Complaints

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• Initial Complaint

  Date:04/30/2024

  Type:Order 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.

  In the Spring of 2023, I contracted Creekside landscaping to do some work on the rear of our house which included adding a paved walkway, moving a bush, installing a trellis and planting a few vines to eventually grow up the trellis. The project progressed slower than anticipated due to Creekside having a lot of existing work as well as a lot of rain in the local area.
  
  When the trellises were installed, they were much smaller than we had anticipated and we decide that adding 2 more would make the feature more aesthetical. It was September by the time the paving part of the project was complete, and acquiring the additional trellises was going to take some additional time. Creekside suggested we wait until the following Spring to plant the vines at the same time they install the trellis add-ons.
  
  In April 2024 I contacted Creekside to set a timeline for finishing the work. At that time I was presented with a new invoice charging me for the new work (adding the 2 trellises and 2 more vines) however this invoice also had me repaying for the labor and materials from the year prior.
  
  I contacted Steve Freshour of Creekside to make corrections and after a few emails it became clear that he was adding charges to the prior invoice that were not agreed up. He also refused to complete the planting of the vines which we had already paid for.
  
  This organization is engaging in very shady business practices, specifically changing an already agreed-up contract after money has been paid and refusing to perform the services they were paid for.

  Business Response

  Date: 05/02/2024

  from: SCFreshour <[email protected]>
  to: Clay Andersen <[email protected]>
  date: May 2, 2024, 10:14 AM
  subject: Re: BBB Complaint ID 21642311
  
  This is my response to case #21642311.
  
  We contracted to do work for this customer which included builing stairs on the side of the property. The customer gave us a downpayment and we put them on the schedule. The project was located on the North side of the house, which was very tall, and shaded the work area completely until probably mid summer. The project area was also very steep which is why we were contracted to build stairs for access to the back yard. Last year was an extremely wet Spring and that extended into the first part of the Summer. The ground was also heavy clay which slowed the drying process greatly. Because of those factors we were not able to begin the project until much later than we had hoped. The conditions were not safe for the workers and it would have been very difficult to peform the work because there was no machine access and all work had to be done by hand. The customer seemed very understanding about the situation and we appreciated their patience in this extreme case. The project was postponed multiple times bcause of these conditions. 
  
  As to the complaint, this is our first formal complaint in 31 years of doing business under the same name and residing in the same location. We have always been able to work things out with our customers. This dispute took on a much different nature very quickly and became combative and hostile. 
  
  I will address the complaints one at a time:
         I have admitted that starting the project was much delayed because of weather and safety concerns. I don't think there is any dispute about that and I mentioned that we were very appreciative of the customers patience with that. Once we started the project it did progress normally considering that everything had to be done without the assistance of mechanized equipment.
        The customer mentioned that the trellis's were much smaller than anticipated even though the Proposal and Invoice stated that they were aproximately 72" by 72" which they ended up being precisely that size. The two additional trellis's were to be installed on the other side of the yard and were not part of the original agreement. We did make the suggestion that it was getting late in the season and that we should do the additional work and plant the original 3 vines in the following Spring so the would not have to water them through the winter.
         There was a few additional items that were discussed and verbally agreed upon with the customer and the foreman towards the end of the project which included relocating a shrub that would be in the way of the proposed trellis that the customer wanted to save, and also strengthening the tops of the trellis's becuse they were joined together and ended up being somewhat flimsy on the top. These items were purchased online via pictures and this was an unforseen issue but the customer and the foreman agreed that some aditional work needed to be done to make them straight and more stable. The customer was sent the model number of the Trellis and had approved that style before we ordered them. 
          The customer paid the due amount on the invoice as soon as we finished the project which did include the 3 disputed shrubs. Afterwards I received the job info from the foreman and added the additional work to the invoice and actually reduced the additional work price so that his invoice would come out even once I eliminated the shrubs we had not provided or planted. I then emailed the final invoice marked paid that had the additional work minus the shrubs we did not put in. This Spring I tried to explain to the customer through several email exchanges but there was a total refusal to accept that we had done any additional work that was agreed upon by the customer and the foreman. I am thinking they never received the final invoice that was sent in September that was marked paid infull with the changes made. 
          This Spring the customer contacted me to schedule when we could get the additional work performed so I sent a new proposal with the additional work. At that point we  have disagreed about the price of that work, with the customer believing that he has $162 in credit for the 3 shrubs and with me believing that he had done a couple of additions that cost more than the $162 which included $34 to relocate Blue Mist Spirea and $148 to buy additional material and to install it on the tops of the adjoining trellis's. 
           In order to reach a resolution I would be willing to send the customer a check for $162 to end this dispute even though I believe that we are completely even.