PENN VALLEY ENGINEERING LLC

"We had considerable ongoing discussions with the customer regarding her purchase of this property and her intended use and building remediation since September 17, 2012. The initial structural inspection fee and verbal consultation information was given to the customer verbally and in a written letter of commitment which she agreed to in her response email dated 11/29/12 at 7:38 PM. It was also discussed that she would require additional engineering drawings to be determined after the initial inspection. The customer’s remodel and building modifications would require engineered drawings for permitting and construction which involve additional engineer desk time and fees. At the time of inspection (in the presence of her general contractor) she was given our engineering opinion that some of her project ideas were not feasible and would need to be addressed. In the following days and weeks, the customer advised her displeasure for the initial services received for the fee paid ($388.00) for her intended project. PVE had met its obligation of services rendered at time of inspection. She has openly admitted in an e-mail and I quote: “My error was in rushing, and “assuming” that the document embodied our discussions and my very clear indication of what I needed.” Her e-mail comment clearly explains that the problem rests solely with the customer as Penn Valley Engineering provides the extra efforts of written confirmation documentation and customer authorization so that this kind of problem doesn’t happen. Per her e-mail agreement and signed authorization to proceed there was no reason for the customer to “assume” as she received exactly what was previously authorized by her and contracted. Herein is the letter of commitment excerpt: “As discussed the tasks and services associated with the above scope of work will be performed for a lump sum fee of $388.00 (three hundred eighty eight dollars) for our initial maximum one hour inspection and verbal consultation. Engineered drawings/reports/sketches/calculations and material sampling or testing are not included in this initial structural inspection. All fees are due payable at the time of the initial inspection and consultation.” This is a clear case demonstrating that the client: • Did not read our contract before signing • Does not and continues to demonstrate she will never comprehend our services and the requirements of her project • Believes that a $388 initial on-site inspection consultation should cover all the engineering services required for her project • Is disrespectful of our profession, our time and services • Does not understand or accept that PVE has met the obligation of services rendered for fee paid per the agreement. We take great pride in the services that we provide to our client. We go to great lengths to provide the correct services to our clients and charge them fare/competitive fees on exactly what they need. We also emphatically spend extra time with our clients in reviewing our services and the fees so that there is complete understanding by both parties. Obviously, this time (which is rare) just didn’t work."