[villages07]

Keuka.... wow, I'm so glad you shared your story and were able to avert a costly transaction. Their MO sounds very familiar. Of now 5 customers I am aware of, they have failed each time to give a concrete estimate up front and for the 4 that went through with it, all felt they were grossly overcharged.

In our case, they completed the work without any prior authorization. I'm still not quite sure why Mr 07 paid them, other than he was in a hurry and they were physically imposing individuals. We did complain back to the company and got some restitution for the overcharge. That still doesn't excuse how they do business.

A very elderly gentleman on our block, with a large corner yard, informed us he paid $2,300 for weeding and mulching. Sorry, 784Caroline, there ain't no amount of work these guys could have done in 2 hours to warrant that charge. The neighbor knows he was bilked and should have gotten an estimate, but, as Keuka noted, they can be somewhat charming upfront.

To your question directly, 784, we asked our lawn guy what he would have charged for our job and he said roughly 200-300 and they charged us 600 (although we did get 250 back).

Unless Florida has a statute requiring written estimates, what these guys are doing is probably not illegal but certainly is dishonest and unethical. Best we can do is inform each other.

They do the job and the final result looks good, but, this ain't rocket science and their charges are way out of line.

Customer Beware!!!!

Thanks to TOTV for providing this forum for us to help and inform each other on both the good and the bad operators out there.