Lake Wisconsin Landshapers

Hired to do simple landscaping work and was promised a yard which would grow grass
Now weeks later I have a nasty looking mess that is worse than what I started
I cannot get him to answer phone/text/email
Took money and ran

I will outline the key facts leading to this disputeI contracted with this contractor with the primary goal of replacing mulch and seeding the former mulched areas with grass on the front and side of my homeThe job was done incompletely, in a patchwork, fragmentary manner, leaving large, highly visible gaps of no grassTo his credit, when I complained about the job falling well below anyone's reasonable expectations, he came out in April to examine it, He acknowledged his year warranty/guarantee, agreed that the grass had not come in, and said he would be back to make it right, even mentioning the end of that week as the return dateThat was where the cooperation ended, never to returnIn short, the contractor made multiple vows to come back and take care of the lawn, reseed it, and make it rightFrom April, through May to today, I have never seen him againI text messaged him on a number of occasions, with him always agreeing to fix the sorry state of the grass but he n

I found Bill *** of Landshapers Landscapers on ***He was quick to respond to my bid for a boulder border around our flower garden and up our timber steps to our front porchHe was quick to come out to complete an estimate and sounded very knowledgeable and promising in regards to what the finish project would look like (including some details that weren't written into the contract - lining the boulder border up with the front of the timber steps, leveling the ground and digging the boulders in slightly to stabilize them, cutting out a dead stump that was in the way of the border, and leveling the top timber step)These all seemed to be included in the "make it look professional" category after the initial acceptance of the estimate
The trouble began with getting a firm date in place for the job to begin and complete, which is not the nature of the this complaintIt was also made more complex when the additional work was not completed that day as promisedBut, again,

I gored this company and they showed up to do a pretty large jobThey were here every day and did everything they were contracted to doEven in super hot weather they still worked Always polite to me even helped me move furniture I couldn't move myself in my houseWork is great and I'm very pleased

On July 29th, I paid the owner of Lake Wisconsin Landshapers to start the following Monday to do my patio steps.

Over two months, 10 unanswered calls, 35+ texts, and a certified letter stating he complete the work or I will take him to small claims, he has dropped off the rest of the supplies...and has yet to finish the job. His lack of response to phone or text continues.

The owner is unprofessional, unreliable, and his legal history speaks for itself.

Review: Wisconsin Lake Landshaper's was contracted by Leader's Development, LLC to perform the landscaping duties for our house, currently under construction. Wisconsin Lake Landshaper's was given $2,500 upfront from Leader's Development for labor and material.

The first problem occurred when the company did not have a valid banking account. Because of this we paid Madison Stone and Block for all of the limestone material for our two retaining walls.

The second issue occurred shortly after, realizing who our landscaper was, we found out that the company owes almost $40,000 in back taxes to the State of Wisconsin. We did not feel comfortable providing the company with any funds until all work was completed.

We were told that the job (retaining walls, grading, seed, sod and plants) would take a total of 5 days. It has been two weeks and only 1.5 of the retaining walls and most of the rough grading has been done.

He went days without any communication. Refused to answer phone calls from us, the homeowners, and the builder, Leader's Development.

We were told that the overage for our limestone choice for the two retaining walls was $1,700. It turns out that the $1,700 covered all of the materials for the two retaining walls, according to Madison Block and Stone, the distributor that the limestone was purchased from. Wisconsin Lake Landshaper's had budgeted $760 for wall materials that we should be given credit for as they did not pay for any retaining wall material.

Seeing as we, the homeowners, paid for all of the material on site, we should be refunded the amount that we paid for material. All Wisconsin Lake Landshaper's is entitled to is the labor associated with the two retaining walls and rough grading. About 2.5 days worth or about $800 to $1000.

Wisconsin Lake Landshaper's has refused to provide invoices and receipts for any of his work or alleged materials that they claim to have purchased.

Another issue occurred when one of the crew members cracked one of our windows using his weed whacker. We would like to be reimbursed for the replacement of the window pane.Desired Settlement: We are seeking to be refunded a minimum $1,700 for the Limestone. the difference of the $2,500 less the amount for labor for the 1.5 retaining walls, and the cost of the window pane.

Consumer

Response:

I would not expect anyone from Wisconsin Lake Landshapers to reply to any official complaint against them. The company owes almost $40,000 in back taxes, and based on his character doesn't surprise me that nothing has been responded to.

didn't show up to finish my job and left with my shovel owing me money.