I don't know what was said between the two parties, but I've no issue with this. Wildlife control services are primarily offered by for-profit business,not by charities (for my statement, mandatory "donations" fall into the same category as for-profit). Services were offered and purchased, nothing more, nothing less.
Let's change the scenario and say it was a plumber that was called out for a leak, but no leak was found or a faucet wasn't turned all the way off, would the plumber not charge for their service? How about an electrician that had to do an emergency call that turned out to be a tripped breaker? In most of these cases, the client would have been charged. They called and agreed to the terms of the service, the plumber and electrician didn't call them soliciting work.
Now look at the medical field. You feel sick, make an appointment and go to the doctor's office then sit there for 15 minutes to 1 1/2 hours before you're seen. The doctor comes into the room and speaks to you for 5 minutes. They may look in your nose and ears and/or have you stick out your tongue or cough. At the end of your 5 minute exam you're told that there is nothing that can be done as it's a virus and you're past the period when medication may of helped (yes, this is a true story with influenza). Do you think I didn't have to pay $180 for the visit, 5 minutes of the Dr's time, 2 1/2 hours of my time and gas/wear on my vehicle because I was 8 hours past the 48 hour time limit?
The difference between all of these scenarios is that people base the value of wildlife control on how much they value the animal, not the service(s) being rendered. When they hear that raccoon went for $7 on average at fur sales, they can't comprehend a $200 - $500 charge for that $7 raccoon. They aren't looking at what it costs to run a business, the knowledge and equipment required to perform services, the true time each job takes, the risks operators take with their own health and safety to resolve the problem, and more.
As I'm also a fur trapper, I understand that there is a cost and risks to fur trapping as well, but those are personal costs not business expenses. The main difference for me between fur trapping and wildlife control is that for fur trapping I am trying to catch an animal for personal reasons (food, pelt, etc) but when doing control work, I am selling piece of mind to the client for the client.
Whether or not I catch an animal to provide this service, depends on what steps I need to perform in order to provide that service. No raccoon to remove from the chimney? Offer to cap the chimney and give a price. If the client decides not to take the offer, they now have the option to call me back or another operator the next time they hear noise.