Jose's Gardening Service

Review: 4/26, 2012 [redacted] gave estimate to do extensive property cleanup. 5/2 he arrived 2 hours late. He was paid but did not complete work.

I called [redacted] from an ad in a local publication. On 4/26 he came to me house and we walked all the way around the property. I pointed out work to be done, he agreed. H gave an estimate of $180 to do the extensive cleanup.

He scheduled to be here 5/2 at 8 am, but had not shown up by 9:30, so I called. His wife said he had lost his keys, would be there soon. He arrived at 10 am. I had a Dr appointment and had to leave at 11:00. It looked as though there was still a lot of work to be done, so I told him I would pay when I came back. He pressed to be paid before I left in case he finished early. Reluctantly I wrote a check for full amount. I was home by 12:30 and he had gone. Later that day I walked the property and saw that he had NOT done much of the work we agreed on. Apparently I paid $90 an hour for uncompleted slipshod work.

I left a phone message that he needed to come back to finish. He called me 5/3, said he would be here 5/4 at 3:00 to work.

He has cashed the check, and has not done the work. I will have to hire someone else to do the needed workDesired Settlement: The work Mr. [redacted] completed, weed whipping and spraying some weeds, is payable at a maximum of $25 an hour. He spent two hours, so I feel I owed him $50 for his labor. I want him to return the overcharge of $130.

Business

Response:

Business' Initial Response

[redacted] met with Ms. [redacted] on 4/26 and completed a property assessment. It was determined that the property clean-up job would include: Weed eating around the house, around the trees, around the driveway and the boarder property line. As well as, plant 5 plants and spray the round-up around the driveway area. The weed control Round-up would be provided by Ms. [redacted]. The job was estimated to cost $180 and was scheduled to be completed the morning of 5/2/13 (AM).

[redacted] arrived 2 hours late due to a change in his schedule and a temporary misplacement of his keys. Ms. [redacted] was informed that he was on his way. Ms. [redacted] noted that she had an appointment and would have to leave in a few hours. Originally [redacted] was not informed that Ms. [redacted] had a Dr.s appointment and thus would not be available for some time until later in the afternoon. [redacted] did not press Ms. [redacted] to be paid prior to the completion of the clean-up job. He was told that she was not sure what time she would be coming back home. [redacted] informed Ms. [redacted] that he had about another 40 minutes to complete the job. Ms. [redacted] decided that she would not be arriving home in that short amount of time and thus, wrote the check and left it on [redacted]'s vehicle window. Ms. [redacted] did not present any reluctance at the time of this transaction.

Later that afternoon Ms. [redacted] contacted [redacted]'s Gardening Services and stated she was not happy paying $90 per hour. I reminded her that she paid for a clean-up job and not for hourly labor as per the original agreement. I also informed her that [redacted] would be stopping by to see if there was any corrective action he could provide in accordance with the original contract agreement. [redacted] went back to Ms. [redacted]'s property 2 additional times when he was working in the area and he was not able to speak to Ms. [redacted] agrees to have Ms. [redacted] schedule an appointment with him and he can review his original contract agreement and remedy any clean-up job areas to the client's specifications, but he is not going to do any new work due to the recent rains.

[redacted] did complete the weed eating around the house, trees, driveway and the property line as originally agreed upon and clearly was stated. [redacted] planted 3 plants only because the home owner could not decide where she wanted the other two plants. [redacted] did inform Ms. [redacted] that he could come back and plant the other two plants once she decided where she wanted them planted. All of the round-up provided by Ms. [redacted] was used on her property, but there was not a sufficient amount to complete the job. Thus, if Ms. [redacted] provides additional round-up [redacted] has agreed to spray the additional amount as per the original agreement. In conclusion, Ms. [redacted] paid for the clean-up job, not an hourly salary, and as agreed per the original verbal contract. [redacted] has agreed to meet with Ms. [redacted] in person and address any touch-ups, as per the original agreement and plant the two plants, as well as, finish the round-up spraying as long as Ms. [redacted] provides the chemical spray.

Sincerely,

[redacted],

Jose's Gardening Services

Consumer's Final Response

(The consumer indicated he/she DID NOT accept the response from the business.)

I see no point in rehashing the details of my complaint. The fact is that Mr. [redacted] defrauded me. He did not show up at the appointed time to do the work. He came unprepared to do the work he agreed to do, he did only a small portion of the agreed upon work. He pressured me into paying him before the work was finished. I returned from a doctor's appointment earlier than expected and he had already left after less than two hours work. Apparently, he went straight to the bank and cashed my check. My records show that the check cleared the following day. These appear to be classic senior fraud tactics.

When I complained, he even agreed to return and finish the work. But he did not show up for that appointment.

I have checked with several contractors licensing organizations. I have not been able to find any record of Mr. [redacted]' contractor's license. Based on this and his failure to do the promised work, I plan to file a criminal fraud complaint against Mr. [redacted].

Business' Final Response

1. Mr. [redacted] did a complete walk around the property to identify the work that was to be completed. The assessment was done on April 26th. The clients comment regarding cutting and trimming the ivy was not originally mentioned in the assessment. [redacted] did cut away the blackberry vines in various areas and cleaned the sweat pea vines from the corner of the planting bed.

2. [redacted] did start work on May second as agreed upon, but he was late due to an emergent assignment. He arrived 2 hours late, but was able to complete the agreed upon work. He did not force Ms. [redacted] to pay him. [redacted] does project work and gets paid at the completion of the work, but Ms. [redacted] was not going to be home and thus paid [redacted] prior to leaving to her medical appointment.

3. At the original assessment it was discussed that [redacted]'s Gardening Service would spray around the driveway. [redacted] clarified that the supplies are provided by the client. He was only charging for the labor expense for the clean-up project. Ms. [redacted] indicated she had some available. Thus, that is what [redacted] asked for on the day of the clean-up. [redacted] did provide his own tools. He did not use Ms. Stablers tools except the Round-up which was Ms. Stablers responsibility to provide.

4. [redacted] did plant the three plants. If one died do to not enough water that is not [redacted]'s responsibility. That is the homeowners. [redacted] agreed to plant them and he planted the plants.

5.[redacted]'s normal weedtrimming and edging is completed with a weed trimmer. He does not do this by hand due to the time contraints. But the use of a weed trimmer to perform edging work is an industry practice.

6. [redacted]'s standard of payment for work performed is payable upon completion of the work. [redacted] indicated to Ms. [redacted] that he only anticipated staying about another hour and thus he would be gone prior to her return. Ms. [redacted] wrote [redacted] a check. There was no demands made upon Ms. [redacted] except that [redacted] would be gone prior to her return from her medical appointment.

7. [redacted] does charge flat fees for project work. He does not accept hourly rate jobs and clients pay for their own supplies that will be used for their clean-up projects. [redacted] pays for the gas and oil he uses in his own business tools, but not for the clients supplies (Round-up).

8.[redacted] was not able to go on May 4th due to his time constraints at another project. Thus, he went back on two separate occasions but was not able to speak with Ms. [redacted]. Ms. [redacted] only called us once to complain. There was never any additonal follow-up with [redacted]'s Gardening Services. Thus, we thought she was satisfied with the follow-up touch ups until we received correspondence from Revdex.com.

9.[redacted] is not a licensed state contractor. He filed his business license with El Dorado County. This was explained to Revdex.com which they informed us that they had clarified this issue with the client. That is why they had to ask us the question.

10. Ms. [redacted] is not satisfied with the outcomes. It is sad that a simple follow-up with corrective actions provided did not satisfy Ms. [redacted] and then additional items were added to the project such as [redacted] providing his own round-up. We strongly believe that it is the clients responsibility to purchase their own supplies. Thus, to rectify this incorrect response [redacted]'s Gardening Service is going to return the $130 requested by Ms. [redacted].