Bart Baggett
Court Qualified Forensic Document Examiner
All clients who retain Mr. Bart Baggett or any of his designated Certified Forensic Document Examiners must agree to these policies and procedures. They include the working agreement, explanation of the currently published rate card, and the services contract you enter into upon hiring the firm.
We reserve the right to update our rates at any time, but we do honor the "lab rate" and "consultation" rate published at the time the case was opened. Once a new case has reached the phase of a written letter, any additional fees will fall under the currently published rate card. All verbal or written quotes (not stated in the standard rate card) are valid for 24 hours from the time conveyed.
The "case completion" date is defined as the moment an official opinion is delivered in verbal or written form. All additional work — such as depositions, second opinions, new document reviews, hourly consultations, court testimony, and additional lab work — will be billed at the current published rate sheet.
The flat rate covers one Questioned Document and unlimited known exemplars of one unique individual. This rate includes up to 4 hours of billable time (lab time, attorney/client consultation, office administration, and/or clerical time) and one short "Official Letter of Opinion."
All additional work is billed based on our published rate sheet. Additional fees include, but are not limited to:
There are no refunds of any kind after a verbal or written opinion has been rendered. We are paid to review documents and render the most honest opinion possible. We do not guarantee the results will support your case.
There is no refund, partial refund, or cancellation once a retainer has been received. If an examiner provides no communication, no report, and/or refuses to examine the documents, we will transfer your funds to another examiner and complete the case.
We do not offer any guarantee that forensic lab results will be in favor of our client. Because of our role as objective experts, it would be unethical to offer such a guarantee, as it might prejudice our examination. In all cases, pre-payment is required.
Our company aggressively contests chargebacks and bounced checks from clients who received our services in good faith. All credit card payments will be processed by Handwriting Experts, Inc. By retaining our services, you agree that any dispute must be resolved directly with our office prior to initiating a chargeback with your financial institution.
All legal case material is held as confidential. We do not and will not discuss your case with any outside individual, counsel, company, or court without a judge-authorized subpoena and without your full knowledge and participation. Any contact information collected is not for resale to any third party.
Our experts are not attorneys. They are court-qualified expert witnesses with extensive legal experience related to their expertise. If you require legal advice, you must consult a licensed attorney in your state.
Questions? Call our Florida office: 1-305-459-1544
Or email: info@handwritingexpertusa.com