Diane,

I have thoroughly enjoyed this thread and it is very enlightening from my perspective as an independent abstractor.

I am coming up on one year since starting my business and I am so very grateful for the clients that I have, most of them are due to the fact that I worked in various reputable law firms in this region for the last 20 years.  However, since I do have personal relationships with most of them I am trying very hard not to allow that to dictate my fees. 

I have seriously thought about incorporating a "cancellation fee" into my fee structure, however, I have found it is not profitable for me to have a set fee schedule, because clients tend to hold you to that, regardless of the fact that a title search could take a couple of hours versus another one taking two days (one that is presented up front as a "simple update" can end up taking twice as long as a "full search".)

Basically, the last time that someone asked me for a fee schedule, I told them I did not have one, that I prefer to bill after the examination is complete.  I do give them my best estimate/range, but nothing set in stone.  I try to be as fair as possible, but take nothing for granted!