassment, Beratement, boycotting, slander, libel, theft of services, defamation,
  blacklisting, violating antitrust laws and ethics, reporting me to the **** **** ******** ********** **** Threatening to publicly post our conversations to
  the internet and post reviews for myself and my broker. Suing my broker, myself and my seller. She has been sending text and emails non stop to my broker and calling and emailing my attorney. Also threating my seller with a lien on her property. Ms. S****** also claimed that a official suit was filed back in September?

  This was her email to me that states she was not willing to come back out to the property to get photos of creek. From Ms. S******-

  ******, 
  
  
  You declined ground stills when my photographer offered them as we discussed via text. I am happy to have him go back out for a reshoot or I can go myself, the cost would be $125 for that reshoot. However due to your lies we are unable to work with you further. Please see payment is made in a timely matter or the lawsuit will proceed. I have all the proof I need and my photographer as witness. 
  
  
  Payment can be made or the lawsuit will proceed. 

  
  
  
  
  Regards,
  
  
  
  ****** *********

  Business Response

  Date: 12/14/2022

  Once again, we understand this is a direct retaliation to a pending lawsuit and ethics complaint made against the agent above for theft of services, and harassment. We urge the agent to cease all further harassment and defamatory statements regarding this company.  

  Regardless of the outcome of this complaint, should it be made public, I urge any reader to read the text conversation below as well as the testimony provided by the photographer who met the complainant at her listing and feel free to make your own judgment on the situation. I would ask that you put yourself in the shoes of a small business owner trying to protect a company, and a team member, in addition to trying to navigate this no win situation.
  
  ****** claims that I did not offer to make the situation right, but in her ending statement you can see I did offer the reshoot, but the fact she refused payment and claimed we photographed the wrong land, in addition to her declining the ground stills twice while the photographer was there does not warrant a free reshoot... She is the one who escalated things by refusing payment as soon as she was caught in her lie that the right parcel of land was photographed... That she "Expected more [than what her neighbor could do] for $400". Which... she could, our photos were edited and we included a video, and are licensed by the ***... 
  

  ****** is bringing up things she does not know or understand. She has been blacklisted from MY COMPANY. This is not a public thing. It means she is not welcome to work with any member of my staff, or with my company ever again in the future. 
  

  I have never threatened to report her to the ***... I simply informed her that there is an 11k fine for both parties when an unlicensed pilot is used for commercial work. That was meant to HELP her understand the laws of the ***.
  

  ****** has also brought up another lawsuit I had with another agent, though she is unaware that the lawsuit she mentioned was because a realtor paid us via check, canceled the check the same day she wrote it - before even receiving photos, and proceeded to used our photos without payment, which is also considered theft of services, and warrants a lawsuit... That agent ended up paying us for the photos she stole outside of the lawsuit and we dropped it. That lawsuit is NOT any of her / anyone else's business to be honest. But further proves the lack of morals some agents have.
  

  ****** is harassing us. Not the other way around. It is customary in a situation like this to file a complaint with the LLR as ****** has violated her own ethics. To sue the realtor (the salesmen), to contact their broker, and or sue their brokerage (who legally owns the listing), and their seller (who owns the property). When a lawsuit is filed, and won, a court usually appoints treble damages to the plaintiff. Once a lawsuit is won a lien is placed on the property so that the property is not sold until the judgment is paid. This is standard practice.  
  

  The fact here is that ****** DECLINED ground stills, which are the only way we could photograph the creek. My photographer can and will testify to this and has given their statement to me, which I have forwarded to ******, her broker, her seller, and her ex-council, as her attorney no longer represents her. Probably because she has no case... 
  I am willing to PERSONALLY photograph the creek for ****** on Friday December 16th at a time convenient to myself, and Friday December 16th ONLY. So long as she grants permission to access the property and instructs us how to get to the creek. IF the land is not walkable, if the creek is too far, if the land is too dangerous. I will not be walking it. ****** is allowed to be present so long as there is a 3rd party witness there as well, otherwise I will not subject myself to her continued harassment. ****** MUST pay off the current invoice amount by Thursday December 15th at 3pm. And will be invoiced for the re-shoot if it can be done. ****** must also retract all of her slanderous statements made to date. I will take TWO photos of the creek, edit them, and return them to ****** IF all of the previously mentioned is done, not because I should, not because I feel like I should have to, and not because I owe it to her, but because I want this to END. Once someone tries to take advantage of you, your obligation to do right by them ends. Your obligation to provide customer services to them, ends. Your obligation to work with them ends. I am more than within my rights to refuse service to ******, but if a photo of the creek resolves this, so be it! 
  

  To further clarify on the screen shots: I informed ****** that I would post screenshots of our conversations, yes. But that is to counteract the slander she has posted, so that people could see both sides to form their own opinions. 
  

  To further clarify on the lawsuit: I was informed that since the sellers reside in Texas that the way I was trying to file a lawsuit back in September would not work and I would need to go about it another way, that is what has caused this delay, since then I have offered ******, her seller, and her broker many, many options to resolve this without court. Each time they either declined or did not respond. 
  

  At this point I feel like ****** is holding me hostage over this, which in legal terms is called "abuse of process". 
  I am within my rights to refuse service. I am within my rights to charge ****** for a service that is not included in AERIAL (drone) stills and video. I am within my right to sue

  ****** for all of the above, for slander, for libel, for theft of services, for discrimination, for abuse of process, for harassment, and whatever else may carry on. 
  On September 15th, 2022 I received a text from ******, the conversation went as follows (this is a direct copy and paste):
  

  ******: "I am not able to view until I pat, however I didn't feel confident we got the tract correctly. He kept asking me, but I am not an expert. All I had to go on was the layout map."
  

  Me: "Hey there sorry not sure I'm understanding you're not confident in what now? The plot is combined with some of the pictures to show a reference of exactly where the land lays out"
  

  ******: "Sorry, It felt like he was getting the neighbor area more and wasn't able to get the creek" - "I can view to make sure they will work
  but from when he was here I didnt feel confident in the outcome. I just didn't know how to explain where to go from 400 feet high, if that makes sense?"
  

  Me: *I then sent ****** 2 photos of the proof's she received to preview prior to payment though our online dashboard. I assumed she was having trouble accessing, and I wanted to show her the plat plan she provided to me overlayed on the photos my photographer took with her present to give instructions.*
  

  Me: "Yes please go ahead and check them out, here is an example of the images I'm speaking of with the plot. From the looks of it the property is heavily wooded and the neighboring lots are cleared so that is what the images are of, of course from an aerial perspective it will show neighboring lots as well, but the focus of course is your listing."
  

  ******: "This is what my neighbor kid had already taken, I guess I was expecting more for $400"
  

  ******: *inserts drone photo taken by neighbor identical to the one I provided validating that we did capture the same lot of land*
  

  ******: "i'm sorry"
  

  ******: *inserts another drone photo similar to ours*
  

  ******: "I will pay for his drive time" [note that this was ****** offering to pay $30 for a $375 service + 4 hour round trip drive]
  

  Me: "I'm so sorry you feel that way, however these photos and the ones we provided show the lot is correct. The balance will be due in full for the work completed. Thank you."
  

  ******: "I will not be using your photos or service, like I said I will pay for the man's drive time. He was very nice, it's over 23 acres and I don't know anything about a drone, I was thinking he would have the knowledge from the map of what needed to be in the image and we had talked on the phone about aiming to get the creek in the photos."
  

  ******: "He kept asking me if he had it in the frame?"
  

  ******: "I didn't know what I was looking at 400 feet up"
  

  ******: "And no creek shots"
  

  Me: Regardless of if you use the deliverables or not you booked the service, and we did our job correctly, based upon the plot and your instruction, as the agent you are the expert, not us. We did go by the plot as proven in the photos I sent you and confirmed in your neighbors photos as well. As I explained on the phone about the creek, we can only go above tree level with the drone (which the creek was not visible and ground shots of the creek were offered to you both on the phone and with my photographer there. You declined)"
  

  Me: "You can use the photos or not but I will expect payment or I can notify your broker and seller! You will also be put on our black list and we will not be able to service you in the future."
  

  Me: "Even when I spoke to you yesterday you did not address any concerns if that was actually the reason which it shouldn't be since your neighbors photos prove that the correct land was captured I would've expected you as the agent hiring us for a service to address those issues the day of the shoot if not yesterday when I contacted you at the latest not now I'm sorry but I don't feel like we have anything further to discuss please let me know when payment is made"
  

  ******: "I did not decline ground photos of the creek? That was one of my prime focuses of the land. You had told me there was a special camera that could go down and get those photos he did not have that. And I was actually very busy yesterday and that is why I didn't address it. I also didn't address the fact that I found it kind of odd that your photographer asked to use my restroom when a woman is by herself, I don't find that very professional or appropriate. I hate that you feel the need to threaten me, as realtors we recommend a lot of services."
  

  ******: "*He then proceeded to urinate in the woods, which is fine because I did not let him in my home. He could have probably gone to the gas station down the road it's only 2 minutes away."
  

  ******: "I'm sorry the whole thing felt very unprofessional and I just am not satisfied with what I could see before having to pay $400 also the quote that you gave me was $375"
  

  Me: "Ma'am.. you are absolutely reaching now."
  

  Me: "I understand being busy, but if you had these concerns, which are proven to be invalid since your neighbor captured the same lot, I'd expect them to be addressed the day of, they weren't, nor the next day and you even texted me about a $30 trip fee but not about any of your "concerns". I don't buy it."
  

  Me: My photographer did have the camera to photograph the creek because it's just a normal camera nothing special, drones fly above trees, cameras capture below.."
  

  Me: “We are done. You hired us, we did our job, you just want to save a buck, and that's fine but if you choose to use unedited photos from a kid that's on you but it's a 22k fine if you do that since he is unlicensed.“

  
  Me: “You can pay the invoice or l’ll  send the seller the bill and contact your broker. It's not a threat, it's collecting a balance owed.“

  
  The complainant did not respond - from here I asked my photographer to explain his side of the story to me, to which I believe wholeheartedly, as he was unaware of the conversation I had with the complainant.

  
  My Photographer: “Geez!!!! Ok, in the beginning, where she showed me where the sign would go, and she showed me the plot, I offered then to do some ground shots too if she wanted. She said it was all wooded and basically it would be pictures of trees. She then asked if we'd be able to see the creek and I said if it's not overshadowed by the trees, that the drone couldn't get under the trees. So we proceeded down her driveway to her house and took pictures and video, with her by my side the entire time. While we were at her house and she was trying to show me where the creek was in relation to the drone, she showed me pics that she had taken of the creek with her phone. We continued flying and filming, and I continued asking her if we had it covered. As I was bringing the drone down, I asked if she needed anything else, any ground shots or did she think we had it covered. She said yeah, she didn't think we needed anything more, and I left.”

  
  Since then I have asked both ******, and her broker to help resolve this issue, at no point in time did ****** ask for a re-shoot, and at no point again did I offer it except the one time as described by the complainant, which were after these texts. In fact ****** refused to work with us after being caught in a lie about photographing the wrong parcel of land, so my goal was to recoup the payment she owed us.

  
  As referenced in the complainants last statement, you can see this is not my first time dealing with an agent attempting to scam us out of money for services, therefore I was already aware of everything I had to do to try to collect the debt. Everything I have done has been as per councils instruction, and in accordance to the law. Unfortunately I can not say the same for the complainant

  
  Below is the last statement from my photographer after hearing about this public complaint:

  
  Start Quote: “Yes, I will absolutely testify that I had my mirrorless and offered ground shots both before we started the aerials from her driveway, and also after we finished the aerials.

  
  She showed me the Creek photos that she had taken herself on her phone. So when we were done with the aerials, I asked if she needed anything more or did she think we had enough. She said she thought we had enough. 

  
  If she had wanted me to take the same pics of the creek that she had already taken with her phone, I would have. But she said we had enough.
  
  Before we went to her driveway for the aerials, when she showed me where the property lines were from the main road, I asked if she wanted ground shots there, and she declined. We both agreed that ground shots at that location would've been of trees in the woods, and that there would've been nothing of reference.” End Quote.

  
  I hope that though long, that the above statement helps provide a better understanding of this matter in full. I’m sure some could argue that “The customer is always right, just let it go”, but how many scams should a small business “let go” before it becomes a bankrupting issue? $375, is definitely not enough to have had to go through all of this over, but $375 once… twice, a dozen times, adds up over time if not stopped before it gets out of hand. Which is what I believe this has become… Way out of hand.