ComplaintsforGreat Dane Tree Experts & Landscaping, LLC

• Initial Complaint

  02/22/2023

  Complaint Type:

  Billing Issues

  Status:

  Resolved

  More info

  On 2/13/23 my husband **** ***** left a voicemail for Great Dane Tree Experts and Landscaping, LLC for a stump removal estimate. On 2/14 the presumed owner (** going forward) asked for photos and our address via text, we sent the info. ** texted an estimate 2/15. **** texted back price approval, asked about their availability. ** said they weren’t sure but likely within two weeks and that they’d text us once they knew their availability. 2/21/23 their workers showed up unannounced. ****, was at work, I was at home, alone with my young son. **** and I asked why they arrived without notification, as agreed. They said they’d finished a job early and came by for our job. We declined, we weren’t prepared for services. They also wanted payment upfront, we didn’t know. They said we’d likely be charged a travel fee. **** got a text from ** asking why we refused them. We told them because we were’t told they were coming. **** also wanted to be home for the service. ** told him they came because they figured we’d want the work done, and that we would be billed a $50 travel fee. A fee we had no idea about. **** texted we wouldn’t be paying a fee for a service we didn’t agree on. ** told **** they’re not required to notify us of arrival and that we don’t need to be present on our own property. **** sent a screenshot of the original agreement about availability. That night **** enquired on our local facebook page about tree removal recommendations. He briefly outlined the day’s events. The business from the incident was not posted publicly. Only scheduling issues were mentioned in post/comments. There were no reports about any services performed, no services were done. We got a text from ** promising legal action for slander, plus the $50 bill. **** reiterated the original broken agreement, we signed no contract with terms, we had no agreed appointment time. More legal threats this morning 2/22. **** asked for ** to stop harassing us. ** replied we’d talk soon.

  

  Business response

  03/13/2023

  We received a written approval from Mr. ***** which confirms his permission to perform stump grinding services at his home.

  We provide customers with a rough timeframe upon job approval and try to contact each customer to confirm their job date once set, with as much notice as possible. However, like many other service providers, our schedule changes frequently and in some cases, we can add in jobs to days when our amazing, efficient crew is ahead of schedule.
  

  This was the case on 2/21. Our crew finished a job earlier than expected near the *****’s home and with them being an approved job, our Foreman headed there to get their work completed sooner than we had advised Mr. *****. The services we provide are outside of the home and do not require anyone to be present. Though, our Foreman always knocks to let the homeowner know we are onsite so that they are not startled and/or can make other requests for the job being completed. We never require or request payment up front, our contract clearly states that payment is due upon completion of the job and we will send invoices to those that aren’t prepared to pay the day of service. Our contract outlines a Notice of Cancellation Right, along with all other Terms and Conditions. The *****’s were advised of our trip charge policy when our Foreman was denied access to complete the approved stump grinding.

  The *****’s did not cancel their approved contract for stump grinding prior to our arrival. If they were not ready for service as Mrs. ***** stated in her complaint, Mr. or Mrs. ***** should have contacted to cancel the approved work. When this was explained to Mr. *****, his responses were aggressive, rude and to the point of harassment with the numerous text messages minutes apart from each other. It seems the documentation that Mrs. ***** submitted with this complaint is only selected parts of the text message communication, so I have attached the entire conversation. I have also attached the Facebook post that Mr. ***** made on a local community page. Mrs. ***** stated our business name was not posted publicly, but the name of our business was in fact listed. As you can see in the Facebook Post attachment, the company name was “redacted”, so there was certainly a period where our name was listed and all of the comments to the post – including Mr. *****’s are also attached.
  

  The *****’s have NOT received an invoice from us and yet continue to submit bad reviews and complaints such as this one – which is causing our company more cost and time. At this point, we are discussing further action due to the unnecessary slander.
  

  
  

  Customer response

  03/14/2023

  We did not sign any contract that included: an agreed time and date for service, terms and agreements (fines/fees included), approval to work on our property without our presence. The only thing agreed was that we would finalize a date for services at another date, within two weeks. We were not obligated to accept work just because Great Dane finished another job early and decided, on their own, that they’d like to do work on our property. The text thread reflects the original agreement that a date would be chosen and that we would be notified before work would be done. 
  

  The facebook group has a moderator and all public posts must be approved by said moderator before going online. The business name was redacted by the moderator before released for public viewing. Even so, what was posted was about our dissatisfaction with the services. None of the statement were untruthful. We have the right to review the business based on the services rendered as well as the customer service. 

  

  Business response

  03/21/2023

  Per the text message communication our company has had with Mr. *****, we have a legally binding contract per the state of Ohio. We do not require the customer to be home for any reason, and the service aggreged upon would've taken less than 30 minutes onsite and is performed outside of the home; prior notification was not needed. The stump grinding service approved by Mr. ***** is similar to lawn mowing or lawn treatment services in which, no one is required to be home for service, and we arrive and complete the job at the company's convenience and availability. Due to being denied service, for no valid reason, we mentioned a trip charge fee being billed; however, to this date, the *****'s have not received a bill; and are still submitting reviews and complaints like this one online. Our company is continuing with time and labor costs responding to the complaint of an invoice that the *****'s have never received.

  Customer response

  03/22/2023

  As long as no more legal threats are made, and we never receive a bill, we will consider this matter resolved. At this time, we haven’t received a bill nor any communication from the business, regardless of the disagreement about the existence of a contract. We wish no further communication at this time.
  

*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. ↩