I disagree with the explanation / grounds provided"The Spy Place Response to Claim#7022328-196005
3615 North Clinton Street
Fort Wayne, IN 46805
(260)484-0404
To whom it may concern,
On November 19, 2013, The Spy Place performed a service call at Riverbend Deli, 7400 St. Joe Rd, Fort Wayne, IN 46835, at the clients request, one Samir Zubair. The service call was to be performed on the clients camera system which was installed July, 2011, not about a year ago as stated in the complaint. The Spy Place warrantees all equipment, including complete service coverage, for one year from the date of installation.
Samir called The Spy Place stating that two of the cameras at the business were no longer working and also that the password for the DVR had been forgotten and he was unable to access the DVR. Without access to the DVR it is impossible to review the footage to help determine the cause of camera failure and other troubleshooting methods must be employed. I would also like to point out that the two cameras that were not working were not installed by The Spy Place. In addition to the DVR, the camera system also incorporated a 4 channel switcher which is being used to display the four connected cameras to a separate monitor. The two faulty cameras were connected to the switcher which only complicated the equipment troubleshooting process. The reason for the camera malfunction could lie in the DVR, the switcher, the overloaded power supply or the cameras themselves. After sorting through the numerous wires and determining which wires were being used for the two faulty cameras, I began company approved troubleshooting methods and determined that in fact the cameras themselves were no longer functioning and needed to be replaced. I also explained to the client, Samir, that his power supply was overloaded and needed to be replaced with the proper equipment to sustain the amount of cameras being used at this location. I wrote a service invoice for two hours labor at $90/hour, which included drive time to and from the location, handed the invoice to the client and he wrote me a check for $180.00. Check #3877 dated 11/19/13.
Once I returned to The Spy Place, I contacted our DVR manufacture regarding the lost password situation. Unfortunately, the only way to remove the lost password is to send the DVR unit back to the manufacture and have the entire system reset by the company. I contacted the client and explained to him what needed to be done and that there was nothing we could do at The Spy Place to reset the lost password. I proceeded to write two service quotes, not invoices, for the camera and power supply replacement as well as the DVR reset and mailed them to the client. The camera and power supply quote included two replacement cameras, which are different than the two that failed, a new power supply and a one hour service call. The DVR reset quote included the cost of swapping out the DVR, the price to factory reset his current DVR and the return postage for the equipment as determined by the manufacture.
Samir later contacted The Spy Place claiming to have found the same equipment online at a fraction of the cost and asked us to provide him the manufacture of the DVR, which is proprietary information, so he could send it into the manufacture himself. Although the client may have found similar products online, the equipment we use is exclusive to The Spy Place and is not sold to the general public via the internet or by any other means of purchase. Also, the equipment price quoted includes all applicable installation, equipment and positioning and programming necessary for the camera to function properly.
Prior to filing the complaint, Samir had contacted The Spy Place stating our services were no longer needed and would be taking care of any future problems on his own. As his account is up to date with no pending payment we agreed to no longer keep Samir as a client. We have not heard from Samir since until we received the complaint from PeopleClaim. As with any quote from The Spy Place, there is no obligation to purchase our equipment and we only asked the client to pay for the service that was performed as per his request.
Thank You
Sincerely,
The Spy Place
3615 North Clinton St.
Fort Wayne, IN 46805
(260)484-0404
My name is: Raymond Huck; I am the owner of The Spy Place. Our technician has provided a response to this complaint of unfair billing practices. I too, would like an opportunity to respond as well.
Our technician already explained that we received a call from the complainant for a service call. The customer requested that we provide a technician to visit his site and investigate the problem.
This customer as well as all customers are made aware of the service call rate being $90 an hour port to port. We would have no reason to send a paid employee to customer in less it is requested by the customer. At that time, once a vehicle is dispatched, the service call clock starts We were told that 2 cameras were not functioning and that the management also was no longer aware of the needed password allowing access to the DVR. Our technician also explained the service call work-(investigation completed) as to why the cameras were not working.
Our technician also explained that travel time to this location was twenty-five minutes each way.
Our technician also explained that time was spent on the phone with our manufacture's tech support in an attempt to re-set the password to the DVR that was forgotten by the customer.
Our technician also explained that although the customer claims that the Surveillance System that the customer suggested that we had installed about a year ago, was actually installed almost 2 and a half years ago, August of 2011. I be leave that he also explained that a total of 6 cameras were installed by The Spy Place and that the customer had installed, or had installed, the two cameras that were in fact the cameras that were not working and that the complete Surveillance System that was installed by The Spy Place was in fact operating correctly nearly two and a half years after being correctly installed by one of our trained and company certified installation technicians.
I would like to address the claim that the faulty cameras are available on line via mail order for a rather inexpensive price. I am sure that this is accurate, these being the same brand and model of the faulty cameras that were installed sometime after our installation was successfully performed.
However, we did provide a quote, (no invoice was ever provided, as no additional work was performed to be invoiced for), for the replacement of 2 cameras and a proper sized power supply that would bring the system back up to operation including having the DVR password reset for the customer.
For us to be able to provide this service this is what The Spy Place would have to complete.
1st. A The Spy Place paid employee would have to order and pay for the necessary equipment.
2nd. Our company would have pay for shipping of the necessary equipment needed to complete the work.
3rd. Once the equipment is received, then a The Spy Place paid employee would have to call and schedule an appointment to have the equipment installed.
4th. A trained and The Spy Place certified technician would be dispatched to the customers place of business to replace the faulty equipment. This travel time consists of twenty five minutes to the service call and back from the service call as well. We charge this because our technician gets paid, he uses a company truck, company tools, the company provides workers compensation insurance, business liability insurance as well as vehicle likability insurance.
A. Once upon arrival, the technician must identify himself to the customer and inform him or her exactly what is going to be performed, allowing the convenience store staff time to make any preparations or to move store stock allowing our technician the ability to free access to work space."