Turner Ferguson Cowan Shelton & Sager

Set up a consultation to determine if it would be a good fit. I assumed that I would not be charged for the consultation and was never told otherwise and never signed anything. Had a detailed meeting where I described my situation and what I was looking for in an accountant — a partner and more than I could do for myself in Turbo Tax. I specifically addressed that I did not want to learn how to be an accountant, I wanted my accountant to handle as much as possible. I was told to buy QuickBooks and how to set up my own accounts. I left thinking that maybe this is how it works but set up an appointment with another accountant.
The other accountant never brought up QuickBooks and told me he would take care of everything. He didn’t charge me for the consultant and the next day sent me an email telling me what transfers to make every two weeks and what I would need to do quarterly and yearly. Simple and exactly what I was looking for.
I received a bill for the consultation with Turner Ferguson Cowan Shelton & Sager for $ 210. When I called to ask if they charged for consultations I was not given an answer and told that I was given accounting advice and that is why I was billed. Since the meeting was almost an hour long I thought it would be fair to pay half the bill, which I did. Today I received a bill for the remaining balance… In summary, the «accounting advice» they are billing me for was telling me how to do the accounting myself.
I only paid half the bill out of a sense of fairness as there was no agreement to pay and I don’t believe I owe anything. I feel like they are retaliating against me for deciding not to use their services.