Michael Palumbo

This guy owns a mobile medical office, and drives it around the city providing medical services to unions and businesses. It's a very lucrative business, yet he failed to pay tolls. The MTA caught up to him and advised that unless he paid them approximately $5,505.00 in tolls and violations, they were going to suspend his registration. Of the $5,505.00, $4,300.00 was violations for not paying the tolls. He was seeking a reduction of the violations. He got the notices in early May, and initially tried to resolve it on his own. He got nowhere because he did not know what he was doing, and now that his registration is going to be suspended, and he is going to be out of business, by the end of May. When I initially spoke to him he was an unhinged, panicked stream of consciousness, peppering me with question after question that I could not even digest, much less answer. Once I realized that he only owed $5,505.00, I advised that the most cost effective service I could offer him was a verbal consultation. I explained that the fee would be a flat fee of $750.00 for up to one hour of time and advice. The operative language in the retainer regarding the fee is as follows "The fee is a non-refundable, non-prorated fee of $750.00. In other words, should we complete the work in less one hour, no portion of the $750.00 fee is refundable." He signed the retainer agreement, made payment, and returned to me documents reflective of his toll matter to review before speaking to him. I reviewed the documents and interviewed him regarding his matter. He had already escalated the matter directly to the MTA and requested a discount of the violations, and they had referred him to their unit that deals with commercial accounts. I explained that they would likely get back to him and offer a reduction of violations, but that they would likely not get back to him this month, and his registration suspension date is May 31st. I also explained to him that paying before they got back to him moots his application for a reduction. I explained that the only way to avoid suspension and still wait for an answer from the MTA would be to re-title the vehicle to another business or person before May 31st. He could not do that because he has business partners. He related that he would lose huge amounts of money if his registration was suspended, so I explained that the only way to guarantee it not being suspended is for him to pay the $5,505.00 before the suspension date. I also explained something he did not know - that when he pays it takes time for the MTA to advise the DMV to NOT suspend, so if he waits until the day before or of the suspension, he will still be suspended and shut down for a few days. I advised him to wait no longer than early next week to pay. Upon hearing and not liking his options, he demanded a refund of the legal fees, telling me that I should have given him my time and advice for free. I explained to him that my retainer was clear it was a flat fee, not a minute-by-minute retainer agreement. He then became enraged, telling me that he was going to "destroy" me and that "this will never be over." Moreover, I did not spend only 5 minutes working on this matter. It took me 5 minutes to review his documents, I verbally consulted him on the phone for 9 minutes and 18 seconds, and then drafted and sent a follow up e-mail detailing his options, which took 10 minutes. Responding to this false and vindictive negative review has taken me 20 minutes. My advice was not vague it was specific. I explained his options and the intricacies of how it works. He has all the information he needs to move ahead making informed decisions to best handle the toll arrearages and ensure the business is not shut down. The fee I charge for a verbal consultation is well worth it, and saved this guy untold thousands of dollars by giving him his options and the information needed to keep his mobile medical office up and running without any interruption.