Lawn Doctor

Hello Sir,We sent two letters stating we have you scheduled for service. One was sent in December the other was sent in January clearly stating to call us if your status has changed. We also placed two automated calls to his number. Our service and all lawn care service programs are a maintenance...

service that is time sensitive. We applied service by the end of March last year. We had significant snow fall in early March 2015 making it impossible to service the lawn earlier in the 2015 season. Never the less the lawn was serviced at the appropriate time. He had the right to cancel service at any time so I'm not sure why he would wait until after a service was performed to cry my right to cancel was taken away. [redacted] also acknowledged that he received and disgard our letters unopened. We do not want to Service Customers lawns that do not want the service and a simple phone call from you would have stopped services before they were performed and could have avoided this entire situation.In closing we feel the customer is at fault here considering we reached out three times saying "we have you Scheduled for service" with no reply. Silence is a considered agreement.Thank you AaronLawn Doctor

[A default letter is provided here which indicates your acceptance of the business's response.  If you wish, you may update it before sending it.]
Revdex.com:
I have reviewed the response made by the business in reference to complaint ID [redacted], and find that this resolution is satisfactory to me.
Regards,
[redacted]

Please be advised that although the account was not terminated prior to the service date, we will as an act of good faith measure adjust off the service fee for the Early Spring treatment.  All of our paperwork does indicate that "service does continue from season to season, year to year, for...

your convenience." All customers are also mailed to letters (November & January) before services begin, to inform all customers of scheduled services, the fees, and has a message to call with changes.  In addition an automated call was made 2 days prior to the service, and there was no contact from the customer.  Thank you.

Unfortunately when there was a miscommunication regarding the agreement and promotion, they did not go above and beyond, instead within less then two weeks of discussing a statement received. They send a letter indicating the current balance is being sent to a collection agency.
When again reaching out to the agent responsible for there accounts receivable. Was spoken to as if I had no merit to inquire as to why they would send a account to collection within 2 weeks of sending a statement speaking to the customer and awaiting payment.
Negative experience, they show up unexpected whenever without any notice to your home for the treatment and will continue to send anyone without any verbal follow up just bill left on front door. Quite costly as well after they bate and switch your promotion.

[A default letter is provided here which indicates your acceptance of the business's response.  If you wish, you may update it before sending it.]
Revdex.com:
I have reviewed the response made by the Revdex.com in reference to complaint ID [redacted].  As I explained in my initial complaint to the Revdex.com, due to health reasons and two doctor's
appointments on that date, I am unable to attend the Court date inflicted upon me by the Lawn Doctor.  Their response is less than genuine but it would be useless to go back and forth regarding
the true facts of the situation.  I simply say as a supposed professional company they lack much, including PR.  Under my circumstance, I have no choice than to accept one of their options.  
That is to have the Court date removed and pay them $153.28.
[redacted]

Review: Placed a credit card payment of $81.28 for early fall treatment which includes weed control and fertilizer and late fall fertilizer only. When the technician, [redacted] Lic [redacted] arrived to apply the chemicals, he advised me I did not need the weed control and he would only use fertilizer. I was sold by [redacted], [redacted], and asked for a credit for not applying the weed control. He refused, and told me his technician did not no what he was talking about, made a mistake and would send him back. Also, he told me he would fire the technician based on his error. I felt since [redacted] was quite professional, explained the weeds were dead, and there was really no reason to apply unnecessary chemicals to the environment . After all, he was very honest and professional more so than [redacted]. I have tried to resolve the issue with my credit card company but [redacted] refused to comply. He has sent my balance of $57.30 to a collection agency who has sent a invoice that does not itemizes the services rendered.Desired Settlement: I will pay for the service provide fertilizer only which is$23.98 based on the deduction price of Late Fall.

Business

Response:

[redacted],

Here is our response to [redacted]. She signed up for two services plus a power seeding on 9/*/13. Although it wasn’t offered, [redacted] insisted she wanted to use a half off first service coupon that’s only good in April and May when you sign up for a season’s worth of service. We don’t normally do this as [redacted] was only signing up for the last third of the season, but we accommodated her by giving her the last service at half off. She then called within days to cancel the seeding because someone “she knows” knew more than we did and told her it’s better to seed in the Spring than the Fall. She wouldn’t listen to anything we said, and insisted she gets to keep the half price last service. Again, we don’t normally do this but rather than argue with a customer we accommodated her. Then we went to do her first service. She insists that the “weeds are dormant at that time of year” even though the temps were in the 70s that day. She also insists that our employee, [redacted], told her he didn’t spray weeds even though our employee adamantly says that’s not what they discussed. This lady seems to think because of her profession (she’s a nurse) that she knows more about lawncare than our employees and myself that have years of EPA training and experience. So, she doesn’t want to pay for the entire service price as she feels we didn’t deliver the entire service. I explained to [redacted], using an analogy, that when you purchase a Big Mac at McDonalds, and ask them to hold the pickles, you don’t get a less expensive charge. It’s one price. Our service is also one price. The cost of the fertilizer and weed control is negligible compared to the cost of the labor of sending an employee from our office to her home. I explained she had two choices, she could (i) pay the bill as is, or (ii) pay the bill and I’d be happy to warranty our weed control and send someone back to retreat weeds at no cost. She told us that she’s deciding on the cost of our services and won’t pay the bill. Further, she had paid originally, but then disputed the charge with the credit card company so we not only are out the funds, but now have a cost to the credit card company for two transactions. We are not passing that charge on to her although we should.

She has no basis to make this complain. She had service, and simply doesn’t want to pay us for work already rendered. We charged her $57, including tax, to send an employee to do a service at her home. That cost is ENTIRELY reasonable and for her to think it’s sufficient to send a LEGITIMATE, on the books employee, with healthcare coverage and benefits, to her home for $26 is simply LUDICROUS.

Let me know if you have any add’l questions or concerns.

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Consumer

Response:

I have reviewed the response made by the business in reference to complaint ID# [redacted], and have determined that my complaint has NOT been resolved because:

After reviewing the response from [redacted], his statements are NOT truthful . I NEVER signed up for power seeding on 9/* I only INQUIRED about it. However, if I signed up for power seeding, please provide the signed documents. Also, I know NOTHING about half price coupons, can you please show me one???

In addition, as described in my earlier complaint, when [redacted], the technician arrived at my home, I asked him if I needed to remove my benches on my lawn since he was supposed to spray weed control. He replied, it was not necessary since the weeds are dying, and I must be mistaken perhaps it was supposed to be done in the spring. I said, no I don't think so, since I paid upfront for Early Fall which included weed control. This is what happened and I agree to a polygraph test!

I phoned [redacted] for a credit, since I paid in advance. He INSISTED I needed WEED CONTOL, his technician did not know what he was talking about and he would be FIRED! He wanted to send him back to spray for weeds but I told him it was not necessary. I have [redacted]'s missed call/ voice message on my cell phone as evidence related to above conversation.

Comparing McDonalds and adding pickles to a sandwich does not justify spraying TOXIC, Cancerous Chemicals into our environment that is not needed. [redacted] prefers to charge clients for something that is not necessary, destroys the environment as well as causes cancer in people for his own financial benefit.

Again, I never stated I would not pay my bill, I would only pay for the service rendered which was fertilizer. A price of $57.00 for fertilizer is UNREASONABLE ! Keep in mind, I was a customer in 2011 paid my bill in full of $225 for early spring, late spring, etc. with no issues.

Also, I am not a NURSE.

Sincerely,

Business

Response:

[redacted] recollection of the facts is neither accurate nore complete. She is exaggerating a somewhat heated conversation as well as forgetting about others. As a service business, we use a relationship management software and every conversation is logged between customer and our office, with dates, times and details, so none of what I have reiterated is from memory. As an example, I said do you listen to the doctor, or the nurse when I was trying to explain to her that weed control is warranted on a lawn in September and that if she heard that it wasn’t from one of our employees she was either misunderstanding him or he was mistaken and I would speak with him at day’s end to correct. I was referring to the fact that our technician wouldn’t have told her that, that she was misunderstanding a conversation with an employee, that reports to me under my EPA license and must work under my direction. I’m the decision maker on our lawncare programs in accordance with product requirements, weather, EPA guidelines, etc. I also indicated the fact that if one of our employees had misled a customer into believing they didn’t need a service they were sold that was required/needed, we would terminate that employee. She replied don’t tell me that I’m a nurse. So, that is the facts of the conversation, not how [redacted] is portraying them.

In terms of [redacted]’s other points, she called regarding a promotional mailer that was for Power Seeding and two fall services (Sep with fertilizer and weed control and October with fertilizer). The program is CLEARLY stated. Once she signed up, we mailed her the same day a written confirmation that had the program (see attached). She’s completely mistaken that she didn’t sign up for seeding, we have detailed notes in her customer account regarding every correspondence. We have notes that she pushed for a larger discount than what was offered, we acquiesced and agreed. She then did telephone us at 2:41pm on 9/* to tell us that she spoke to someone she knows (she wouldn’t say who, but underscored that they knew more than we did) and that we were dishonest and that we shouldn’t have sold her a fall seeding as Spring is better. I tried to explain to her that’s not our philosophy (Nor do we believe the truth). I even tried to give her the phone number for a contact at Cornell Cooperative Extension at Stony Brook that she could speak with to verify, and she was not interested. She told us not to do the seeding and that she felt we weren’t honest but would have us do the last two services of the season and then she’d decide what she wanted to do next year.

Our next conversation was on 9/** at 8:41 am for 27 minutes when she called up telling us that she knows more than we do, that [redacted] didn’t treat her property even though a subsequent call to him indicated he did and he wanted to go back and explain to her that she misunderstood him, but, given the nature of my call with [redacted] I interceded and asked [redacted] not to return to her home.

This is not a matter for the Revdex.com, respectfully. This is an unreasonable customer, who is changing facts and simply trying to not pay for services rendered. The account has been referred to our attorney’s for collection.

As a side note, it’s unfortunate that we cannot, and could not, reach a suitable compromise with [redacted], but she was unwilling to listen to any other person’s point of view. She hired us because she was unhappy with her lawn, but then immediately wouldn’t allow us to do the work as suggested and tried to (i) control what we did as she thought she knew better, and (ii) was extremely confrontational at every opportunity not allowing for anyone to speak to her on the phone without being continually interrupted. People hire us for our expertise, which is why we are the largest lawncare company in Long Island with 2000+ residential accounts. We’ve built this business in 7 years from 18 customers, and have the highest retention rates of any similar business countywide. However, you cannot please everyone, particularly in the service business and unfortunately, the Revdex.com does receive a half dozen or so complaints each 12-18 months. It’s an extremely low percentage (approximately 0.25%; yes we track this as we are always trying to improve on this) of our customers and that demonstrates our continued attempts to provide outstanding customer service, and where customers are unsatisfied, to reach a reasonable conclusion and part on good terms. That is not possible in this situation.

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Consumer

Response:

I have reviewed the response made by the business in reference to complaint ID# [redacted], and have determined that my complaint has NOT been resolved because:

As a final response to my claim, I NEVER signed up for a program in 2013. My signature was NEVER given to [redacted] regarding this matter. The sale was done by phone with a credit card for Early Fall including Fertilizer/ Weed Control and Late Fall/ Fertilizer a total of S81.28. After my experience with [redacted], I immediately canceled Late Fall and he later deducted $23.98 for fertilizer when my bill was sent to a collection agency.

After reviewing [redacted]'s response, he does not understand or listens to customer needs . His letter and conversations reflects that he is opinionated and bias and is not open minded to customer feedback. He refuses to listen and is extremely condesending, unprofessional, and does not tell the truth.

It is obvious to me that [redacted] does not want to resolve this issue, but feels it makes good business sense to hire an attorney to collect $57.28 instead of accepting my offer of $25.00 for fertilizer/Early Fall treatment.

I feel based on the advice of his technician who told me it was NOT necessary to apply the weed control, a credit seemed more than fair. I was willing to pay for the service rendered but [redacted] refused and would rather hire an attorney/Collection Agency to collect $57.28 than do the right thing for an existing customer.

It is apparant that the Lawn Doctor is NOT a reputable company.

Sincerely,

Review: [redacted] [redacted]

September **, 2013

Lawn Doctor [redacted]

Dear Sirs:

I contracted Lawn Doctor last September for help with my lawn. A gentleman named [redacted] (who is no longer there) assured me that within a year my lawn would be looking great. There was a power seeding session in the fall and no seed took at all. I paid an additional fee (a total of $600 dollars) and was told the second power seeding in the Spring would do the trick. Each time they used this machine, large clumps of grass were left on the lawn. When no grass came up in the Spring, I complained and [redacted], a reasonable man, suggested that I had watered improperly and that was the reason for no grass. He agreed to power seed one more time and not charge me.

Yesterday [redacted] came to power seed and in doing so broke a sprinkler head. I made the mistake of call my sprinkler man and he fixed the head today. He gave me a bill for a service charge and the sprinkler head. I called Lawn Doctor and [redacted] answered. I wanted to know about the large clumps of grass that were lying on the surface and what to do about them and if I could recoup the money I spent on the repair. She said that I should press down all the loose clumps of sod. I told her that I thought that the service should do that. She said that I could not get the service fee back but the $25 I spent on the head would be taken off the next bill.

I told her that I was very disappointed in the results so far and I would not continue using Lawn Doctor. She said that there would be no way I could get the $25 returned unless I continued to be a client.

I told she that this was unfair and then she would not let me speak and said for me to have a nice day several times when not listening to what I was saying and then hung up.

It is possible that that seeding will work although the previous two did not work. But when the promised results are not achieved and then you are hung up on then there is no alternative but to discontinue with the service.

I will have to say that [redacted] was reasonable and probably had no knowledge of [redacted]'s remarks.

I will copy this letter to the Revdex.com and the complaint board on line. Why does your service promise results that cannot be achieved?

Sincerely,

[redacted]Desired Settlement: Just pay me for the sprinkler head that was broken by the technician. I will eat the $75 service fee I was charged.

Business

Response:

[redacted],

In response to the complaint from [redacted], while he’s complementary to me in his letter, his facts aren’t completely correct either. He paid for a Power Seeding last fall, which was performed on September **, 2012, plenty of time to grow in properly had the customer followed our directions with regard to watering. We provide our Power Seeding customers with a six month guarantee just in case there are any issues and to build confidence and trust in our service. Even though the seed came up (germinated, which is our guarantee), he was unhappy with a small section of his lawn. While not obligated per our guarantee, we returned in 2013 to reseed at no additional cost. Just to clarify as well, our guarantee does require customers to maintain an active fertilizer account in order to have a guaranteed reseeding. This was clearly stated on the estimate form [redacted] received and was verbally reinforced with him at the time of sale. The additional $$ [redacted] paid this year was not compensation for us to honor our guarantee as his complaint implies, but for additional unrelated services this season.

We did the reseeding in 2013 as requested for [redacted] on 5/**/13. [redacted] then telephoned me on 6/** saying “the seed never took after two seedings.” We do more than 1,000 seedings per year and use the same seed for each and every customer. There is no reason why seed wouldn’t germinate other than not watering it properly. Our seed is purchased from a local supplier that maintains it in a humidity controlled environment until delivery. There is no better product available in our market. So, I met with [redacted] on 6/** the very next day. The fact is that 95% of the lawn was perfect. He had one shady area that he is continually overwatering. In an attempt to determine the cause of the problem I pointed out how his irrigation system was not properly adjusted but he did not want to hear anything other than it was our responsibility and would not accept any other explanation other than the fact we didn’t use proper seed. We agreed that I would reseed that area for $75 since his guarantee was now over. [redacted] agreed.

Then, we had a heat spell in early July, through no fault of his or ours. The temperatures were over 90 degrees for 10 straight days. Many lawns sustained damage through no fault of their lawn maintenance companies. He called up several times combatively indicating he would put a Lawn Doctor sign on his lawn telling everyone we killed his lawn. This is clearly not the truth. Additionally, he argued that he no longer wanted to pay the $75. While not obligated to extend any additional courtesy per our guarantees, I agreed to extend the guarantee for him for an additional free seeding (a $185 value) provided he give it a reasonable time to grow in before making a decision about whether to use us next season. He agreed. However, when he telephoned the day following the reseeding (two days later), he indicated a head was damaged and without bringing it to our attention he had already had it repaired. We explained that we would give him a credit for that amount toward a future service, he reneged on his agreement and indicated he wouldn’t be using us any longer and only indicated so to get the free seeding. Clearly, given the situation, we are not refunding him for the damage to the sprinkler. Rather, we’re using that credit to cover the $75 cost of the seeding that he should have paid since he negotiated in bad faith.

We have been more than reasonable with this customer, who fails to understand that it the lawn is part of his home and he has some responsibility for its care and upkeep. We have extended [redacted] every courtesy, and he’s returned that favor by abusing our office staff and negotiating in bad faith to gain additional services at no cost. We have no desire to work with [redacted] going forward and consider his account balance paid in full, no balance due and settled.

If you’d like to discuss this matter further, please feel free to contact me at any time.

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Consumer

Response:

I have reviewed the response made by the business in reference to complaint ID# [redacted], and have determined that my complaint has NOT been resolved because:

[Your Answer Here]

I do not want the deal with Lawn Doctor ever again and for that reason the case is resolved for me. I do not want the $25 I spend for a damaged sprinkler head. It is interesting that [redacted] says the seeds germinated both times they power seeded yet never came out after the two weeks to see if they germinated. They did not. [redacted], an employee, saw the lawn and asked if [redacted] had checked the soil to see if that was the problem. I told him that this was never done. Thanks for looking into this for me.

In order for the Revdex.com to appropriately process your response, you MUST answer the question above.

Sincerely,

Review: We had the company do core aeration and seeding and was told by "[redacted]" that they guaranteed that the grass would grow and we would no longer have bald spots on the lawn. We contacted her immediately after the service and told her that they did not seed and aerate the entire lawn and there were areas that were not done. She sent back the landscaper to till all the missed areas re-seed. He tilled 25% of the missed areas and seeded the missed areas and other areas of the lawn that were totally compressed. I explained to her that seed can't grow on compressed areas and that they still didn't aerate all of the missed spots and the seed can't grow on compressed areas which is something that the core aeration should have taken care of the first time. Then he damaged out lighting, partially ripped up grounding wires and pulled up french draining with the tiller. We contacted them numerous times with no resolve. The dates we contacted them are 5/**/14, 5/**/14, 6/**/14, 7/**/14, 8/**/14, 8/**/14, 9/**/14.Desired Settlement: Refund for the core aeration services.

Business

Response:

The business has responded. Please see below:

This is NOT going to be a brief response but it certainly will be factual.

On March **, 2014 my office received a call from [redacted], inquiring about our services. [redacted] stated that he and his wife had just purchased the house and that the lawn had been neglected and had many bare areas as well as hard, compacted soil. We explained to the [redacted] that a Core Aeration would be the best way to relieve the soil compaction. We also informed [redacted] that while the soil was fractured from the aeration it would be a good idea to over-seed the lawn. We were clear that FALL is generally the best time to seed a lawn but due to the condition of the lawn it made sense to have the seed spread. We also advised [redacted] that depending on the summer and on how diligently he kept up his lawn watering there would still likely be areas that would require a Fall seeding. We are always clear that a Core Aeration with Over-seeding in the FALL usually results in only 50-60% germination. We were also very clear that the only seeding service that we offer with a 100% guarantee is Fall Power Seeding (approx. 90% germination). We are always crystal clear as to what a customer can expect with a spring Core Aeration/over-seeding and make certain they understand its limitations before purchasing it. [redacted] stated that he would think about this and get back to us if he was interested.

On April **, 2014 [redacted] called and ordered a Core Aeration with Over-seeding and a Maintainer 5 Lawn Service Package for their property, [redacted].

On May **, 2014 we completed the Core Aeration w/ Over-seed as well as the first of the 5 lawn services. All areas of the lawn were aerated, seeded and fertilized.

On May **, 2014 [redacted] called and reported that while my technician was aerating the lawn he must have damage a plastic low voltage lighting fixture on their property. My office advised her that we would check with the technician and get back to her. On May **, we spoke with [redacted] and advised her that our technician did not recall causing any damage but that if she submitted a receipt for the damage we would credit it to her account. We never did get the receipt but ultimately we did issue her a credit for 88.87 for the fixture (an entire set of comparable lighting usually costs between 45.00 - 65.00).

On May **, 2014, [redacted] called and reported that there were still several areas on his lawn that were not filling in. We explained to [redacted] that this was not uncommon, it was only 11 days after spreading the seed and explained further that he should maintain his watering, several times a day to keep the seeded areas moist. We also explained that seed germination ranges from 2-4 weeks if watered properly. [redacted] was further advised that even though this particular service was not a "Guaranteed Service" we would still come back and re-seed any areas that were not filling in but that he just needed to give it another week or so.

On June *, 2014, we responded to the [redacted] residence and used a Mantis Power Rake to cultivate the areas that were still not filling in and re-seeded them. While my technician was providing this service, [redacted] stayed with him the entire time. When he was not alongside my technician, [redacted] was watching him from the porch (about 2 hours). My Technician did not leave this property until the [redacted] was satisfied that everything was done to his satisfaction. At no time did [redacted] indicate to my technician that he caused any damage to his drainage. Also, as an addendum, the Mantis Power rake only scratches the surface of the soil (de-thatcher style), it is not a tiller and is not capable of ripping out a drainage system more than 6" underground.

On June **, 2014, [redacted] called and inquired as to when her next service would be performed. [redacted] stated that there were still some browned areas on her lawn and that there had been a weed outbreak since her last service. We advised [redacted] that there was already a work order on our truck and that the service was going to be provided today. We also advised [redacted] that the technician would also provide some spot touch up seeding to the browned areas at no additional charge. We further explained that due to the fact that much of the grass that did germinate was still very immature that we would only be able to spot spray weeds and would not be able to use a full strength mixture (We are clear when we sign up a new account that there will be weed outbreaks between the services and that it takes at least a full season of weed control applications to get good control of them). My technician responded as promised, fertilized the lawn, re-seeded any browned area s and sprayed the weeds. Please note, at this time my technician pointed out that the lawn was dry and was NOT being watered regularly. The full sun "hot spots" was where almost all of the problems were. It is a simple equation: New Grass + Full Sun - Water = Browned lawn.

On June **, 2014, [redacted] called and stated that my technician was there 2 days ago and that the weeds were still not dead and that the grass was not filling in the bare areas. [redacted] was advised that the service was just performed and that she needed to give it time to work. She was also advised to water her lawn more frequently if she wanted our services to work.

During the course of July I exchanged a few e-mails with [redacted], basically reiterating what we had been discussing as stated above. I was away from the office between 7/**-7/** and although my staff was fielding calls, I was not personally available during this time. Please note, I have an [redacted]. and a [redacted] that make it clear they can handle any issues.

Ultimately, on July ** we reached an impasse and cancelled all services.

Our lawn services are guaranteed. In accordance with our written guarantee, we credited the cost of the last lawn service (88.87) to the account. We also issued a credit for an addition 88.87 to cover the plastic light fixture we were accused of breaking.

In closing, I feel as though we went out of our way to accommodate this customer. We clearly set realistic expectations as to how the services would work, and what should be expected. We provided re-seeding services two times (at no added cost) for customer that was not watering and was well aware that the original seeding service was not a guaranteed. We stood by everything that we did and never abandoned this customer. All written guarantees were honored, non-guaranteed services were also honored as if they were guaranteed and generous reimbursement for supposedly damaged property was credited.

Consumer

Response:

I have reviewed the response made by the business in reference to complaint ID# [redacted], and have determined that my complaint has NOT been resolved because:

They can say what they want but we were told that the core aeration was going to fill all the dead areas. We follow their instructions exactly. I have the technician on video damaging the light and offered to forward to them. The lights are metal and not plastic. The burned our lawn with fertilizer and now they are denying it. I have attached a photo so it can be seen. This was only one of the areas there were more exactly like this. Leave the complaint on their record so others can see that lawn doctor is not a good business to deal with.

Thank you.

In order for the Revdex.com to appropriately process your response, you MUST answer the question above.

Sincerely,

Consumer

Response:

At this time, I have not been contacted by Lawn Doctor regarding complaint ID [redacted].

Sincerely,

Review: I have emailed Lawn Doctor stating that the promise they gave on the Lawn servicing came short, and that I was not happy with the results, numerous times. I finally called them to ask them for an adjustment on my bill due to the poor state of my lawn and the customer service rep who answered the phone was extremely rude, stated that she does not care when I told her that I have been out of state for over a month due to a serious family emergency (which is easily proven), and then also threatened me, and to make matters worse she hung up on me while I was still talking.After that I emailed Lawn Doctor again asking for an adjustment to my bill, due to all the mentioned reasons, and that I would pay the adjusted bill as soon as I received it.This is part of the THREATENING email I received from the [redacted] and [redacted]:"So, to be clear, your account is cancelled. Had you paid your bill, we would have repeated your spring seeding at no charge as we discussed in Sep, but you failed to live up to the agreement of making payment and hence we did not repeat the service. At this point, we will not contact you further. You have until 9am on Monday 11/* to settle your balance online at our website with a credit card. If payment is not received in full in the amount of $421.93, you can expect to receive a summons within 14 days from our attorney to appear in small claims court. Once we receive a judgment against you, including court fees, attorney's fees and interest, we will garnish your wages, put a mechanic's lien on any real estate you own, and put a judgment on your credit report for the next 7 years. If you wish to avoid this, kindly settle your balance with our Company. Kindly do not contact us again. [redacted] & [redacted]"This is not just threatening, intimidating and harassing, but it is also against the Federal Trade Commission Consumer Laws.Desired Settlement: I will not sue for unlawful harassment and threats, if the said company agrees to stop and withdraw the collections against me.

Business

Response:

[redacted],

In response to the complaint from [redacted], not surprisingly, she only conveyed part of the story. In fact, she only forwarded part of the email, which followed many conversations about her outstanding balance, the fact she doesn’t have any sprinklers and as she explained, was out of town for some time (which meant she couldn’t water the lawn), and numerous missed promises to make a payment. In fact, the email below is dated 11/*. She had only made 2 of her 8 installment payments. So, she hadn’t been paying her bill since May 2013. She was only willing to make payment after we returned to do more work at no charge. We will not abide by that restriction. Had she paid her past due balance (not even the entire balance, but the portion that was past due), we would have returned to repeat the work at no charge, however, she never abided by the verbal agreements she made to make payment.

We attempted numerous times to work out a suitable solution with [redacted], who was abusive to both myself and our office staff on the phone. Hence, I decided to “terminate” the relationship and sent her the email below.

If [redacted] wants to work out a suitable solution, in a respectable way, I’m certainly willing. As I explained to her, we have a guarantee that if you cancel, we’ll refund you the cost of your last service. I will still honor that and deduct $46.50 plus tax from her bill. Further, $150 of her bill is unrelated to lawncare (we offer pest control services as well, which she requested and never paid for). Other than that, there is not much more we are willing to do. She continually made promises to make payment and requested with us that we not discontinue her service. In hindsight, that obviously wasn’t the best situation however, our office staff is good at reading customers’ intentions and we felt she was sincere at the time. Now we realize she wasn’t.

Please feel free to contact me if you have any add’l questions or concerns.

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Consumer

Response:

I have reviewed the response made by the business in reference to complaint ID# [redacted], and have determined that my complaint has NOT been resolved because:

[Your Answer Here]

The response only included a statement of the amount owed, not a response to my complaint.

In order for the Revdex.com to appropriately process your response, you MUST answer the question above.

Sincerely,

Business

Response:

The other service was on her estimate. We sent a written confirmation on the date of booking which she accepted by making the first installment payment towards her package, so [redacted] is very mistaken. At this point after it’s already been reported to collection, we will not accept anything less than the full amount as we now need to remit part of the payment to the collection company. [redacted] had more than enough time to work out a solution, and continues to change her story, distort the facts, and attempt to avoid her responsibility to make payment for work she contracted for. If [redacted] does not want to meet with us in Small Claims, she should settle her balance as she doesn’t have any valid argument for lack of payment.

Best regards,

--

Consumer

Response:

I have reviewed the response made by the business in reference to complaint ID# [redacted], and have determined that my complaint has NOT been resolved because:

[Your Answer Here]

[redacted] is all about threats and intimidation, even through Revdex.com he is trying to instigate intimidation by alluding to Small Claims Tribunal. He goes to Small Claims, I am going to the Attorney General.

Thanks for your help.

In order for the Revdex.com to appropriately process your response, you MUST answer the question above.

Sincerely,

Review: I discovered a bill attached to the handle of my front door yesterday from Lawn Doctor for a service that I never requested. I called Lawn Doctor. A woman told me that Lawn Doctor had sent an automated phone message about the service. I never heard it. She also said that a letter had been sent to me. I had disregarded it because I had no intention of using Lawn Doctor again. The services that they provided last year were totally ineffective in growing grass in the barren areas of my backyard. I hired an independent contractor last fall who remedied the problem that I had. The woman at Lawn Doctor also told me that services were automatically renewed from year to year. This is absurd! I never agreed to having any service rendered this year nor did I sign any contract giving Lawn Doctor permission to service my lawn.Desired Settlement: I wish to have the bill that I received nullified and removed from Lawn Doctor's system immediately. I should not have to pay for a service that I never requested. I would also like to have confirmation via email that this adjustment has been finalized.

Business

Response:

Please be advised that although the account was not terminated prior to the service date, we will as an act of good faith measure adjust off the service fee for the Early Spring treatment. All of our paperwork does indicate that "service does continue from season to season, year to year, for your convenience." All customers are also mailed to letters (November & January) before services begin, to inform all customers of scheduled services, the fees, and has a message to call with changes. In addition an automated call was made 2 days prior to the service, and there was no contact from the customer. Thank you.

Consumer

Response:

[A default letter is provided here which indicates your acceptance of the business's response. If you wish, you may update it before sending it.]

I have reviewed the response made by the business in reference to complaint ID [redacted], and find that this resolution is satisfactory to me.

Regards,

Review: Incredible! I signed nothing and am being sued by Lawn Doctor!!! In April of 2014 I inquired by phone regarding moles in my lawn. Verbally I received information on how to deal with the issue, followed in the mail with detailed recommendations. I agreed to one treatment on April 28, 2014, for which I paid $107.00 (ck. # 5186). On that date I was charged an additional $107. for a Service Call! I saw no improvement; in fact, this solution obviously did more harm than good as can be attested by pictures taken between the initial treatment and July 25, 2014 when I called the office, spoke with [redacted], explaining this in detail. She said "Don't worry about paying the bill left by Anthony--give the application a chance to work." I specifically asked [redacted] to let me know when the next date they would be out so that I could be at home. Down hill all the way from then until yesterday when I received a Court notice stating I am being sued for $222.56. Since my conversation with [redacted], I have called their office three times and written two detailed letters of explanation (March 23 and November 17, 2015, about my dissatisfaction with their services. When I received the Court notice in the mail yesterday I immediately called their office, leaving a detailed message on their answering device. As I write this (Tuesday, January 26, 5:00 p.m.) to no avail., no response. The date shown to appear in Court is February 10th in which I have two doctors appointments, neither of which can be changed. I would appreciate your advice. Thank you.Desired Settlement: I HAVE BEEN "TAKEN" BY A COMPANY WITH NO CONSCIENCE OR WORK ETHICS. MY LAWN HAS BEEN DAMAGED, RATHER THAN HELPED AS THEIR CLAIM WAS TO HAVE BEEN. I OWE THEM NOTHING FOR I NEVER SIGNED A CONTRACT AND AM DESERVING OF AN APOLOGY FROM THEM FOR PUTTING ME AND MY HEALTH IN JEOPARDY.

Business

Response:

To Whom It May Concern, In regards to the complaint submitted by Mrs. [redacted], on 4/23/14 1 of 3 applications for Mole Control and Grub Control were ordered with the intention to help control the level of moles in the lawn (it was advised that the program consists of 3 services and more than 1 may be needed). On 4/28/14 customer called to ask to be informed when the applications would be provided. (The action was noted and a courtesy call was made) on 5/20/14 the customer indicated a concern with the mole activity still being rather consistent, it was at this time we did a courtesy reapplication of the Mole Control (despite it not being guaranteed due to not having ordered the actual Program) we advised that another application was needed at a rate of $107.00 + applicable sales tax. That service was ordered and provided at the appropriate time. We did get payment for the first application of Mole Control, however statements have been mailed and calls made regularly for the balance of the 2nd Mole Control & Grub Control. The balance on the account is: $264.56 (includes a $42.00 court cost fee). We have spoken with the customer a number of occasions regarding the balance, I myself on 11/17/15. At which point the customer was complaining that the services made no improvement with the appearance of the lawn. The customer was advised that the Mole & Grub Controls are not designed to correct the lawn damaged by pest(s). It is with the intention to lessen the pest activity only. The conversation then turned into the customer questioning if services were even rendered, which we not only left service invoices, but we have tracking that allows us to consistently monitor where every driver is and what is being done at all times. The customer then stated “she is 81 and is not paying the balance.” At this point we are able to offer the customer a payment plan for the entire balance $264.56 or they may opt to have a lump sum settlement in the amount of $153.28 to close the matter, which will then relieve it from court. Any arrangements or settlements must be discussed and paid or agreed upon before the court date. Please reach our office to make your payment or to aquire an payment plan. Thank you, [redacted] Lawn Doctor [redacted]

Consumer

Response:

[A default letter is provided here which indicates your acceptance of the business's response. If you wish, you may update it before sending it.]

I have reviewed the response made by the Revdex.com in reference to complaint ID [redacted]. As I explained in my initial complaint to the Revdex.com, due to health reasons and two doctor's appointments on that date, I am unable to attend the Court date inflicted upon me by the Lawn Doctor. Their response is less than genuine but it would be useless to go back and forth regarding the true facts of the situation. I simply say as a supposed professional company they lack much, including PR. Under my circumstance, I have no choice than to accept one of their options. That is to have the Court date removed and pay them $153.28.

Review: Treatment was applied to lawn and driveway was never cleaned as it normally is for fall lawn application from the overspray. Company was contacted immediately and I received call back from employee. I voiced concerns regarding driveway damage and staining if it dopes not get blown off from past experience at another residence. He assured me no damage would be done and the rain would wash it off. However, the entire driveway was stained and a different rep came out to view the damage and said he would get back to me on how it would be rectified. Three weeks and many calls/messages later they continue to ignore the situation and do not respond.Desired Settlement: Company needs to contact me and advise their plan of action immediately. Sealing the driveway would be an acceptable low-cost solution.

Business

Response:

In regards to the matter at hand, it is my understanding that our service manager Mike spoke to the customer and although was told an approximate price to seal the driveway, was awaiting a written estimate. In addition the customer was to get in touch with whom he is getting a written estimate from, to find out if it is best to await spring to seal the driveway. Additionally, we are waiting of this information before we decide how we will proceed with the matter. Please either email ([redacted]) the written estimate and advisement for when to appropriately seal the driveway. Once we are in receipt of this we will advise on resolution. Thank you,[redacted]Lawn Doctor[redacted]

Review: I paid in full fro lawn treatment. my lawn was in great shape with only 20% weeds. First of all when lawn Dr. came to my home they neglintly sprayed my 400.00 organic vegitible garden. with nurmours pestisides. it was on our windows and front door and aperiently not on our lawn. since the first treatment my garden is runiend. filled with chem. and my lawn is now 90% weeds so bad the nebors are complaining. in the six years we lived here its never looked so bad. I tried fro days to get in touch and none returned my call . Finally some one returned my call and said the would rectifi the problem and make me happy. again no on e came I now lost a days pay and they were a no show . I am out including cost of lawn loss or a days pay and dammage to my garden 700.00. I want the 171.00 back from lawn DR or I will sue them for 700.00 plus 2,000 in Atornys fees......Desired Settlement: I want all my money back!!!! 171.00

Review: I believe that Lawn Doctor is deceiving, or trying to deceive, consumers into paying for unwanted services. Lawn Doctor's practice is to send a form to customers prior to an upcoming season listing suggested services and asking the customer to select either: 1) "Yes! I wish to prepay for scheduled services." or "Yes! Please bill me as services are performed including extra services checked above." If you do not select either, there is no request for services from Lawn Doctor. We did not complete Lawn Doctor's form for 2013 and did not make a "Yes!" selection for 2013 services. We retained another lawn company to perform the services. Despite our not agreeing to use Lawn Doctor for 2013, Lawn Doctor claims to have performed services on April 8, 2013 and on May 21, 2013. We are not aware of any services performed by Lawn Doctor for us during 2013. Lawn Doctor turned the matter over to a collection agency which has produced only one document - a statement that was just generated on November 19, 2013 listing services on April 8 and May 21, 2013. The most troubling aspect of this is that Lawn Doctor's collection agency took the position that Lawn Doctor has language on the November 19, 2013 statement which says "For your convenience, service continues from season to season" and that such language somehow binds customers to an automatic renewal with Lawn Doctor unless the customer writes to Lawn Doctor saying that the customer does not want future services.Lawn Doctor is deceiving, or attempting to deceive consumers by taking that position. We do not have any prior statements from Lawn Doctor with the "For your convenience, service continues from season to season" language and believed that by not completing the above-mentioned form selecting "Yes" to future services meant that no future services would be performed by Lawn Doctor for us.Desired Settlement: Lawn Doctor should stop its deceptive practice of sending the above-mentioned form asking consumers if they want services, performing services irrespective of the form, and then sending a statement with "For your convenience, service continues from season to season" claiming that there is somehow an automatic renewal. Lawn Doctor should remove our account from collection and correct its records to show that there is a zero balance on our account.

Business

Response:

In response to the [redacted]’s complaint about deceptive renewal tactics I would like to explain our position.

The [redacted]’s have been customers of Lawn Doctor since 2008. Each year I send out a renewal form with a cover letter on each cover letter as well as the renewal form itself it states “As always we continue service from year to year so please if you have made a decision not to use our service let us know. This will prevent any questions or confusion this season.

I have always had this on the forms each year they were customers and did not change anything in 2013. I state this on the letter because at no time do we want to provide any service someone does not want because it is a waste of time and money and causes issues like this. So on both of renewal letters that is stated. In addition to that we include on not only statements but as well as invoice’s that are left at a customer’s home that we continue service year to year.

In addition to the 2 renewal letters that we send we also place a call to the customer’s home and if we have a cell phone on file we also call that number to tell them once again that service is starting and if they have decided not to use our service or want to make changes to their program then please let us know. The [redacted]’s’ received both letters one that was sent on November 15th 2012 and a second on February 2nd 2013. Then we placed a renewal call on March 7th 2013 at 1:24pm which a 42 second message which stated what I already explained.

I am sorry that it did get to this point but we did make every effort to resolve this with phone calls and letters with no response. The dates we called 5/9-5/16-5/24-6/7 2013. The June 7th phone call mentioned if we do not hear back from them that we will have no other choice but to turn them over to our collection agency, then they were turned over on 6/20/2013. In addition to the calls we sent them 4 statements and 2 in house collection letters. The [redacted]’s never responded to us until our collection agency started a more aggressive approach.

I am sorry that the [redacted]’s felt that we tried deceptive practices but as I outlined already we have been doing the same renewal methods for over 20 years, and since 2008 the [redacted]’s received the same letter and it was never an issue.

I feel that the [redacted]’s owe for the services that we performed in 2013.

Consumer

Response:

Review: [redacted]

I am rejecting this response because:

We disagree with their recitation of the facts. Also, other than an invoice just generated by Lawn Doctor we have not been provided with any other documentation and its collection agent has told us that there are no other documents.

Review: I had been an active customer of this company, my customer # [redacted], for 15 years. My wife and I decided to not renew the contract in 2014 as we both retired in 2013. We cut back our expenses in 2014 due to loosing our incomes. We did not return the 2014 contract to lawn Doctor. the Lawn Doctor has been sending me invoices; when I received the invoices I called them to let them know that we did not renew our agreement; each time I called I left a voice mail as my call went to their voice mail. My last call to them was on 10/20 @ 11:30 AM.

Not only did I not commit to service in 2014; the company never serviced our lawn; I can say this because in years past when the Lawn Doctor treated our lawn, they placed a sign on our property saying the lawn was chemically treated and they also left a SERVICE RECAP in our door stating the service number provided, the services applied, the lawn condition, the date, the time and the technician's name; we did not receive one recap or lawn sign in 2014. I have kept all services provided (from the recap left) from 2008 through 2013.Desired Settlement: The Lawn Doctor to remove the $287.35 charge showing a zero balance and a notice to American Profit recovery stating that their is NO claim against me.

Review: Last year we used Lawn Doctor and apparently we were sent 2 letters over the winter giving us the option to terminate. I never saw the option which is also in very small print on the letter. We did not want the service as we cannot afford it. Last week I looked out the window and there was Lawn Doctor. I immediately called my representative [redacted] and he said to run outside and stop him which I did. At that point he was almost finished. I immediately called [redacted] back and he said we would be billed anyway. I told him I was not going to pay for it and he was totally rude. I asked him for confirmation in a letter that we did not wish to use them anymore and he refused. He actually said his word was good enough. I just received the bill which I am not going to pay due to poor business practices and the customer is always theory is certainly not being taught to franchise owners of Lawn Doctor. I have also posted this on [redacted] and sent a complaint letter to the attorney general. I know it is a small amount (38.99) but at this point it is the principle. [redacted] who would not give me his last name has no customer service skills or manners. After reading other complaints this happens frequently with Lawn DoctorDesired Settlement: Pardon from bill

Business

Response:

Handwritten response.

Consumer

Response:

[To assist us in bringing this matter to a close, you must give us a reason why you are rejecting the response. If no reason is received your complaint will be closed Administratively Resolved]

Review: [redacted]

I am rejecting this response because: it is not accurate. I never spoke to the person who wrote the letter. The person I dealt with was named [redacted]. I did not produce a letter which "[redacted]" spoke of in the letter he wrote. I don't know how this person can know I was "rude" if I never spoke to him! Thanks so much for your help in this matter.

Regards,