Beware of Hidden Additional Fees!

Detective fees vary greatly depending on the region and the detective agency. Before commissioning a detective, one should first consider whether a flat-rate service such as vehicle owner identification or an observation with a (usually) unpredictable number of hours is required. With flat-rate services, the remuneration is clear: the client pays a pre-determined sum x for the provision of service y. Observations, however, involve a multitude of variables that make it difficult to provide an exact cost estimate. Factors include the type of suspicion (serious economic offences or private, non-criminal issues), the observation environment (anonymity of a big city or rural surroundings with watchful neighbours), the behaviour of the target person (suspicious or carefree, fast driver or calm pedestrian), and so on, as these variables affect the number of personnel required and the likelihood of losing visual contact.

 

As a general rule (and this also applies at Kurtz Detective Agency Munich), detective observations are charged based on hours worked, kilometres driven, and expenses incurred. Before commissioning, clients should ensure that these standard costs are not inflated by hidden additional fees for vehicle allowances, time-of-day, weekend and public holiday surcharges, the otherwise self-evident use of standard detective equipment, telephone charges, postal fees, payment processing costs, and other items. Many agencies lure clients with low or moderate hourly rates, yet the effective costs, due to these additional fees—or often due to massive discrepancies between the advertised and actual hourly rates—can be far above the agreed fee. Agencies advertising dumping flat rates but billing significantly higher fees are focused on client acquisition. Their goal is not serious work and client satisfaction, but maximum profit. It is therefore crucial: read the fine print!

Variable Private Detective Fees Based on Regional Costs

Detective fees are based on the average income in the respective city or region, which in turn reflects the cost of living. Due to region-specific price ranges for office rent, expenses, fuel, and other costs, private detectives in Munich cannot charge the same fees as, for example, Berlin, Hannover, or even Stuttgart and Nuremberg, as this would simply not be feasible. Munich is well known as one of the most expensive cities in Germany regarding rent, electricity, water, and even food prices, with correspondingly high average salaries. It is therefore no surprise that Munich also ranks at the top for private and corporate investigation costs, with hourly rates of approximately 65–135 euros.

 

Kurtz Investigations Munich currently operates at 27 locations across Germany and follows a pricing policy everywhere that reflects the actual socio-economic conditions of the respective region. For example, in the "new" federal states, only 55 euros per hour per investigator are charged (gross for private clients, net for businesses), as the wage level of the employed detectives is lowest there, and the corresponding savings are passed directly to the clients. In large parts of western Germany, a moderate fee adjustment to 59 euros per hour is applied; this affects regions such as North Rhine-Westphalia, Lower Saxony, Hamburg, Bremen, Hesse, and parts of Rhineland-Palatinate. In somewhat remote regions, finding qualified detective personnel is challenging, and by the law of supply and demand, wages rise accordingly: in the northern part of Schleswig-Holstein, we charge 69 euros per hour. The same applies to border regions of Rhineland-Palatinate (for example, Trier) and also to Saarland with 64 euros per hour. In Baden-Württemberg and northern Bavaria, it is also 69 euros per hour, not due to a shortage of qualified detectives, but— as explained above—because of higher regional costs. Overall, Kurtz Investigations Munich belongs to the more affordable investigative services in Germany, and is among the cheapest if one accounts for the numerous additional costs of most competitors.

Assistance for Clients with Limited Financial Means

Kurtz Detective Agency Munich always endeavours to accommodate its clients as best as possible. Expenses are therefore not simply charged as a flat rate, but only according to the necessary and actual effort. Our Munich investigators place great importance on delivering high-quality work that is results-oriented and effectively executed to satisfy clients with every assignment. Naturally, deploying experienced specialists cannot be carried out below a certain price level.

 

We are aware that detective work is essential for many people, but often unaffordable. Accordingly, we aim to keep profit margins at a moderate level, enabling assistance even to those who would otherwise incur significant debt at other agencies. As part of a cooperation with the TV production company infoNetwork, we can even facilitate coverage of investigative costs if the client agrees that an additional detective, deployed free of charge for the client, is accompanied by a camera team during the investigation to create a TV documentary. This aims to portray the real everyday life of German private investigators, following scripted series such as Die Trovatos or Private Detectives in Action.

Investigation Costs Are Often Recoverable

It is crucial that clients and prospective clients are aware that a prosecuted target person in legally relevant cases can be required to reimburse the detective costs if the use of investigators was a justified and necessary means to uncover guilt. This applies, for example, if a man fraudulently withholds maintenance from his ex-wife, or if the whereabouts of a debtor who has moved without notice need to be determined for service or enforcement of a claim.

 

Corporate clients, i.e., companies, institutions, and others, also have an interest in recovering their detective costs from a fraudulent employee or proven industrial spy. Kurtz Corporate Detective Agency Munich employs professional specialists to conduct discreet investigations with legally admissible evidence, thus providing our clients with the maximum benefit from commissioning us.

Hourly Rates of Our Detectives in Munich

Our Munich detective agency strives for maximum transparency regarding its fee structure, to deal honestly and openly with clients. The high clearance rate of Kurtz Investigations Munich and the decisive success in sometimes spectacular cases, which have also been discussed in the media, speak for themselves. Our IHK-certified detective specialists charge for assignments in the Munich area as follows:

• Hourly rate per investigator:                    99,00 € gross (for private clients)
• Hourly rate per investigator:                    99,00 € net (for companies)
• Per kilometre:                                           1,50 € gross/net (private clients/companies)
• One-time basic assignment fee:               96,00 € gross/net

Note: The basic assignment fee is waived for flat-rate investigations as well as for follow-up assignments by the same client.

Author: Maya Grünschloß, PhD

 

Kurtz Detective Agency Munich

Landsberger Straße 155 | Haus 1

D-80687 Munich | München

Tel.: +49 89 7007 4301

Mob.: +49 163 8033 967

E-Mail: kontakt@kurtz-detektei-muenchen.de

Web: https://www.kurtz-detektei-muenchen.de/en

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