Legal Question in Business Law in Florida

Accountants

Can an accountant charge you for a phone conversation without notifying you of his hourly rate or that he will be charging you? I contacted an accountant regarding my incorporating at the beginning of the year. We talked on the phone for about 20 minutes and he did not give me a lot of specific answers. Toward the end of the conversation I asked about his hourly rate and he was not positive of the amount because it had just increased, but told me that I could use another one in the office who charged less. Two months later he left a message about submitting taxes and a couple days later sent me a bill. It did not state the date or amount of time of the conversation from two months earlier. Today we discussed the bill, again two months later, and I said that I would not pay it because I did not know that I would be charged. He told me that the call was 45 minutes long and he is now going to get a collection agency after me and take me to small claims court. Is this legal? My corporation is being dissolved and I have no money from it. Please let me know if I am obligated to pay him and if he is within his rights. Should he have told me that he was charging me at the beginning of the call? I would not have talked to him.


Asked on 5/19/04, 6:30 pm

1 Answer from Attorneys
Randall Gilbert Gilbert & Caddy P.A.

Re: Accountants

Abraham Lincoln, prior to becoming our president, was a lawyer, and is quoted as saying "All that I have is my time and my advice." The point being is that accountants are no different from attorneys in that sense. We sell our time and advice and that is really all we have. Without having gone to school for 3 years, I could not have answered your question. Same for the accountant. You called, you asked his advice, and he is entitled to be paid for that time. Even if you didn't discuss the amount up front, in my opinion, it is unreasonable for you to assume that the accountant was talking to you for free. Just because a contract lacks "the price" doesn't render the contract defective. In the worst case scenario, the Accountant would argue that "the price" should be deemed to be a reasonable price, and therefore, you would still owe him. I would try to settle on a number with the accountant, and in the future, learn that, nothing is for free, and advice costs.

Good luck, I'll send you the bill.

Just kidding.

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Answered on 5/19/04, 11:02 pm


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