Client demanding refund or will blacklist me-WWYD?

[banana87]

I do not want to get into the specifics for various reasons, but I run my own business providing educational services to children. I assessed a client and she disagrees with my assessment and is demanding a full refund of the assessment and report fee and if I do not do this she will blacklist me. Because the field I am in is very small, this will be easy to do. WWYD?

How could she blacklist you?

What is the nature of the disagreement? Does she feel that you are wrong in your facts, or in your interpretation of them?

Has she get evidence that you are wrong?

She simply disagrees. She says her child displayed a certain skill during the assessment that I did not see. I had a second person with me who agrees with me as we both took specific notes. She claims she will blacklist me on a yahoo group aimed at parents who contract people such as myself to provide them with education services.There are hundreds of parents and they all talk... Sorry that's really vague. I just do not want to reveal the nature of it all.

eek - she sounds like a parent in denial.

Could you offer to reasses and then discuss the notes immediately afterwards?

So, there are two of you with the same assessment - the mum is bonkers.
Suggest you send her a final invoice and then threaten her with court action if she doesn't pay. It's not your fault if she doesn't like the outcome of your assessment.

She already paid. I am worried about being blacklisted. She is demanding a refund less travel expenses.

Write to her and tell her you will apply for an ex parte injunction unless you receive her assurance in writing that she will not carry out her threat.

(Ex parte means an emergency injunction, so she wouldn't know anything about it until after the court made it). YOu probably wouldn't,in reality, apply for an injunction, as the court doesn't hand them out like sweeties, but she does need to understand that defamation is a serious matter.

Try a solicitor's letter in the first instance.

Or else. And "she really does not want to have to do that". She could ruin my career.

Have you considered taking legal advice on this - depending on what she is planning on saying when she 'blacklists' you, you could possibly argue that it is libel, and even if she isnt moved by that it is possible that yahoo might remove any post of that type.

Even if you refund the money it is likely that her opinion of you wont change.

Would it be worth offering to meet with her again to discuss the situation, and your reasoning for coming to the conclusions that you did?

It sounds a bit like she wants her money back because she doesnt like the result, but she was paying you for your opinion, not to simply endorse whatever she wanted you to.

My only other thought is if she gets a 2nd opinion from another qualfied profecssional that disagrees with your findings that you will refund?

Presumably if the child had done the task she's mentioned it wouldn't really make a difference to the outcome anyway, if that's the case you need to point that out to her.

I would go on the parent support forums icognito and she if she comes across as barking on them too, in which you don't have much to worry about.

She's probaby trying it on. Has she threatened to blacklist you?

Cargirl's suggestion is a good one (abut the 2nd opinion)

I don't think you should cave in to this kind of pressure. Chances are the other parents on that yahoo group will already have an opinion of what she is like and won't pay that much attention anyway.

If you did give a refund, she'd be on there telling everyone else that uses you that they should demand one too if they don't agree with your assessment, which would cause you more trouble in the long term.

I think I will email my barrister client and see if he can write her a letter.

sorry - xpost

The only thing with a second opinion is that it has now been a month and she has followed through with my suggestions at the time so things HAVE changed. They are reflected in a second report. The thing she disagrees about is my recommendations. She wants her money back based on the fact that "if these are your recommendations then you must have done the assessment right". She claims she needs the money to pay someone else to "do it right".

should say "if these are your recommendation then you must have not done the assessment right"

I am on the group as a professional so I can monitor her. I know she has not posted yet so it would be her first post.

So why has her child changed/improved if your recommendations aren't valid.

She is a bit crazy perhaps

So what this boils down to, banana87, is "what do you want to be known as?"

Do you want to be known as a professional that will give an objective assessment of a child's performance/needs/level (delete as appropriate)?

OR

Do you want to be known as a sock puppet who will just write what you are asked to write?

What, ultimately, will do your career more damage?

I have a DD with SN, possibly not your field. I would be livid if I paid someone to assess her and they wrote what they thought I wanted to hear. I want honesty.

Kick her back into touch. She can't ruin your career more than a lack of integrity can.

Can you contact the moderators of the group to explain the situation? There can't surely be a blacklist of professionals on this group - that would be a green light for any nutjob with a grudge. There must be some kind of control and/or comeback for you as a professional.

Failing that, does your professional body have some sort of mediation service?

I would double check about defamation etc and then point it out to her.

If she tries to dicredit you then you will sue (or whatever it is you can do) however if she is genuinely unhappy is there a professional body you belong to that she can make a complaint to - if there is point her in that direction?

You are right Lougle. I am not prepared to change my recommendations, it would be unethical and unprofessional.

I almost just want to give her back the money to keep her quiet but I know its not a guarantee. No idea what to do, but not sure I want to take the risk of being blacklisted.

Sorry-crossed posts. Yes, I can most certainly point her to the board in which I am certified with. They wouldn't do anything though. Should I email and warn the moderators?

I would say (NOT a professional opinion, just personal) that giving her the money back puts you in a weak, weak position. She paid you for a service, which was assessment. If she knew what the result of that assessment should be, then she didn't need an assessment, did she.

Put it another way. Would you go as far as accuse your associate of making a poor assessment also? In my view, that is what giving back the money will do.