Fees and Terms
Click 'Contract' in above Fees, links for further details of Fees structure, including email, conference and calling charges.
This Contract is solely for the use of our Mallone's clients and staff.
Our fees are dependent on which type of investigations the client needs, time expended and the locality. Our general fees range from $ 85 per hour for an in-office assignment, to $110 per hour or more per outside agent depending on the type of assignment required and how many agents and how much equipment is needed. We charge all work from & back to our head office in the CBD.
Surveillance/ Investigations/ Inquiries.
A normal agent working on foot will be charged at least at $ 85 per hour for normal experienced team member with less than 20 year's exp. [However if you require a specialist or one of the owners to attend to your case the fees rise according to that persons expertise and seniority to $350.00] with a minimum of 4 hours per any one instance of work. We are happy to work 24 hours 7 days, however our minimum charge is four hours for any work outside the office. If we have to use special surveillance/ tracking or photographic equipment, then we may need two agents and a vehicle. Depending on the distance, a 1/2 hour travelling time to and from an assignment site is reasonable as well as .85c /km mileage charges plus tolls. We may need to investigate an occurrence/ crime or event, and then we may need to follow up and develop leads which are not obvious at first. We have no way of knowing the total cost but we will work only within the scope of the client’s funds paid to us at the time. The best situation is for a client to allow us as much scope as possible financially and then we can set the ceiling for our efforts within that budget.
Anti-Spy and De-Bugging / Tracing Equipment.
We do not sell or rent out any illegal equipment, however some non-illegal spy & tracking equipment is for sale on the Web which we don't recommend. Also, there you may find vehicle tracking devices, room bugs or telephone tapping devices, which may be illegal to use in some jurisdictions. Look at it this way, you can go out and Buy a Ferrari Super Fast car but if you have no experience driving at 180 km per hr. you'll end up in hospital or jail before long. Same with Spy equipment it does'nt just light up and do the work like on TV , you must have knowledge and experience to operate it.
Confidential information gathering: Specially requested meetings are at a different confidential fee schedule.
Internet or Computer/ Forensic [ Facebook, Hotmail, Gmail, Yahoo, Twitter, Dating Sites etc.]:
Assignments are also allotted to contractors and specialist's fee are tabulated, so it is up to each individual case as to costs.
De Bugging/ Counterespionage:
Mallone's Costs regarding a de-bugging case is charged in proportion to the size of the area swept for listening devices [ either a house, apartment, office, boat or car, or number of telephones/ mobile phones,] not by the hours taken. The minimum charge for our team is $1750.00. Each telephone is $450.00. Laptops are at $2200.00 and require two days and that is the price as delivered to our office or by Registered mail. Pick up and return of a mobile phone or lap-top in person attracts an extra 4-hour minimum fee of $340.00.
'Sting' 'Honey Traps' and undercover/ infiltration operations: Undercover Investigations requiring both Attractive Male / Female multilingual operatives are at $250.00 per hour, at a minimum inc. preparations at ten hours work.
NOTE WELL IN ADVANCE. GENERAL FEES.
We charge a minimum of 4 hours for any one instance of work. All reasonable expenses are to be billed to the client, such as conferences, compilation of reports, Court attendances, telephone calls, tolls, and fees for searches, confidential data banks access or other disbursements. Expenses such as drinks, meals, night club entry are also charged to the client for whom it was necessary to attend these venues. For instance, if we follow a subject to a bar or to dinner and need to be close to see whom he /she is meeting and their conduct/ intimacy, then we need to enter the establishment and order a meal or drink and become a customer in an effort not to otherwise look suspicious. Our agents do not pay for such expenses; this is paid for by the client.
With our experience we do not believe a reasonable assignment can be successful if a client attempts to dictate an unreasonably small fee.
We believe seldom is a result achievable under say 10 hours' work, so at no time do we begin a matter without a minimum pre-paid retainer of $850.00 which is required in cash, bank cheque, wire, Internet transfer or credit card [ Credit Cards attract a fee of 10% for handling and Credit Card fees]. Kindly note 10% GST is to be added where applicable. We will require payment in advance for whatever time and duties the client books us.
All the above is to be noted in the contract at time of signing. We do not charge extra for photographs, video or sound recording but merely charge the client 'at cost' for these items. We will not begin any assignment 'pro bono' or on credit of any kind.