ComplaintsforMonster Tree Service of Greenville County

• Initial Complaint

  02/29/2024

  Complaint Type:

  Customer Service Issues

  Status:

  Answered

  More info

  This company cut a tree down that was in our yard. A neighbor apparently contracted with them to take several trees in their yard down. The tree that was the subject of this complaint was on our yard. It was in between the two properties but most of it was in our yard. We did not wish to take it down since we value our privacy. We went outside to do yard work and saw that it had been cut down and the dead trees and debris were left in our yard. We saw the sign for Monster Tree Service in our neighbor's yard and called to find out why they cut our tree down with no notice to us or consent from us. Pursuant to South Carolina Statutes, we would like to find out why this company thought it was ok to cut a tree down in a yard where they had no consent from the owner. We believe the applicable statutes are 16-11-520 and 16-11-680. We contacted the company and the gentleman that answered looked up the order and said that the customer told the company to leave the debris. I asked to speak to the owner, and they called me back. I explained to them that our tree was cut down without our knowledge or consent and a mess was left. They came out that evening and looked at the debris and we showed them the rebar that we put on our property line to mark our area since there will be construction occurring behind us. I explained to the owner of the company that we were not notified of the tree cutting and did not want the tree removed. There was debris that was too large for us to remove ourselves. He said he would remove the trees, debris and that he would send some guys out to grind the stump. When we requested that he put that in writing the next day, he denied saying it. He did remove the trees and debris this afternoon. The facts are that this company came to our property uninvited and cut down one of our trees without our consent which appears to be against the South Carolina Statutes and did not intend to clean up the mess they left. We had to call them and tell them to.

  

  Business response

  03/11/2024

  In response to the complaint filed by the *********, I am attaching pictures showing the location of the dead, decayed, infested, spar (tree with no limbs, branches, or canopy) in relation to the property line marker (see rebar with pink ribbon) which is in a natural area next to our actual client’s property where work was completed by our crew on February 16, 2024.  I am also including email correspondence that was exchanged with the ********* in the form of PDF’s.
  
  The tree that your neighbor paid to have taken down was a dead, decayed, infested, high hazard spar (tree without a crown) that was leaning towards your custom b**** fence structure (“target”).  
  
  Before the high hazard spar was added to the scope of work, your neighbor and I reviewed the location of the spar, relative to the property stake, took a photo (included in the proposal SOW), and deemed the spar to be within our client’s property line – the ********* neighbor.
  
  These pictures are included in the proposal we sent to our client (the ********* neighbor) on February 5, 2024.  The work was completed on February 16, 2024.
  
  The ********* did not contact our office until February 26, 2024 — 10 days after the work was completed for our client.  I met with **** and ****** the same evening they called — although ****** abruptly left during the calm and professional dialog ****, and I were having. 
  
  We (Monster Tree Service) had wood that was inadvertently left on a small corner of their property (beyond their backyard fence and in a natural unmaintained area).  It rained February 27, 2024, throughout the day creating an unworkable area for us to access, with our loader, without getting stuck in the mud.  Our team then returned on the morning of February 28, 2024, to move the wood off the ********* corner of the back natural area.
  
  In summary, the controlled take down of a high hazard spar was done as a preventative measure to protect an expensive “target” e.g. custom b**** fence/ structure owned by the *********— and to be a good neighbor.
  
  From the meeting on the evening of February 26th, I gave my confirmation and commitment that we would move the related wood off the back corner of the ********* lot.  To do so, we needed to access the area from the neighboring lot/ development, as we did for the original take downs.  This is the only thing we agreed to do – and we shook hands on this agreement.
  
  I sincerely apologize for the distress this has caused the *********.  Your neighbors are very good people who had the very best of intentions and hope you see that in our response to your frustrations and our original intent. 
  
  Respectfully,
  
  Tom L******, CTSP 
  Owner & General Manager
  Monster Tree Service of Greenville County
  ************ ******
  *************************************
  

  Customer response

  03/20/2024

  I wanted to reach out and apologize for not responding sooner to your email. Regarding our complaint against Monster Tree service. I received some concerning bloodwork and was wrapped up in personal issues and totally missed the response time frame.

  
  

  If you would be so kind as to close out the complaint as “consumer not satisfied”, we would really appreciate it.

  
  

  Thank you so much for your assistance,

  
  

  ******* *** **** *******

• Initial Complaint

  12/12/2022

  Complaint Type:

  Customer Service Issues

  Status:

  Answered

  More info

  Signed for a work order and have not been scheduled for almost 3 months. Company refuses to return deposit.

  

  Business response

  12/23/2022

  On 12/8/22, Monster Tree Service received an email from *** requesting to cancel his upcoming work orders and requested a refund of his non-refundable deposit.  
  *** made claims that Monster Tree Service did not communicate with him about our backlog and schedule.   Context is everything & most certainly on social media with attempts to harm our impeccable reputation online.
  
  Here is the detailed timeline of events that Monster Tree Service has records of:
  
  *** originally requested a quote from Monster Tree Service for tree work on 5/24/21.  We did not hear from *** again until Sept 2022.  MTS revisited the SOW with *** & he approved a detailed, written proposal. 
  
  9/22/22:  MONSTER TREE SERVICE ADVISED *** OF A 6–7 WEEK TIMEFRAME, WEATHER PENDING, VIA E-MAIL BEFORE HE PAID HIS 20% DEPOSIT. 
  
  9/23/22:  Monster Tree Service advised *** via email that we were targeting the week of 11/7/22 for his job but reiterated that hurricane season can impact our schedule due to emergency work.
  
  9/30/22-10/2/22:  The upstate was impacted with 40mph gusts from “Hurricane ***”
  
  10/24/22:  Monster Tree Service notified ***, via email, that the work schedule was set back a week due to emergency work caused by wind from Hurricane “***” and that the week of 11/14/22 was the new target for his work.   
  
  11/5/22:  The upstate was impacted with heavy soaking rain & cold temps keeping turfs saturated for extended duration.  
  
  11/10/22-11/12/22:  The upstate was impacted with another 1.5” of rain (Hurricane Nicole)
  
  11/11/22:  Keeping *** intimately in the loop on his schedule, Monster Tree Service advised ***, via email, of the incredible amounts of rain & cold temps kept the ground saturated.  Monster Tree Service expected turf to be soaked on Monday (11/14) when we had him scheduled.  Additionally, Monster Tree Service experienced an (electrical/ mechanical) failure w/ our 72’ lift.  
  
  11/15/22:  The Upstate saw rain all day.  Rain total for the month of Nov was ~7”, per WYFF which is 3” above the normal average for this time of year.
  
  11/17/22:  Tom (Monster Tree Service Owner) called *** to talk through unprecedented weather issues & left *** a detailed voicemail.
  
  11/18/22:  *** advised via email that email was best to communicate w/him.  Monster Tree Service advised *** via email of new lift coming from PA within 1-2 weeks & we will get back to him w/ an update when we know more.
  
  11/24-25:  Monster Tree Service was closed for the holiday, also, this week one of our Crew Leaders was out w/ Covid & another Crew Leader was off for the week getting married. 
  
  11/28/22:  Monster Tree Service advised *** that the lift is coming from PA, expected to arrive over weekend, & we will schedule his job as soon as we take possession.  AT THIS TIME, *** ADVISED HE WANTED ANOTHER QUOTE TO ADD A DEAD TREE TAKE DOWN BUT HE WOULD BE OUT OF TOWN UNTIL 11/30.   An appointment to meet w/ **** **** Arborist) for a new quote was agreed for 11/30.
  
  11/29/22:  The upstate received over 2” of rain
  
  11/30/22:  **** met w/ *** to quote the added tree take down.  In the afternoon, Beth with Monster Tree Service sent the following email update to ***: “Keeping you in the loop on our schedule.  Apparently, the transportation company coming out of Pennsylvania had an issue w/ their truck, so our new lift has not departed yet.  It was supposed to be here today.  They are now saying it could be delivered Saturday or early next week.  We will work out a dry date for your job as soon as we have the new equipment.  The almost 2” of rain last night did not help my scheduling, that’s for sure.”
  
  12/2/22:  Beth advised ***, via email, of lift status arriving over the weekend but reiterated that if his turf is still saturated, we recommend waiting until things dry out.
  
  12/5/22-12/8/22:  The upstate received soaking rain during these dates.
  
  12/8/22:  *** sent email requesting to cancel the job at 5:30PM stating he had hired another company already to do the work.
  
  12/9/22:  Tom, Monster Tree Service Owner, called & spoke w/ ***.  Tom shared a summary of the timeline of events, above, w/ *** after he accused MTS of not communicating w/ him.  *** ACKNOWLEDGED THE TIMELINE OF EVENTS & SAID HE WAS MISTAKEN.  
  
  MTS OFFERED TO SEEK A REASONABLE RESOLUTION BY GOING BACK A 4TH TIME TO ASSESS THE CURRENT CONDITIONS OF ***’S PROPERTY AFTER A WEEK OF RAIN --- FOR POTENTIAL DAMAGE IF OUR TEAM WORKED ON HIS SATURATED TURF.  MTS OFFERED TO TALK THROUGH THINGS IN PERSON (ON FRIDAY 12/9).  TO EXPEDITE THE WORK, TOM OFFERED TO HAVE *** SIGN A TURF DAMAGE WAIVER SO THAT MTS COULD BEING WORK ON MONDAY 12/12.   *** DECLINED THE OFFER. 
  
  Tom advised he would honor ***’s request to cancel the approved work orders but also shared some critical advice: “When you hire a contractor that is exceptionally low priced, has little to no backlog, & is willing to work on your saturated yard, exercise great caution.”
  
  MTS is very detailed & transparent w/ verbal & written comms.  We e-mail all proposals & provide 3-days to cancel w/ no obligation.  However, once a client commits to Monster Tree Service, we reciprocate & make big commitments.  Our backlog determines our staffing, equipment purchases, inventory, training, etc.  
  
  Per our terms & conditions, Monster Tree Service will only refund deposits at our discretion.  In ***’s case, given the countless emails, calls, text exchanges, re-visits, and duration (dating back to May 2021) & ***’s blackmailing approach to post untruthful, one-sided, negative reviews --- Monster Tree Service has chosen not to refund his deposit.  
  
  LASTLY, NOT ONCE DID *** COMMUNICATE W/ MONSTER TREE SERVICE REGARDING ANY WORK HE WAS HAVING COMPLETED BY OTHER CONTRACTORS.  
  
  Below is a snapshot of item #4 in our Terms & Conditions on the contract signed by ***:
  4 CANCELLATION: 
  The signee may notify MTS in writing within three (3) days of the signature date to cancel the transaction without 
  penalty or obligation.  A 20% cancellation fee will be imposed if the signee cancels after three (3) days.
  The cancellation fee is at the discretion of MTS.  Any payment terms, if applicable, will be deemed null and void
  
  
  Monster Tree Service strives for excellence in all that we do.  Our online reviews & National Awards validate all that goes into building our culture of excellence.  We are built to serve & do so w/ the utmost of integrity, commitment, & respect.
  
  We respectfully decline to offer a refund of the paid deposit after his request to cancel the work, given the number of communications we had with *** and our expectations to complete his job once the weather was dry, and his turf would not be impacted by our heavy equipment.  
  
  Sincerely,
  
  Tom L******
  Owner Operator

  Customer response

  12/27/2022

  Better Business Bureau:
  
  I have reviewed the response made by the business in reference to complaint ID ********, and have determined that this does not resolve my complaint. 
  

  Filing complaints with the state given the nature of this exchange.

  
  Regards,
  
  *** ******

  

  Business response

  01/04/2023

  Respectfully, we have nothing to add to what we have already provided.

*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. ↩