Our Policies and Recommendations
Provided by Allen N. Cowling
Cowling Investigations, Inc.
Because of the numerous email, letters and telephone
calls that we receive asking for assistance, we developed this page in an effort to identify our policy
and to offer possible solutions.
Please do not take anything written as an attempt to be
disrespectful or short with anyone. We have received so many contacts over the years, experience
dictates that we explain exactly what we can and cannot do based on prior communications that we have
had.
- First, we are happy to talk with anyone who has been falsely
accused of abuse, or convicted based on a false allegation. We can be reached through our main
office in Brandon, Mississippi, (601) 824-1774 or, in the event that we are out-of-state working,
our office manager, Brenda Taylor, can arrange a telephone interview at a time most convenient to
everyone. The office telephone is answered 24-hours a day, 7 days a week and, in the event there is
no one available, messages are immediately forwarded to our pager, nationwide.
- Please do not ask us anything that would require a negative
response about our competition, regardless of who they are. Over the years, I have been told that
other "experts" have said that I did not know what I was doing, and that they could do it
better and for less money. I cannot speak for anyone else but, normally, when someone has to trash
another to gain business, it is simply because they have no work and are saying whatever they feel
they must in order to make money and survive. I have had clients who, before coming to me, went to
other "experts" because of their fancy websites and panic advise, only to find that they
spent a small fortune and got nothing, but that is not something I ever tell a prospective client
as a "selling" point. Everyone has their own method of doing things and my goal is simply
to save lives, not trash others.
- Please do not send us an email asking us to telephone you. We do
not make telephone calls to non clients. While I would be happy to answer questions, I am not in a
position to pay for these calls.
- Please do not, under any circumstances, call us collect. We will
not accept the charges, unless the call is from an already existing client and the call is an
emergency.
- Please do not contact us and ask, what can we do or what would it
cost. These issues are carefully covered here on these webpages, primarily on the link, Our Expertise. Frequently, we receive telephone calls from individuals who
say, "I am being falsely accused and I have read everything on your website." "What
can you do to help me and what would it cost?" The fact is, they read very little, if
anything. I have spent years putting information together for the falsely accused, most especially
for those individuals who are not in a position of being able to afford professional help. This
website was designed to give those people a fighting chance that they may not have had
otherwise.
- Please do not send us an email with a file attachment that
identifies your problem. We do not download any files from persons that we do not know. We are
happy to read email, so simply copy whatever was in the downloadable file directly into the body of
the email message.
- On many occasions previously, we received and responded to email,
giving the writer the opportunity to call us at a particular time or date, but they never did. In
many of those cases, we heard back from the same writers, weeks later, with every explanation
possible; "I was busy," "I forgot," "I fell asleep," "I had to
work," or "I wanted to see if the charges against me were serious before I called
back." The fact is, either they were not serious or they had no real problem. Please do not
waste our time in that manner. We take false allegations of abuse very seriously and want to devote
our time to finding solutions for those who honestly have a problem. It is no joke or laughing
matter when anyone is convicted and sentenced to years in prison when they were
innocent.
- Please do not send us "boiler plate" letters or email.
These are copies that writers are sending to numerous contacts. We do not respond to these. It is
not our intention to ignore anyone, but since the request for assistance is obviously going to
many, it is our policy to let others respond.
- We receive numerous letters explaining a problem, but contain no
question other than the statement, "anything you can do would be appreciated."
Unfortunately, we do not have the ability to personally finance any investigation and therefore, we
are unable to accept pro bono, (no fee), cases. In addition and, to the best of my knowledge, there
are no grants or funding projects available that will pay for, or reimburse to a client, the fees
that we and other experts defending false allegations must charge.
- Please do not send an email asking us to refer you to someone else.
We do not refer. In the past we did and the results were less than adequate. On one occasion, when
we referred to another investigative agency, it took us a month of our own time and expense to
repair the mistakes they made. Simply put, we will not be liable for the work of
others.
- Frequently we receive calls from individuals attempting to assist
someone who has been falsely accused or who was convicted based on a false allegation. Many times
the caller begins the conversation by telling us what they are going to do, or by telling us what
they either want us to do or think we should do. It is, by no means, my attempt to be rude, but
when we do receive a call from someone, telling us what they are going to do, our response is very
simple. Since you have a plan, retaining us would simply be a waste of time and money. If, however,
in the future, your plan does fail, we would be happy to discuss the matter. To be honest, it is
simply not possible to fight the client and the system as well. While some believe that their ideas
are beneficial to the individual they are trying to help, many times the complete opposite is true.
Usually, they are in a panic, attempting to do whatever they can to find a immediate solution and
end to the problem, but there are no shortcuts. In simplicity, the best approach is to retain a
specialist to prepare the case, then present it to an attorney for completion.
- If someone, who was innocent, was wrongfully convicted, obviously,
somewhere along the line mistakes were made by someone. I never cease to be amazed by the requests
of those who contact us when they amount to nothing more than a continuation of the same mistakes
that caused the conviction in the first place. It is vital to take a "fresh" look at any
conviction. In any case we accept, specific to a wrongful conviction, before we do anything, it is
vital that we determine what specifically happened that resulted in the conviction. That is
accomplished only by careful study of the entire case file and all transcripts. That material
provides the knowledge necessary to develop the strategy that will be used to attempt and reverse
the conviction.
- Please understand that we are retained on a first come, first serve
basis. We cannot hold a schedule open for anyone. We have had calls where individuals wanted to
retain us, but for whatever reason, were not able to do so at that time and asked that we hold open
a certain amount of days for them. The fact is, we have no idea if that caller will ever contact us
again and, it would be unfair to deny someone who really needed us because of the
"possibility" that someone else planned to retain us.
Our fee policy is as follows:
- On several occasions, we have had individuals who desired to send a
fee in by payments. We are not a bank and we do "not" apply funds to an escrow account
for anyone. When we receive a payment, it is automatically applied to time for the client. We do
not give refunds. This is a standard policy and if someone does not agree to it, under no
circumstances should they send us any funds. Time, purchased by a client, may be used at their
discretion, at our standard hourly rate for a period of time up to, but not extending beyond one
year of the date of the first day of their scheduled trip or the last date funds arrived at our
office.
- When any client retains our services, schedules a trip, and sends
the 1/3 fee and expense, then cancels that trip, for any reason, the only refund that they will be
entitled to, or receive is the expense portion, less the non-refundable airline ticket, that they
have paid. The fee portion of the retainer automatically purchased "time." We do not have
escrow accounts where we hold money for anyone. Any client who cancels a trip within 2 weeks of the
date the trip is to be made, owes us, and agrees to pay, the entire trip balance they agreed upon.
It takes a great deal of effort on our part to schedule a trip. The 2-week rule is standard company
policy and is based on our inability to fill the time slot that was scheduled. If a trip is
canceled more than 2 weeks in advance, the client is entitled to use the "time" they
purchased, in any manner they choose, at our standard hourly rate for a period of time up to, but
not extending beyond one year of the date of the first day of their scheduled trip and, depending
on our availability. This does not apply to anyone who cancels a scheduled trip within 2 weeks or
less of the date that trip was to be made. A client who does cancel within 2 weeks of a scheduled
trip is entited to use their purchased time, once they have paid us the full trip balance, in full.
Obviously, any and all time we spend to schedule and/or cancel a trip, plus all other time spent,
including but not limited to telephone calls and/or email is deducted from the "time"
that a client has available to them. Under no circumstances should anyone retain us without
fully understanding and agreeing to this refund policy.
-
Do not retain us, for any reason, unless you have a full
understanding of the following:
- I am not an attorney. I cannot represent anyone, nor can I
prepare or file petitions, writs or motions.
- In any case that I am retained to assist in, I make an initial
trip to the client's location, or the location where the problem is, in order to review any
and all documents and other material and to talk with the client in an attempt determine what
problems, if any, exist. My analysis is simply based on the knowledge that I have gained based
on my involvement in false allegations of sexual abuse cases.
- The initial trip is for analysis only. Problems are identified
and recommendations are made only. I guarantee only to do the best I can, within the time
allowed. A client must be realistic about the time they retain us for. I have had several cases
where a client has presented me with a mountain of material and expected a full analysis and a
written report within a 3-day period when, in reality the trip should have been scheduled for 7
to 9 days.
- The time that a client retains us for during the initial trip
expires at the end of that trip. In the event that any client desires our further involvement
beyond the initial trip, any and all additional time will be charged at our normal hourly rate.
As I stated, I will do the best I can within the time that I was retained for. That does not
mean that I analyze material and then prepare a written report after I leave, unless the client
has agreed to purchase additional time.
If you have been falsely accused of sexual abuse, I
would strongly recommend reviewing the heading on our main page titled, Falsely Accused. In addition, and regardless of most any situation, the
following should be considered.
-
Obviously, in any matter that may end in trial, a qualified attorney
is vital. Keep in mind that just because an attorney is an attorney does not make them care or
assure that they have the ability to defend properly. Most every person in prison today had a
lawyer representing them. The attorney should be well qualified to handle the specific matter you
retained them for and if they are not, they should associate another attorney who is. Also, keep
in mind that attorneys make their living by charging for their time, regardless of whether that
time is spent during trial or consulting with someone, so expect to pay the attorney and be
realistic about the charges. If a case requires two (2) days in trial, plus preparation, it would
be safe to assume the attorney would spend a minimum of 40 hours and at a fee of $150.00 per
hour, charges would easily amount to $6,000.00. That is a low-side figure and most attorneys,
handling criminal cases, usually require a retainer of anywhere between $10,000.00 and
$25,000.00. It is unreal for anyone to believe they will be properly represented for a $1,000.00
retainer.
- I have had a number of messages advising that persons could not
afford an attorney. Most areas have a "legal service" organization available, but again,
keep in mind that normally, you get what you pay for.
- In most successful cases, regardless of whether civil or criminal,
the matter was actually won well in advance of any trial and in most instances because of proper
preparation. Any attorney is only as good as what they have to work with and present in
someone's behalf. A good and qualified investigator plays a vital role in gathering evidence
and preparing a case.
- The best possible advice I could give anyone in most civil and
criminal matters is to first consult with and retain the services of a qualified private
investigator. Allow them to prepare the case, gather the evidence, interview all potential
witnesses and once everything is complete, then take that product to an attorney. At that point,
the majority of the preparation work has been done and the attorney is in a much better position to
analyze the situation.
- I am amazed at the number of people who had a serious problem,
attempted any and all possible financial shortcuts, got convicted and then spent the next five (5)
years of their life amassing thousands upon thousands of dollars in attempts to get their
conviction reversed. Regardless of the fees involved, it cost far less to properly defend prior to
trial than it does after a conviction.
- One final thought. Attorneys and investigators make their living by
providing their time. It would be unrealistic to take a car in for repairs and expect the work to
be done "free." It is equally unrealistic to ask or expect any attorney or investigator
to provide their services, including advice, without charging for their time.
- We will continue and attempt to answer simple questions online, but
in most cases, a person's interests are best served by proper consultation and that can never
be accomplished through a simple E-Mail message.
You have accessed one of the many pages here at the
Cowling Investigations, Inc., a False Allegation Defense Website. For an explanation of how we assist
our clients who have been falsely accused, see Our Expertise, We Can Help. If you have been
falsely accused, see What to Do - What Not to Do When Falsely Accused.
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