Complaints

The complaint text that is displayed might not represent all complaints filed with BBB. 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.

• Initial Complaint

  Date:07/31/2024

  Type:Service or Repair Issues
  Status:

  AnsweredMore info

  Complaint statuses

  Resolved:

  The complainant verified the issue was resolved to their satisfaction.

  Unresolved:

  The business responded to the dispute but failed to make a good faith effort to resolve it.

  Answered:

  The business addressed the issues within the complaint, but the consumer either a) did not accept the response, OR b) did not notify BBB as to their satisfaction.

  Unanswered:

  The business failed to respond to the dispute.

  Unpursuable:

  BBB is unable to locate the business.

  I placed a request on Angies list to find a contractor to remove some old trees in my front yard. I placed the request on June 20th. Over the next two days I had 4 contractors come to give me quotes on service. I gave them all the same description of what I wanted. This included removing the trees, removing the stumps, clearing the landscaping below, and planting new grass. Each gave me a different quote but all appeared to include everything i wanted. In the end I hired Allbark. Their quote included removal of trees, stumps, and landscaping debris on the top layer of the ground below to make rooms for top soil and seeding. They completed the work on July 10th and 12th while I was out of town for work. They sent me texts along the way that everything was going fine. On the 12th when I returned to town we took a quick look at it and everything looked good. I left town for work on the 14th. When I returned and mowed lawn on July 22, I saw that there was landscaping material showing through the new grass. I took a look and realized that there was less than 1/2 inch of topsoil and below it remained the landscaping material I had paid them to remove. I reached out to the contractor and have tried several times to resolve the issue without success. I have texts and emails to share.

  Business Response

  Date: 08/06/2024

  I came out for an in person quote for ****** from a job inquiry from the **** contractor website. In her description, she stated in the job details section 8 trees to remove, stumps and mulch, and plant grass.. We went over the specifics of this job and I then composed a formal job estimate. The estimate specifically states to remove the surface layer of mulch, debris and dirt to achieve a new grade level as per the job that she wanted to get done. I sent her this estimate, and she viewed it the same day as it shows in the companys system. I also sent her a text confirming the delivery and saying if you have questions/need anything or want to schedule feel free to reach me here. She said I was able to review and Im happy to move forward so we scheduled the job. We completed the job and then met in person again to do a walk through of the work and take care of the full payment (there was no deposit or payment exchanged before completing). Then, 8 days after this was done she sent me the picture saying the landscaping tarp was to be removed and we did not complete the job as agreed upon. I explained to her that this was not included in the estimate. I have the estimate, all messages exchanged, timelines and more however Im unable to include here as the files are too large. If theres another way to do this please reach out. Thanks! 

  Customer Answer

  Date: 08/07/2024

  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.  For your reference, details of the offer I reviewed appear.

  As stated in the original complaint as well as the emails shared with the BBB, debris is defined as pieces of waste and/or remains.  The tarp was distinctly visible and only partially covered by a thin layer of mulch during the day that the quote was requested as well as specifically mentioned as a requirement to be removed during the conversation.  As a result, the expectation that it be removed as a part of the surface debris was reasonable.  Furthermore, the reason that it took 8 days to report the concern is that the contractor took significant efforts to cover up the tarp which further indicates that they knew what they were doing was not aligned with expectations.  After watering the area and the ground settling, it became clearly visible again.  
  
  Regards,
  
  *********************

  Business Response

  Date: 08/07/2024

  The customers response is rejected by the company for the following reasons:

  1.) She has claimed there is a definition of debris in this case that reads as pieces of waste and/or remains. No such data exists anywhere in the estimate/work order, or any messages/communication exchanged between her and the company.

  2.) The customer continues to claim the tarp was clearly visible and she specifically mentioned it as the word of mouth method, however she has failed to provide any clear, verifiable evidence of this. If this was mentioned, the estimate would not have read to remove the surface layer for all areas because the tarp was not part of the surface area in this specific area to begin with. 
  

  3.) The landscaping tarp was not part of the surface layer the estimate states to remove for all areas. She has failed to mention there were two other areas we did the same process of work in for a total of three sections, hence why the estimate states the same for all. Pictures of the job process and work areas have been sent via email to verify. 
  

  4.) Customer states we took significant efforts to cover up the tarp which further indicates that they knew what they were doing. However, this is completely contradictory. The tarp was covered up because again, this is not the work order we agreed upon. Also, the actions taken by us during the process such as asking if she had any questions about the estimate before starting the job (to which she said she reviewed and accepted without any), sending project updates, and meeting with the customer after the job was completed verifies the contradiction. 
  

  5.) The customers statement of how she came to find the tarp has been contradictory and ever changing. At first she claimed she noticed the tarp shortly after the job was finished, which would have been impossible to not notice while doing the final walkthrough and then paying for the job. Then, as it was stated as 8 days, it changed to 8 days. 

  6.) All of the companys data on this job is verifiable, viewable, accurate, and contradicts the customers statement that she specifically mentioned this by word of mouth at any point. In any case, if she did mention this, the specific work order for that area would have been changed because it would have been a different process than the other two as they did not have tarps and/or deeper layers to remove. 

  Customer Answer

  Date: 08/15/2024

  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.  For your reference, details of the offer I reviewed appear below.
  
  Its simple, if a face to face conversation with the owner of the company is later considered hear say and not honored, then I do not even want them returning to my property.  Debris is a dictionary definition that I felt included the elements that we directly discussed.  The fact that he continues to blame me for him not quoting correctly and not looking closely at the job before quoting is just poor integrity and poor business practice.  I request a $500 refund to help cover the added costs to hire someone new to complete the work.
  
  Regards,
  
  *********************