Late Cancellation of Events - Could Everyone Please Read This

[Paul]

We treat all our clients with the utmost of respect and compassion as we love to help people, in return we only expect to be treated with an adequate level of respect as everyone deserves. We don't make any money what-so-ever, we are totally non-profit making and in fact all members are extremely out of pocket themselves with all the expenses involved. We are certainly NOT a business in any way for form, but a private club of friends who choose to share a passionate hobby for the good of all people who want our help.

We had a private investigation passed to us from another respected paranormal group that isn't based in the local area of the client. I cannot disclose any information for private and confidential purposes, but all I can say is we spoke to clients concerned and they wanted us to attend the location, as well as this we provided lots of confidential advice. The arrangement to visit was confirmed and checked lots of times, there is absolutely nothing else BirminghamIU could possibly do to confirm the investigation any more than we did.

As it was such a large job, we was offered assistance on the investigation from a friend of a friend and we decided to accept this help as we was assured they were trustworthy and professional. We had a special meeting about the investigation with members and we did various preliminary checks on the location, spending a lot of our personal time, which we thoroughly enjoy.

Today at the time of writing on the day of the investigation, we packed and checked all our equipment, everything was booked out and we was ready to go. We finally called the client to yet again confirm the time of arrival. To our shock and dismay the client suddenly decided to tell us that the investigation was completely cancelled without any notice at this very late stage without any reasonable reason after all our arrangements had been finally made. The client told us that in fact they'd called another local paranormal group who were able to attend within 24 hours and allegedly completely clear the location of all spirits. We arranged everything within about 10 days as we needed to ensure that the whole team was available around people's work commitments. If the client wanted to use another group, we would have understood completely, but we found out literally 2 hours before we was due to attend when in fact we had to call the client. We had no phone calls and no emails what-so-ever about cancelling and if we hadn't had phoned at the last minute, we would have in fact turned up at the location which is a good distance away with everyone involved including another group.

We obviously contacted everyone involved as soon as we got let down by the client to tell them the bad news, apologising for the inconvenience even though it was beyond our control. The friend of a friend's group who was going to help were very upset with BirminghamIU even though it's completely out of our hands and we are the one's who have been messed around. The other group continued to be annoyed with BirminghamIU and wanted us to pay for a location at the last minute so they could work with us. It was arranged that 2 additional people were going to attend, but suddenly without our knowledge various people from various places around the country were apparently coming which wasn't what was agreed, so we now don't understand what is going on here. It was without prejudice, but we was extremely worried and concerned as to why the plans all of a sudden had been changed.

The additional people who wanted to attend are allegedly linked to the radio and possibly TV, but BirminghamIU are willing to come forward and answer any questions or concerns that might be asked as we know we have done nothing wrong what-so-ever, although we apologise for the inconvenience that is beyond our power. It's completely out of BirminghamIU's control and we have been let down and obviously we are quite upset about the whole thing.

We kindly ask any clients to please let us know within at least a 24 hour period that they wish to cancel an organised investigation. If they have any concerns they can contact us at any time and we are very understanding, professional and pleasant people. We never charge for any investigation or cancellations what-so-ever, even in the situation highlighted and if any client's decide to come back, we will continue to accommodate your needs.

Many Thanks,

Paul
BirminghamIU

[Paul]

Yet again a private client booked BirminghamIU to only to cancel literally 20 minutes before our departure for the main full investigation. This event took lots of organisation and we even brought equipment especially for the event. Our members actually put themselves out and had cancel other things to get the time off for the investigation, so we feel very let down again. One member had to specially fit around work commitments and was literally on his way to meet us when we received a cancellation phone call, everyone else was prepared and about to leave. We called to confirm the investigation was to take place on a number of occassions beforehand and every time we was assured it definitely take place as planned.

We provide a totally free service to our private clients, but I ask again, please PLEASE don't let us down at the very last minute when we have put so work into organising a full investigation. We understand that many other paranormal groups are in fact charging for investigations and potential clearances, at first we thought this very unfair, but I'm now beginning to understand why they might be doing this. We understand that sometimes unexpected events might give reason for cancellation, but please try to give us at least 24 hours notice, not literally 20 minutes unless it's an absolute last resort.

Sadly, because of the problem of extremely late cancellations, we will have to change our procedures. We are considering making it mandatory for a couple of members of the team to pre-visit a private client's location in person to meet the clients to ensure that they're serious about us attending for an investigation and they're genuinely happy for us to perform this. We would be able to take background measurements then to allow us to have more time for a possible future investigation if possible. Unfortunately this would mean longer waiting times before we could perform a full investigation, but it's now proving necessary due to very late cancellations. We don't want to charge for visits and continue to remain a non-profit group that provides a totally free service, but please understand how much work goes into preparing a full investigation before cancelling 20 minutes before we are due to depart.

Paul Carloss
BirminghamIU