Lawn care troubles; We filed with the Better Business Bureau regarding our concerns

[Talcrion]

Post Awaiting Approval by Forum Administrator
Earlier this summer I hired a local lawn care business to mow the lawn of our recently purchased home. I was quoted (verbally , there is nothing in writing between us at all) that it would be 200-250 to get the lawn mowed, though normally it would be 45 dollars, this was due to the fact that the yard was quite overgrown (about up to my knee's) and most lawns he has already done a good 4 times this season so 45X4 then a bit extra as it would need to be whipper snipped first around 200 to 250 as he wasn't sure exactly how much extra work it would require. However after the job was completed he told me it would be 385 but he would save us some money on the taxes if we just paid him cash so he didn't have to do up an official bill.

We questioned why the amount was so high and he became quite upset saying he wasn't trying to cheat us and if we kept questioning him then he was going to make us pay an official bill and then we'd be stuck paying taxes too, also stating that we had no problem with the work originally. I informed him the issue was not with the quality of the work, but with the fact that it was such a high amount above the agreed upon amount. He then said if we weren't happy with the situation then he'd be forced to do an actual bill and we'd be stuck paying the taxes. I let him know I thought that was for the best as I wanted to see an actual breakdown of the charges.

That was at the start of this month, and since we have not received any bill from him for any amount at all. We filed with the Better Business Bureau regarding our concerns, his response was a completely different story , stating he quoted us 350 give or take 45 dollars, and even offered to pay the gst for us to help us out. He claims he never sent us a bill because we told him we would not pay him anything (again not true we offered to pay the agreed upon 250) and that he has sent the bill to his attorney instead.

As of now we have still not seen a bill, nor been contacted by his attorney, however both me and my fiance have very good credit history and don't want this going against us, and are still willing to pay the 250 we originally hired him to perform the job for. The main problem is there is no communication between us that wasn't verbal in any regard, only officially documented statements are our two separate statements of the events to the BBB. He's now claiming it took his team of three people to do my average sized yard more than 11 hours of labor and had to haul away 8 huge bags of grass, of course without the bill I can't see any breakdown of charges, but heck I don't even know if a breakdown of charges would actually be on the bill.


I really don't want to pay for something I did not agree too, it has been suggested to me to send him a check with "payment in full" for the agreed upon 250, though where as we haven't even received a bill I'm not sure I can "payment in full" for something that was never given to me.

Any advice? I understand this whole situation is a complete he said she said, but surely he can't just add extra charges and say I agreed.

[AFFA]

I wish to inform you that you can present the details of your yard and the work performed. In this you can argue that 3 persons working for 11 hour is incorrect because work to be performed is less. Further you can present evidence from your neighbor or other known persons as to the amount which they pay for such a work. If you can show that $250 is the amount which can be paid for such work then you can have favorable order from BBB. You can send an offer in writing that you are ready to pay $250 if other person accepts your offer within a certain date. If other person accepts the offer then you can give the check along with making your settlement agreement in writing.

AFF

[Friend In Court]

Originally Posted by Talcrion Post Awaiting Approval by Forum Administrator Earlier this summer I hired a local lawn care business to mow the lawn of our recently purchased home. I was quoted (verbally , there is nothing in writing between us at all) that it would be 200-250 to get the lawn mowed, though normally it would be 45 dollars, this was due to the fact that the yard was quite overgrown (about up to my knee's) and most lawns he has already done a good 4 times this season so 45X4 then a bit extra as it would need to be whipper snipped first around 200 to 250 as he wasn't sure exactly how much extra work it would require. However after the job was completed he told me it would be 385 but he would save us some money on the taxes if we just paid him cash so he didn't have to do up an official bill. We questioned why the amount was so high and he became quite upset saying he wasn't trying to cheat us and if we kept questioning him then he was going to make us pay an official bill and then we'd be stuck paying taxes too, also stating that we had no problem with the work originally. I informed him the issue was not with the quality of the work, but with the fact that it was such a high amount above the agreed upon amount. He then said if we weren't happy with the situation then he'd be forced to do an actual bill and we'd be stuck paying the taxes. I let him know I thought that was for the best as I wanted to see an actual breakdown of the charges. That was at the start of this month, and since we have not received any bill from him for any amount at all. We filed with the Better Business Bureau regarding our concerns, his response was a completely different story , stating he quoted us 350 give or take 45 dollars, and even offered to pay the gst for us to help us out. He claims he never sent us a bill because we told him we would not pay him anything (again not true we offered to pay the agreed upon 250) and that he has sent the bill to his attorney instead. As of now we have still not seen a bill, nor been contacted by his attorney, however both me and my fiance have very good credit history and don't want this going against us, and are still willing to pay the 250 we originally hired him to perform the job for. The main problem is there is no communication between us that wasn't verbal in any regard, only officially documented statements are our two separate statements of the events to the BBB. He's now claiming it took his team of three people to do my average sized yard more than 11 hours of labor and had to haul away 8 huge bags of grass, of course without the bill I can't see any breakdown of charges, but heck I don't even know if a breakdown of charges would actually be on the bill. I really don't want to pay for something I did not agree too, it has been suggested to me to send him a check with "payment in full" for the agreed upon 250, though where as we haven't even received a bill I'm not sure I can "payment in full" for something that was never given to me. Any advice? I understand this whole situation is a complete he said she said, but surely he can't just add extra charges and say I agreed.

IF this lawn maintenance man belongs to the Better Business Bureau, which is doubtful, they do not resolve disputes -- only take them. You might consider getting some estimates for the job from other landscape/lawn maintenance companies in your town. The amount seems excessive. Very much so.

Since he has not proffered a bill, you can request one and go from there.

[Talcrion]

I had a follow up question I was hoping folks would be able to assist with. So time has passed and we have finally received our first bill(stamped with overdue on it and suspiciously says on it the invoice is from May 28th, a few days before the work was done on June first , funny how that works, but I digress).

We are being charged 385$ to have our lawn whipper snipped. plus 50some for taxes. Currently my plan is to send him a certified cheque for 250$ which was our agreed upon amount with the memo of "Payment in full".

A new concern has been brought to my attention however, can he place a lien on my property without actually taking me to court? How can I protect myself from this incorrect charge if he can just bypass me entirely. What would happen if a Lien was placed on my property?

Thanks for your help!

[Friend In Court]

The filing of materialmen's and workmen's liens against real estate has certain steps which have to be followed precisely or else they not only are not valid but the homeowner may have a claim against the person for slander of title. The way this man conducts his business he probably is not aware of the legal requirements of your province, either.

In order to give specifics on whether or not this lawn scalper is able to file a lien we would need to know the province the property is in.

[Talcrion]

We are located in Nova Scotia, Thanks again for all your help, as a side note in an effort to be as fair as possible to have the issue resolved as quickly as possible, I've upped the amount of the check to 250+37.50 to cover taxes.(This only seemed fair since we would have paid taxes on the 250 if he had stuck to his end of things)

[Friend In Court]

He would be foolish not to take it. And hope you don't relay the type of service and billing he gave to your neighbors.

Drop a note back if he refuses and we'll see what other steps you can take to resolve things with this scalper.

[Talcrion]

Update here folks

Well they have decided to threaten to take us to court officially now, received a letter from the company's lawyer stating if we didn't pay the remaining hundred and some dollars then they would be taking us to court for the amount, plus late fee's plus other court fee's.

We had sent them a Draft labeled as Payment in full for the 287.50, which they acknowledge they have received from us but the lawyer's letter says it was only a partial payment towards the account balance. I still have the receipt copy of the draft which clearly shows it was labeled as payment in full. I have also confirmed at the bank that this draft has been cashed and the company has taken the money we offered them.

I'm not sure if the lawyer was unaware that it was labeled as payment in full and he was just told it was a partial payment, or if he knows this information and is just going to fight us on the matter. I'll find out more hopefully when/if they write us back.

I suppose the only issue thats on my mind at the moment is the fact that the missus gave him a Draft of Payment in Full as opposed to a check with Payment in full. Though either way I was able to confirm when he went in and actually cashed it in.

Thanks for your help again folks