General investigative rate- $85 per hour
(Daily Minimum may apply depending on investigation)
Comprehensive Background Check- $255
Criminal History Check (National)- $180
Washington State Criminal History Check- $100
People Finding- $180 Per Person
(While results cannot be guaranteed, this rate includes a highly detailed search that will extend for a minimum of 3 hours per person as needed)
All associated costs, such as travel, specialized equipment usage, consulting costs (paying for information), or will be billed at their their actual rate. Any unusual or unexpected costs will be discussed with you before being applied to the investigation.
None of our investigations have any type of Junk Fees or Hidden Fees. What you see is what you pay.
How We Charge
We have two major systems of billing: retail billing, and retainer billing. With extremely limited exception, these are the only types of billing we do. These systems allow us to streamline our process, and bring you the most competitive rates in the area with excellent service.
Retail Billing
Retail billing is often times seen as “contingency billing,” where you (the client) pay for a specific service, and that service is executed. People Locates, Background Checks, or Assigned Surveillance are all contract bills.
EX: If you would like a background check performed on an individual, it is set up as one transaction and charged ala carte. The service is performed as contracted regardless of results or information found. When the service is completed, all results are passed on to you just like buying a product at the store.
Retainer Billing
Retainer billing is much more commonly used, and works much more like “insurance” for keeping a Private Investigator in your pocket. When we consult, you will get an estimated cost of your investigation. Depending on your needs, we may retain at that estimate, but we usually add 10-20% of the cost on top of this estimate, to give more room that may be needed. This retainer does not have a limited applicability in value, and works exactly like a gift card. When the investigation is done, the remaining value of the retainer is usually turned back over to you, unless otherwise agreed circumstances exist. If the retainer will not cover the entire investigation, we will contact you when it is 80% depleted to discuss how to move forward.
EX: If Jerry would like to find out if their spouse is cheating on them, we may estimate the total cost of the investigation to be $850 dollars, so we charge a $1020 retainer. After investigating, we find that their spouse is in fact cheating on them- with multiple individuals. We inform Jerry that 80% of your retainer has been used up in the investigation and ask how they would like to proceed. When Jerry tells us they would like to find out how many people their spouse is with, and to collect as many photos as possible, we advise Jerry to double down on his retainer. Now Jerry has $2040 invested in the investigation. Providing excellent service, we gather everything Jerry asked with $700 left on their new retainer. When we ask Jerry if they would like to keep the retainer open (leave the money with us), they decline as they feel they no longer need investigative services at this time. Had Jerry felt they would potentially need more services in the future, such as criminal background checks on their spouse, or more surveillance, they likely would have left their retainer open.
Note about keeping retainers open:
If you would like to keep your account open for an extended period of time, such as in the case of an insurance adjuster, or a law firm that may perform several investigations with us per year, we will provide quarterly updates on the status of the account. We highly recommend this option for prospective recurring clients, as it will allow you instant service that can make the difference in an investigation.