ComplaintsforDown To Earth, Inc.

• Initial Complaint

  12/04/2023

  Complaint Type:

  Billing Issues

  Status:

  Answered

  More info

  In May 2023 I scheduled service to turn on my irrigation system. The appointment was scheduled for 6/2/2023. Upon arrival the employee checked sprinkler heads and pipes and informed me the sprinkler system could not be turned on due to a leak. I asked if the pipe could be repaired that day and was told the tech that he did not have time to repair the pipe today. I was told the company would call me to schedule a repair time and that it should be resolved shortly. No call received. I called the company to schedule the repair and was told the next available date was at the end of the month. Given that this would be 1/4-1/3 of the way into the watering season I explained how unacceptable that was. I found another company, able to come out sooner, and called back to cancel my appt on 6/23 - multiple days prior to the rescheduled appt. On 7/6 I was issued a bill for the full price ($120.00) of activating my irrigation system. I called and spoke with a manager who indicated I was being charged just for the person coming out to my home - even though they did not perform the services they were hired to do. I was given the excuse that they are very busy servicing other customers and perhaps I should have pre-scheduled time in conjunction with my turn on appt to accommodate any possible issues so that the technician would have had time to repair. I explained that expecting customers to preschedule technician time because you overbook your techs should not be my responsibility & that I would not be paying for services that were not performed. Since then I have received multiple bills. On 11/8 I called and asked to have a manager call me to discuss the issue. No call received. On 12/4 I received another bill stating if I did not pay that the item would be sent to collections with an additional fee of $50 charged.

  

  Business response

  01/09/2024

  The original service date on 6/2/23 was completed. The problem that prevented the irrigation system being started was diagnosed and a solution was presented. That solution was not capable of being completed that day due to time constraints. ************** was on site for 27 minutes to attempt the system start up and properly troubleshoot issue. On 6/2/23 there were two missed calls into the office at 10:10am from you. Office staffed returned your call at 10:30am 6/2/23 and the conversation took 1 minute and 55 seconds. An appointment was set to return 6/23/23. On 6/23/23 a call was received at 8:09am to cancel the appointment for that day conversation lasted 49 seconds. 

  I am sorry the irrigation system was in a state that required more time than what a typical system start up requires (even with minor repairs). I maintain that ************** did his job correctly and fully on 6/2/23. Down to Earth is quite busy in the spring and fall being a seasonal company. We stay busy by providing correct and professional repairs to systems. Due to the second appointment being canceled under 30 minutes from the start of our arrival window, and the first site visit being accomplished no credit or cancelling of the invoice will occur. There are a multitude of services that have minimum charges to begin work. We arrived at your residence, activated the system, found system damage, presented solution, and determined correct repair procedures could not be accomplished in that days allotted time frame. I stand firm that this invoice is valid. We will accept your payment promptly. 

  Customer response

  01/10/2024

   I am rejecting this response because:

  The business claims the job was completed using words such as fully and successfully which is inaccurate. They have also stated that some services require a minimum payment yet the bill I received was what I would expect to pay for the a complete service in which the system was left up and running. Additionally, at no time was I instructed nor was it disclosed any minimum payment to come onsite only to diagnose an issue. 

   

  
  

  

  Business response

  01/23/2024

  I maintain a service call was completed based on the facts that a technician arrived at your residence and performed professional services. The outcome of the services provided were not to your liking. The proper repairs would have exceeded our time allotment for a typical start up, with typical repairs. There was no way for any of our staff to properly identify the issue prior to the technician arriving to service the irrigation system. The system was damaged beyond what could be properly repaired in the allotted time which is no one's fault. Down to Earth took the appointment, arrived, completed the assessment of damages, determined that it was in the best interest of your system to have it properly repaired, and scheduled a return service call. Services were blatantly provided, and the news provided from ************** being dissatisfactory in your opinion has no bearing on the work that was done. 

  If your car needed regular maintenance and you took it to a shop, there is a very strong chance the same steps would be followed. The car is at the shop for regular maintenance an oil change, a multipoint inspection, and maybe rotate the tires. During that maintenance they find holes in the exhaust and brake work needing done.  They then inform you of the issues and that the car has additional issues that require more time to bring the car to a suggested and safe useable state. They can't complete the work today because there was not scheduled time for all these additional issues. You make an appointment for the rest of repairs to be completed. There would certainly be a bill for that routine maintenance inspection because there was time and professional efforts made during that time. The repair shop may not even let you take the vehicle if you don't pay that bill. This scenario is common because I have delt with the same processes while having vehicles worked on. If I had called the shop knowing enough about cars to say that I need new brakes and a patch on the exhaust, then I would expect that they complete those known repairs I informed them about. 

  There is not a piece of collateral to hold such as a car or truck, to ensure payment. This does not give me much power in demanding payment for the services we rendered. I rely on the good will of people who call us to their property for our professional services to pay for the professional services. The service of a spring start up you called and requested was completed by the simple fact that we showed up, we found significant damage which was unknown before our arrival, we rescheduled instead of performing shoddy quick work. The return appointment was then canceled in under an hour from where it was supposed to start. I stand firm that this invoice is valid and we will accept your payment promptly. 

  Customer response

  01/23/2024

   I am rejecting this response because:
  
  Let me be clear. 1. Your company never disclosed to me a fee would be required if you do not complete work if problems arise. 2. Your technician performed only part of services in which I hired your company to perform. Yes, we discovered my system needed a minor repair to complete the service I ordered, but this only took 30 minutes from the company we hired instead. 3. The appointment was not cancelled an hour before the next appointment. It was canceled days after the first appointment. The follow-up appointment was a month out. 4. In previous messages you agreed your technician was only on my property for ***** minutes. How is it possible your business isnt capable to support a common repair in order to satisfy the needs of current customers and have time built in to appointments to correct minor issues. Not my problem. This is why we fired you and our neighbor did too. 
  

  If your company told me there was a fee to just show up I would have paid this already. Youre just trying to take advantage of a situation and collect a quick pay out. Not happening from me.

  Your analogy about the car repair, apples and oranges here. You never turned the system on! Thats what the service was supposed to be.

  Lastly, the whole key to this is honest billing practices. If I knew at any point you would bill me to give me a quote I would have never done business with you in the first place. Not a single other contractor I have hired has done this to me. Just pure dishonest. 

• Initial Complaint

  08/31/2023

  Complaint Type:

  Product Issues

  Status:

  Answered

  More info

  This year I set up an installation ************* to have my sprinkler system started.Down to Earth did not come at the right time and apparently the right date and they did the work and CAME INTO MY HOME without permission due to the company having the code to the garage from the previous owners I don't know but I was extremely upset because I sat around waiting for them to come at the time they stated. I called regarding the fact that they didnt show up and I was told by the gentleman that he would look into it and call back. He did call back and stated he talked to the technician and he was there and went on about what was done. I was distraught and asked how any of it could have been done when no one was home? I also mentioned that the sprinkler system timer was not set and that we have had to set the time 2 years in a row because the technicians didnt do it correctly and also stated how do they know what we wanted it set to when NO ONE was at the house when they came. I explained to the guy that I was not paying the full bill because this was totally done inappropriately and they did not arrive when I was told they would because we would have never let someone come into our home when we were not there. He said he would get back with me and I never heard from him. I then get a bill that states it is 90 days late and it was for I believe I75.00 so I called and left a message. I get a call back from a lady and she made me feel like I was in the wrong during the conversation and she insulted me when she said she would take "2 mins" off the bill for the fact that the timer wasn't set. I said that is an insult and it takes a lot longer than 2 mins to set the timer obviously because your employees don't know how to do it and I do it every year. So she said she could take 10 mins off. I was done with her at that point and said whatever. I am obviously never using this company again. I have a new invoice I haven't paid yet because I want more money taken off. please help

  

  Business response

  09/20/2023

  *****,

  I appreciate your concern on the matter you have brought to attention. I am sorry for the time and energy you've spent on this matter and am honestly confused on the complaint to the BBB. We have credited the invoice for a fair amount of time in relation to the irrigation controller being set. We have deleted all codes from your account so it is no longer accessible at any time. Which from all posted and logged information in our software along with feedback from staff was the actions you wish to be performed. We take pride in our integrity here at Down to Earth and have access to a multitude of properties without owners or representatives being present. In 43 years we have a tremendous record of being trustworthy and respectful of personal property. I apologize that we were unaware of your preference on the day of service to not enter the residence. It is very standard that we do enter residences and are entrusted to complete the service with integrity. I show no additional work or calls on warranty and presume the system has functioned well this year and our service was the quality standard we strive to maintain. For the time frame of arrival being earlier than scheduled I will apologize for ************** arriving early. There is a text message sent when we are on the way and we received no communication back at that time to not proceed as normal. This is why your system was serviced with no one home as is standard when we have a provided access code to the property. As last communication stands we as a company were unaware you wanted more off the adjusted invoice. We had already moved the credit from $3.00 to $15.00 after you had stressed the additional concern over the timer being programmed to your preferences and that not being accomplished by ************** as he set to our company standard settings. 

  For the billing portion our software logged that you opened the emailed invoice two times before filing this complaint against us. After you received your third invoice showing 90 days late then you filed a complaint and I see no communication in our software from 5/23/23 to 8/24/23. I am sorry you feel our concessions and adjustments are not adequate for you. I feel that we have addressed the manner professionally, thoroughly, and in a timely manner. I thank you for the opportunity to continue to improve our company with your feedback and chance to review our internal operations around new disputes.    

• Initial Complaint

  09/22/2021

  Complaint Type:

  Service or Repair Issues

  Status:

  Answered

  More info

  I hired the buisness to install a irrigation system on my new construction home. I discovered that halfway through the job the manforce was depleted. So finally after the job was complete, my breaker for a electrical circuit began to trip. Myself and the owner of Down to Earth(Elliot). Discovered that a power cable was cut during the irrigation install. So Elliot repaired the wire which is buried underground. It worked for a day and failed again. Elliot assured me that he would send a licensed electrician to correct the issue. Instead after waiting another day the repairman turned out to be the veteran lead guy on the irrigation Install team, not an electrician. So he repaired it again but I wanted them to replace the cable rather repair it, after all everything on my home is new construction. He proceeded to repair Instead of replace cable but I was assured that if it ever failed he would take care of it. With the long process at hand, I took his word but it has failed,help.

  

  Business response

  09/22/2021

  We installed Mr. ******' irrigation system back in 2018. Before installation we were assured everything was to code as it was a brand new build. Once cut we did repair the wire which feeds a light in the front yard which is not related to irrigation in any way. The initial repair did fail. We respliced the wire in a short time after and returned function to the light. No promises were ever made for a licensed electrician. All repairs were made with no charges to customer for time or material even though the original installation of the wire did not fall into the approved code of Table 300.5 in the National Electric Code. No work has been performed at the property since 2019 by Down to Earth. 

  Customer response

  10/04/2021

   I am rejecting this response because:
  
  

  Installer says he was assured everything was code. He was assured by who? I paid for a professional install, which means no damage to all property. We never discussed codes. The owner, who is not a electrician did the first repair to the wire himself. The wire was cut do to the trenching out of the ground to install irrigation. He never denied this incident. The repair(splice) immediately failed. From that point the owner(Elliot) assured me that a certified electrician was coming to correct the wire problem.  When someone finally came it was the guy who had been performing the irrigation system install. This particular guy worked short handed for the entire job. Employees were literally quitting during the install at my home. I did not want the install guy to make the repair. Besides,that would be 2 splices to the same cable which would be buried underground. Between my heavy work schedule with limited availability, the entire job taking longer than expected and now having an electrical issue that disrupts the daily functions of my household, I grew weary. The guy said he had been with the company for a very long time and he assured me that if it ever failed he would comeback and correct the issue the right way (install new cable). So I took his word for it. Again I am compensation for new wire installed from my house to light pole and damage to landscaping do to new wire being installed. 

  
  

  

  Business response

  10/05/2021

  I do not disagree that wire to a light, which is not part of the irrigation system, was cut and failed once. The splice was repaired a second time all at no cost to restore function to the light post in question. The second repair was not an additional cut into the wire it was simply a correction of a failed seal of first repair. The entire process was resolved and corrected in as timely as a manner as Mr. *******s schedule would allow as he wished to be present during repair. The repair was approved by Mr. ****** as he was home for every visit. I never made any promises for an electrician to be involved. All work performed is currently outside of our one year workmanship warranty and three year parts warranty period which is stated on every contract we present for new irrigation system installation. We have not serviced the home since 2019 by any staff of Down to Earth. We have acted professionally and worked with Mr. ****** on all matters he had concerns with even giving a credit on a service call he felt was warranted in 2019. As all warranties have expired and there has been no work has been performed on Mr. *******s property in two years I consider this complaint and this account closed.  

• Initial Complaint

  06/11/2021

  Complaint Type:

  Service or Repair Issues

  Status:

  Answered

  More info

  In May of 2020 I had Down To Earth come over to resolve some minor sprinkler issues. The guy that came out was to fix sprinkler heads on several zones and was to eliminate a sprinkler head. I received a bill from Down To Earth for the work that came to $121.00 that I paid on July 10th 2020. I told them that the job wasn't done correctly and to please send someone out to do the job right. Since then, that employee was fired. *****, a service tech came out and was really nice and knew what he was doing. I gave ***** a $10 tip. To my surprise, I got billed again for the work being fixed that should have been fixed the first time correctly. This time I got billed for $131.00 from invoice 43048. ***** told me that the other guy used the wrong heads and messed it all up. Now its June 2021, I turn the system on and the head that was to be off is leaking bad. I called them, told them the issue and was just told they are busy someone would call me. That was last week.

  

  Business response

  06/29/2021

  ***** called our office on 6/3/21 and talked to the office staff for 9:44, called again on 6/3/21 and talked to the office staff for 0:46, called again on 6/4/21 and talked to the office staff for 5:26 this time. The technician that responded to the original job last year was no longer with the company at that time to ask him about the site. Another technician went to this customers house last year and the office staff needed to talk to him about the job and talk to him about the new issue that ***** called in about. That took Down to Earth a couple days of talking about the issue and talking with other experienced technicians about the issues. Office staff came into the office Monday morning 6/10/21 and listened to a voice-mail left from ***** stating that he was "really ****** off" and that he was going to report us to BBB and that we wouldn't send anyone out to his property that was compliant and ended the voice-mail screaming into the phone that everyone at Down to Earth sucks. **** ******, owner, then called ***** to let him know what we don't appreciate being talked to in this manner and that we were trying to come up with a good game plan as far as what he'd been charged to date but if we "suck" that badly in his eyes that maybe he should fine another irrigation company to service his needs. We haven't heard from him since.

*Some consumers may elect to not publish the details of their complaints, some complaints may not meet BBB's standards for publication, or BBB may display a portion of complaints when a high volume is received for a particular business. ↩