Complaints

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• Initial Complaint

  Date:14/06/2024

  Type:Service or Repair Issues
  Status:

  AnsweredMore info

  Complaint statuses

  Resolved:

  The complainant verified the issue was resolved to their satisfaction.

  Unresolved:

  The business responded to the dispute but failed to make a good faith effort to resolve it.

  Answered:

  The business addressed the issues within the complaint, but the consumer either a) did not accept the response, OR b) did not notify BBB as to their satisfaction.

  Unanswered:

  The business failed to respond to the dispute.

  Unpursuable:

  BBB is unable to locate the business.

  Met to discuss my wants regarding landscaping vision. After several emails back and forth and a guarantee for their workmanship as well as product we agreed to a starting point. I asked if they would clear , level and remove the existing landscaping. Yes, to all. Requested they look at the existing irrigation to ensure it was working properly. Sod was layed over existing plants, ground not levelled and they hit the irrigation in two spots. I had water blowing up.I paid $2000 for 500sq. Ft of sod and a revamping of the irrigation. After emails, messages , videos and photos (by request of them) was sent they never responded or tried to correct the problem. They refused to rectify anything until I paid more money. I refused to pay anymore until they corrected what was done. I was unhappy with their work and they were too busy doing another job to fix it. They threatened me and were verbally abusive on April 11, 2024 at my home. All communication is recorded and on file. A team member showed up unannounced at my home and apologized for his brothers behaviour. He said he can be a hothead . Simply, I paid for a service that I had to pay another person to fix. Denman refuses to rectify the work.Sincerely,*************************

  

  Business Response

  Date: 14/06/2024

  I find this almost hard to respond to as it's almost entirely untrue... The customer was incredibly verbally abusive towards *******, upset that was not receiving "Boxwood' plants that were indeed on the original quote we'd made, but due to budget constraints we just went with Sod and fixing the irrigation heads. I responded to her every email, and went in person to discuss a plan moving forward. We agreed verbally that she'd pay 50% of the remaining balance, we'd lawn roll as it got a bit bumpy due to muddy conditions on the day of installation, then she'd pay the remaining balance. After that she refused to pay anything, and I sent her to collections. I've attached photos showing that the sod was indeed installed correctly. The irrigation worked, and we certainly never threatened her, I did not "apologize" I said if her version of events that occurred was true then I'm sorry, but after talking to other team members, it's clear that she was out of control, and ******* only tried to explain the situation to her. The customer claims to have videos and I'd invite her to share them as they'd only show her own behavior, she claimed over email once that we sent people to her house when we had in fact not done so, I find her claims to be borderline slanderous. Her claims we never responded are also entirely untrue, I responded over email multiple times and showed up in person trying to rectify the situation for both parties. At the end of the day, she received a service that she has not paid for, and is clearly trying to get out of it. 
  

  Customer Answer

  Date: 14/06/2024

   
  Complaint: 21845325
  
  I am rejecting this response because:
  I have all communication that occurred between Denman Landscaping and myself. I believe that with the photos/video I can show the job was not completed. What was started is below standard and not what I clearly asked for. Their response to my complaint is long winded and honestly filled with nonsense. I can prove I was no where near them when they came either time. I wasnt home. The only altercation that occurred was on April 11, when they were to deliver a rock I picked out, at their request. They came to my home. I was on my way out to catch a flight, I was literally in my car ready to pull out. As far as the boxwoods, I received them as a birthday gift, they were already planted and again I had someone do that and can supply the name of the individual as well a receipt for the boxwoods from the giver. I can also supply a copy of the requests made to fix the sprinkler heads that had blown and their response. Not once did I have any harsh words exchanged with either employee. I was told by Denman that the reason the backyard was so uneven was they didnt use a leveller as this was not effective and the day they laid the sod it was raining. They would come back to topsoil but only if I paid another $2000. 

  
  Sincerely,
  
  *************************

  

  Business Response

  Date: 17/06/2024

  Here is a few documents showing the initial quote, we went with just the sod and irrigation in the backyard. The prior photo I showed you will indicate she in fact got exactly what she wanted. I also linked the deposit representing a 50% payment if of 1775 before gst, she made a 2000 payment. We added on a  Japanese Maple that was $450. We did not fail to do any proper prep work, there were some spots that dipped slightly because of the muddy conditions, and people walking over it. Regardless of that not being our fault, we offered to address her concerns after she paid 50% of the remaining balance which was $1112.5, as she had told ******* she would not pay anything, so this covers us both. She agreed in person, then went back on it later. She also lied about us not answering any of her emails, I've attached a communication we had on May 11th. We never visited her house without her being there, and she was very aggressive towards our staff, we have people who could attest to that, though I don't believe that's the matter at hand here. I did not demand she paid $2000 more, I ask she pays what she owes for the service she both received, and agreed to pay for. You can see in the picture the sod is laid flat, and there are no "plants" growing through it. Thank you.

   

   

   

   

   

   

   

   

   

   

   

   

   

   

   

   

   

   

   

   

   

   

   

   

   

   

  Customer Answer

  Date: 19/06/2024

   
  Complaint: 21845325
  
  I am rejecting this response because:

  Good day,
  
  I asked Denman Landscaping for a quote on what I would like to transform my yard into. ****** and his brother ******* came together. I was hoping for a quote on a number of things but I would be breaking them down into group projects. The priority was the backyard to be cleared of all plants except the 3 trees. To be levelled and sod placed. They said I had an over abundance of irrigation lines and they would re-vamp them. I paid $2000 dollars to start this process as well include a rock for the front yard with a Maple tree. I was not present when ******* and one other team member started work. I told them they were welcome to use the bathroom and my son and I left. It was raining heavy the day they came with sod. I was gone 2hours and when I arrived home they were not here. ****** asked me to watch for the irrigation run time as setting it was a favour not required. I told ****** I was leaving on a trip April 11, so Ill let him know. He said I had $182 dollar credit to pick out a rock.Upon inspection of the sod with ****** he said that because of the heavy rain and soft ground it wouldnt be level and a topcoat would be done. Irrigation wasnt running to plan and in some areas not at all. Irrigation in one spot was blown. I contacted ****** regarding the irrigation and asked if they used a leveller or sod roller and he said they didnt because they found them ineffective. Shortly after and before my trip another irrigation tip burst and I told him there are plants coming up through the sod and he said to send a photo. They were unable to fix the irrigation because they were in ***************** on another job. April 11th ******* and a coworker showed up with the rock I had chosen and asked where to place it. ******* said he didnt know how they would get the rock there and I offered my wheelbarrow. He said the rock was $125 , I said okay. He never handed me an invoice just said he wouldnt lay it until I paid. I said I was just leaving but I thought I had $182.00 credit. He refused to place the rock and called his brother ****** saying I refused to pay. No such conversation took place, I never refused anything. There was no invoice handed to me. I told them to take the rock sort out their confusion and I would be back on the 19th. ****** showed up at my house unannounced after my trip and apologized for ******** hotheaded nature. That is why he said he is the customers communication.
  1. I am not satisfied with the communication or the workmanship
  2. I asked for a timeline never received one. I never knew when they were coming.
  3. ****** measured the yard and it was 500sq. Ft . He said later he measured wrong
  4. When you do a job and something goes wrong like the irrigation, you fix it.
  5. Solution to laying the sod on a rainy day because it wont be level. Dont lay the sod.
  6. Constant threats that you wouldnt address your clients concerns until you pay more money.
  7. You pay when the job is finished, the job wasnt finished.
  8. They never came to fix the irrigation.
  
  In regards to someone being in my yard unexpectedly, this is true. My son heard a commotion in the back and when he inquired who the gentleman was he refused to give a name and said he was here to look at the irrigation. He was standing right where the last tip burst.
  
  The workmanship and product was horrible. The constant threats that they wouldnt fix what was done until more money was paid unprofessional.
  
  Sincerely,
  
  *************************

  

  Business Response

  Date: 20/06/2024

  Once again, navigating through the lies is a bit of a task here - addressing the paragraph above first, then I'll go point by point. She lowered the initial amount due to budgetary constraints, which I believe is why we're here too. I assume what she's talking about in terms of irrigation lines is that there was a drip irrigation system oddly placed down the center of the old yard, we said we'd fix it up as necessary, even though we had only quoted to change the heads on the sprinkler system for the sod. The rock and tree were not part of the initial quote. The next few sentences are a good mix of irrelevant and considering the project took  a few days, untrue. The existing irrigation controller was of poor quality, so I said to watch and make sure that the program I set worked yes, that's standard. As shown on the receipt provided, and using basic math we can gather that the credit was $136.25, this was not to "pick out a rock", or anything in particular. We did not ask her to overpay the deposit, it would just go against the final amount as credits tend to work. I did not say it would not be level, it had some dips in it where she or her son had walked because as we wrapped up it began raining. Because this was a concern for her, and since the timeline is getting confusing here let me clarify something.

  Work stopped because she very aggressively went after ******* because some things on the initial quote, not on what we took a deposit for she wrongly thought were supposed to be done. This being the Boxwoods I mentioned prior. She had an absolute fit and ******* made the call that it was best to leave, as all they were doing, on the final day was putting down a rock that she had asked for after the fact. Sod was already placed, and as my previous photo will show, there are no "plants" going through it. She was screaming at him while he tried to show her the initial quote, against the wording on the deposit as she fiddled with a piece of paper she had written notes on. She said she was not going to pay, ******* told her if she does not pay we'll take her to small claims, then they left. At no point in this case, or indeed ever has ******* threatened, or been in any way hostile towards a customer. I can provide many references if required. I will note however, that she had said early on, and my employees told me to be careful of this - that she had "taken down many companies" implying that the issues we're having with her are not remotely a first for her. 

  Continuing with her paragraph - this conversation she claims to have had about lawn rollers never happened, we use them all the time, and what she means by "leveller" beats me, the lawn was raked to grade with top soil. Now, by this point the aforementioned context has taken place and she claims her sprinklers are broken, and when the customer that said she would not pay presented an issue, we did not stop work on our paying customers project to look at their sprinkler no, I went there myself to take a look. I ran the system in front of her, showing no leaks, and while I was there we reached an agreement. I said if you pay 50% of the remaining balance, we'll topdress the lawn, then she pays the remaining balance, she agreed. That's the invoice I linked earlier. She then sent an email with that video of the water coming out, that's not the sprinkler line we installed, that's a drip line. Nonetheless, materials to plug a drip line are under one dollar so I said we'd fix it. She then proceeds to say she will not pay anything until we do everything we agreed to do for half - for free. Why would any reasonable person do this for a customer that said she wouldn't pay initially, reached an agreement to move forward, then went back on it. I have no reason to believe she would ever have paid.

  Back to the rock apparently, her timeline is all over the place - he said it would be tough to get it out yes, our machine was no longer there and it's a heavy rock, not sure why we're talking about this. Trust me if she didn't blow up at him, the rock would be there right now. She claimed she had paid for the rock, he said he just paid $125 for it, so that's not true, we called BC rocks, they had no clue what we were talking about, then the guy over the phone said "oh that crazy lady?" but that's neither here nor there. She had not in fact paid them for it, we still have the rock, and once again - I did not apologize for *******'s "hotheaded" nature, he doesn't have one, growing up and up to now, he's very reserved and calm, hardly talks. I can have any amount of people tell you that. I said if she felt he was being aggressive, then I'm sorry, otherwise I'd have to argue about it with her in person, and she was clearly not in a good mental state so I decided to just agree with her and try to get this over and dealt with.

  Now point by point.

  1. I'm sorry to hear that, but as I showed in the picture, it was installed correctly, you earlier claimed I never responded to your emails, so after I showed several emails in a photo I'm surprised this ticket is still open, the customer clearly has no issue lying.

  2. She did not ask for a timeline, and we were there everyday from start to finish until it came to the rock, as that was extra, and she had to go pick one. After that it's going to depend on when we can make it at we have many customers, all of them want us there.

  3. I'm glad you mentioned that, yes we did miss-measure, we had it at 500, but we missed an area. It came out to 600 sqft of sod we needed, which we did not charge extra for as that was on us. Though I'm not sure that helps your case of us having "poor customer service"

  4. When I came in person to test the irrigation right in front of you, there was no leak, that is a drip zone that was leaking, if you paid the 50% of remaining balance, which was only in place due to your behavior, we would have happily fixed it anyways. 

  5. We did not lay it on a rainy day, it began to rain as we finished.

  6. The job was finished, it can be clearly seen in the photos. 

  7. I stopped by to look at it and it worked.

  There may have been someone in your backyard, but it wasn't us. Maybe it was this other company you claim to have paid to fix it, being a small break in a drip system I'd hope you didn't pay much. But I don't see A) Why I'd feel the need to be in, or send someone to be in your backyard, or B) Why you don't just check your cameras and see who it was. I'd happily provide photos of all of my employees, considering we were in ****** at the time, I can assure you it wasn't us.

  We are at the point now where I'd ask this matter be closed, or put to arbitration. I don't see how a customer being caught in multiple lies while trying to avoid payment for services that were clearly delivered is worth any more of my time.

  , 

  Customer Answer

  Date: 24/06/2024

   
  Complaint: 21845325
  
  I am rejecting this response because:

  This is a complaint about the actions or lack of regarding Denman Landscaping. No personal attack and there was no slanderous remarks, everyone is entitled to their opinion. I stand by what I have submitted , as a client and/or customer. I am totally unsatisfied with the level or rather lack of , both professionally and workmanship. To continue on he said she said doesnt interest me . Anything I have submitted is about the business practice and guarantee. The solution would have been to fix the concerns of the client in a professional and mature way. Not to name call and personally attack the client, that says more about who they are professionally than myself. However they wish to proceed, I accept on principle alone.

  
  
  
  Sincerely,
  
  *************************