Reply from North American InvestigationsFeb 27, 2018
Shirley,
We are sorry you feel this way and we certainly do not want any client to feel we were dishonest. We had called you numerous times to discuss the investigation. However, none of our calls were returned.
I would like the opportunity to explain what transpired between us because our reputation is extremely important. We appreciate any client feedback however to be fair you should consider all that occurred prior to posting a negative review.
We take very detailed notes in order to be effective for all of clients and for their investigations to be efficient. Below is the synopsis of your investigation:
You explained your situation and told me you met a gentleman on a cruise while vacationing and wanted to get in touch with him
You provided us with the limited information he told you about himself but this was unverified:
1. First name only
2. Occupation, unsure but possibly retired (you stated he was Physician and his speciality)
2. His approximate age
3. One city he may have been located in and one entire State he may have residency in
4. He may have worked in a specific Hospital in the city you indicated
5. He has a 42 foot boat
Prior to charging you a fee, we had consultations on the telephone in which we spoke on 3 different occasions. Below is the timeline of what transpired between us:
Call 1 (2.5 months after meeting the subject)
Call 2 (6 weeks after our initial consultation)
Call 3 (10 days after our 2nd consultation in which you retained our services)
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Call 1:
You explained your objectives of trying to locate a gentleman you met on a cruise ship. I explained to you that if his information he told you was indeed accurate we may be able to help. I also added that we have had cases where the information could of been totally false and none of the information he told you is true.
After listening to your request I had quoted you a fee which included field work and investigative work. You told me that was out of your budget and I explained that we could perform an internal investigation instead, but it limited us with time and resources.
You had asked me if you had 10%-20% chance of finding him and I stated yes, that was reasonable, but only if the information he provided was accurate. I again told you that people like and sometimes take on other personas. This is more prevalent when people are traveling or on dating sites.
You had specifically asked me if we would get the information from the cruise line and I told you no, they would not give out that information, you stated that you know because you already called them and they gave you no information.
We wrapped up our call and said you would think about it.
Call 2:
This was 7 weeks after out initial call. You went over your information again. I reiterated this information is only valid if it is true that he could of been married or just not truthful. For confidentiality purposes I will not be specific but he had a very esteemed career, two homes, a large boat which certainly be true but could of just as easily been false. I told you there is NO guarantee and all we could do is try.
You stated you spoke to other private investigators and the going rate was $500.00 to start and more money after. At that point I was cordial but opted to pass on this investigation because in my opinion it would not yield results with a $500.00 budget. I said it would not be fair to you nor to me.
I told you our fee because you needed a combination of services. You said no you would not spend that amount which is fine. I told you all I would be willing to do is charge you within your budget however it would eliminate any field work and limit our time. I explained that this restricted us and I did not want you to be disappointed if we could not solve the case, your exact words were “if you can’t find him, you can’t find him, I am not expecting a guarantee” I again for at least the third time told you by law there is no guarantee.
I also said investigations have 3 outcomes:
1. Case is solved and everyone is happy
2. Case is unsolved, there are no leads or information to go on and we close case unsolved
3. We obtain actionable intel/evidence information/leads and more time is needed to follow them up. We would present a proposal but you would be under no obligation to continue.
I said with your limited information and presented scenario it will likely be outcome 2 or 3. I stated I wanted you to be clear about it. We agreed on the fee for a couple of hours of work with all this understanding. You said you would sleep on it and get back to me the next day.
Call 3:
10 days after our last call (and more than 7 weeks after our initial call), you said wanted to go ahead with the investigation. On this call you asked me to be how likely would it be to get the information and to be candid with you. Again, I explained that the case is difficult, you have limited information and I stated we have solved cases with less information and not solved cases with more information, every case is different.
The only chance is to put some time into it, once again I said there is no guarantee. We have other methods of investigating which is proprietary and we do not disclose our methods. You asked me will I tell you what we are doing and I said no, again we do not discuss how we go about our investigations that each agency has their own methods. At this point you provided us with your payment information. We sent you a written agreement and everything I stated to you was also in this agreement that you signed.
Conclusion
Everything stated above was explained in detail verbally to you as well as stipulated in the written agreement. Therefore portraying us as dishonest is disingenuous.
I answered all your questions repeatedly and reiterated the same things so you were clear prior to hiring us.
We performed a diligent investigation and put more time into it than was even paid because we were trying to help you. All the information you provided was either not accurate from what he had told you or he was lying. We researched every Physician in the city with the criteria you provided, investigated the hospital he supposedly worked at which all yielded no matches. We provided you a detailed report of our findings. We gave this investigation more than reasonable attempts and it unfortunately was unsuccessful due to the information provided.
I wish you the best,
Darrin Giglio
