Can I charge my client a finder’s fee without disclosing the breakdown?

 

Question:

I am close with an noahide who is an interior designer . She asked me this question about business honesty: as a designer she is bringing a painter to her client. the painter would tell her his fee and then she adds on her “finder’s fee” approximately 10 percent and then tell the client the painters fee is the total of his fee plus her cut. This is the general practice in that profession.

Her question is, is it honest to say this to her client? i.e., she is getting her own direct fee as a designer, here it is a hidden fee that the client isn’t directly told about. can she do this? if not, as she does need the money, what would be the honest way of doing this? telling them, this is the painters fee and within that is my finder’s fee? that would be awkward for her, but if she needs to do that she would.

 

Answer:

If the client is able to get the painter’s original price themselves without the added cost, either from this painter or from another painter, it is forbidden.

However, if they wouldn’t be able to get the painting done at such a price, she may add the cost without disclosing that this is a finder’s fee. This is provided that it’s normal practice that people charge brokers fees for such things.

 

Sources:

אם לא הי׳ באפשרותו לקבל המחיר בלא לשלם מחיר שכזה למתווך מותר – כ״כ בקובץ תשובות להגריש״א א, רה. אבל ראה שו״ת אבן ישראל ט, קנד שמ״מ יש בזה גניבת דעת (נוסף לאיסור גזילה, דליכא בנדו״ז מטעם הנ״ל). וראה משפטי יושר פליישמאן א, ט, ו (ע׳ רעז) שתמה במש״כ בקובץ תשובות דאכתי ליתסר משום גניבת דעת. ונראה, דה״ט דהו״ל לאסוקי אדעתי׳ ואיהו דקא אטעי נפשי׳. וכ״כ אך טוב וחסד כהן א חו״מ כא. וכ״כ להתיר בשו״ת שערי יושר חנני׳ ה חו״מ קיא, ב, שאינו עושה מעשה לגנוב דעתו, ואין מחובתו לפרט כל דבר כמה עלה. אמנם, שלא באופן הנ״ל ה״ז גם גניבה ממש – ראה משפטי יושר שם ה.

 

 

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