Look Out for Artistascapes Landscaping LLC

[Bbeardsley]

We used this landscaping company and want to spare others this grief. The Artistascapes Landscaping LLC will ask for 50% deposit on your bid. They do not use any type of contract just a paper home made invoice. They give you a start date and you must chase them, call them and threaten them to get work done. Once you can get them to start they show up for a few hours do minimal work and do show back up until you hunt them down again. This went on for over 4 weeks. Once the job was finished the other payment was made now we are into this landscaping over $10,000.00. The palms trees were not staked and not installed properly so three palms began to fall over on our house and cage. When contacted again, they were too busy to come and fix. The lighting in the yard did not work, and the water feature leaked so it is non function. We had to search for another landscaper to come in and stake and uplift the palms, hire electrician to do the lighting and we are getting bids on completely removing and redoing the water pond feature. The stress and the anxiety is overwhelming more than the loss of money. DO NOT USE THIS COMPANY. We also know of several other people who have used this company and had similar concerns. Some of our neighbors fired them right away when they learned from others how bad they are in quality, service and scheduled completion.
:boom:

[jane032657]

I posted this January 2016. There are many threads about this company.

You need to check to see if it is the Dodd brothers where one was arrested. Do a google search on the on line newspaper for The Villages. I used the brothers in 2012 early. Had to chase them but I got the job done. If this is the same brothers, you need to find out as one may be on probation for doing this type of thing. Not saying they are the same, but google the name. There are parents that may be involved too in the business....FOLLOW UP. Devin Dodd is the one who was arrrested.

THIS IS THE ARTICLE BUT IT IS FROM AUGUST 2015. (And his brother had been on probation and that is part of the reason I got our work done in 2012 as Devin and his mother did not want me to report his brother, can't remember if it is your guy or not) So they did the work. But is was by threatening...

A story published earlier this week on a landscaper who had been sentenced in connection with ripping off Villagers failed to include his full sentence. Here is article. Don't know if you have the brother.

Devin Alvin Dodd, 23, was sentenced Aug. 13 in Sumter County Court to five years probation on a charge of grand theft. He was sentenced to 130 days in jail with credit for time already served. He was ordered to pay $32,942.50 in restitution. Dodd was also assessed $1,843.53 in fines and court costs.

Some of that information was not included in the original story because it was not originally posted in the online court documents. The original story has been updated.

Dodd had been accused of taking thousands of dollars from Villagers and not delivering promised work. In November, December and January, Dodd allegedly contacted five different Villagers about doing landscaping work. In each of the cases, he asked for half of the money up front. One of the Villagers wrote a check totaling $4,432. Dodd allegedly cashed the checks and never did the work.

When the Villagers called him to complain, he stopped answering his phone.

In July, Dodd was sentenced to 60 days in jail for driving on a suspended license. It was his second conviction for driving on a suspended license.

[NotGolfer]

NEVER give $$$ up front!! Now, go to Seniors Againest Crime and maybe they can help you!! I'd always, always double check on social media OR trace their background online before hiring anyone.

[chesterrm]

Thanks for posting as we have been looking for a landscaper to put in Palms for us.

[need2no]

am going thru the same chasing problem with a company named RonJon's Eco Pro Landscaping & Property Management. they advertise on craigslist. best excuse company going. left many things undone to date. will never use again..... his mother is also the office manager,,,google their address then move on. their office is a 700ft 2bedroom home in a trailer park. their adds change frequently but look like this " Lawn care landscaping etc. (Villages) "

[Carla B]

am going thru the same chasing problem with a company named RonJon's Eco Pro Landscaping & Property Management. they advertise on craigslist. best excuse company going. left many things undone to date. will never use again..... his mother is also the office manager,,,google their address then move on.

Amen! I didn't know he was working in The Villages. We paid him $65 to mow a large yard for us outside The Villages twice a month. He came one time and then didn't show up again until I called him. I then found Nick Hand of Havilah Lawn Care, who is very reliable. He uses a riding mower.

[mrspiggy]

k"]Just want to warn people,]we had a young man name Michaell come to our village of El Cortez wanting to trim our trees. Did a good job, quite a talker, then he showed up couple weeks later saying his mom had died & needed $$ to go to Georgia for her wake. Well soft hearted me gave him $80 for gas, said he would pay me back when he got home, nope, I Called him said he would bring it by, then got a call saying he ran out of gas around Bealls in Summerfield, could I bring him $, again, against my husbands ranting, I went there & gave him another $10, starting calling him, no return calls. Reached out to a friend that knew of him & he talked to him, Will never see that money, evidently he has done this to others.

[retiredguy123]

All of the problems cited could have been prevented by not paying for work in advance. About thirty years ago, I acted as my own general contractor and built a house. If I had paid any of my workers or contractors in advance, I would still be building that house. To me, this is a no brainer. If a contractor demands money in advance, that is a red flag that you are dealing with someone who is not reliable. Just tell them to take a hike. There are plenty of contractors who will do the work and then get paid. In some cases, you may need to make partial payments, but never pay more than the value of the work they have already completed.

[Ozzello]

So what should a contractor do, when the customer doesn't pay after the job is done? Liens don't pay the bills. Isn't always the contractor that is crooked.

[Sadielarues@comcast.net]

We have a big mess to take care of in our yard, dealing with sand and not told what was involved and have had this company and unfortunately the same thing has happen to us numerous times. Like take the money and run. We believed them
And also gave 1/2 of money upfront and over and over not finished. I personaly gave up getting a golf cart to have landscaping done, & I'll be Dammed we got take also. They sure don't know how to run a business and we are so disgusted and want to know where do we go from here ASAP. This needs to be stopped!

[Bogie Shooter]

Stop giving money up-front.................

[jane032657]

I just had a conversation at a party last night where someone had interviewed this company and said no but their friend said yes and I warned them. This company is making their way through Pine Ridge right now, please do not give any upfront money and buyer beware as myself and so many others keep saying.

[retiredguy123]

So what should a contractor do, when the customer doesn't pay after the job is done? Liens don't pay the bills. Isn't always the contractor that is crooked.
There are plenty of profitable contractors who will do work before getting paid. Customers who don't pay are one of the many costs of doing business that contractors need to plan for. As a customer, if a contractor demands money in advance, it is a red flag that you are probably dealing with someone who is underfinanced, unreliable, and someone you should not be doing business with.

[Ozzello]

There are plenty of profitable contractors who will do work before getting paid. Customers who don't pay are one of the many costs of doing business that contractors need to plan for. As a customer, if a contractor demands money in advance, it is a red flag that you are probably dealing with someone who is underfinanced, unreliable, and someone you should not be doing business with.

So the small business owner, that can't (or won't) buy all the materials and pay for all the labor in hopes that the customer isn't some slickster retired contractor that thinks all landscapers are slime and deserve to get the shaft.... those little guys out the busting out the bulk of the work... you say are all unreliable because they ask for 10 or 20 % up front?

Even State and Fed. projects pay something upfront for mobilization. I know very few contractors that don't get anything up front, and they have very busy lawyers.

[retiredguy123]

So the small business owner, that can't (or won't) buy all the materials and pay for all the labor in hopes that the customer isn't some slickster retired contractor that thinks all landscapers are slime and deserve to get the shaft.... those little guys out the busting out the bulk of the work... you say are all unreliable because they ask for 10 or 20 % up front?

Even State and Fed. projects pay something upfront for mobilization. I know very few contractors that don't get anything up front, and they have very busy lawyers.
Wrong. I worked for the Federal Government in construction for 35 years and the Federal Government never paid any money in advance for construction work. Payments were made every 30 days based on work completed. Also, the contractors had to procure a payment and performance bond before their bid was even accepted. I did not say "all" contractors who ask for advance payments are unreliable. When I moved into my house in The Villages, I got 5 written proposals for landscaping work and none of the landscapers wanted any money until the entire project was completed and I was satisfied with their work. So, there are plenty of landscapers in The Villages who will do work without getting paid in advance. Also, why won't the contractors who want money in advance accept a credit card for the advance payment? Your post is just not accurate.

[Rosie1950]

Wrong. I worked for the Federal Government in construction for 35 years and the Federal Government never paid any money in advance for construction work. Payments were made every 30 days based on work completed. Also, the contractors had to procure a payment and performance bond before their bid was even accepted. I did not say "all" contractors who ask for advance payments are unreliable. When I moved into my house in The Villages, I got 5 written proposals for landscaping work and none of the landscapers wanted any money until the entire project was completed and I was satisfied with their work. So, there are plenty of landscapers in The Villages who will do work without getting paid in advance. Also, why won't the contractors who want money in advance accept a credit card for the advance payment? Your post is just not accurate.

People should also be asking for references. Ask for address, ride around and look at the work they did, people are more the happy to talk to you about their landscapers, see if you like the work. Beware many times they over sell you and your yard will be over grown in no time and you end up pilling out bushes. We used McGowen they are reputable we have had them do work for us twice, they are neat, they bring plans, they are courteous, and you do not need to chase them down. Your landscaper should also be the one to submit the plans for review so there is no problem with your design. They guaranteed the plants but everything was healthy and happy and they sold us Florida friendly landscaping.

[suediff]

Same with paradigm palm. Very unreliable and does not show up without numerous phone calls. All that used them in our Villa fired them.

[Ozzello]

Wrong. I worked for the Federal Government in construction for 35 years and the Federal Government never paid any money in advance for construction work. Payments were made every 30 days based on work completed. Also, the contractors had to procure a payment and performance bond before their bid was even accepted. I did not say "all" contractors who ask for advance payments are unreliable. When I moved into my house in The Villages, I got 5 written proposals for landscaping work and none of the landscapers wanted any money until the entire project was completed and I was satisfied with their work. So, there are plenty of landscapers in The Villages who will do work without getting paid in advance. Also, why won't the contractors who want money in advance accept a credit card for the advance payment? Your post is just not accurate.

Not wrong. I have been a contractor, consultant AND inspection engineer on many state and Fed construction projects. Every single major project had a mobilization pay item. Money up front, PRIOR to any work being done.

Who said the contractors wanting money up front won't accept credit cards? I can name several who do, including the largest landscape company in this area. And unless your job was small, less than 10k, I doubt seriously there are 5 landscapers that wouldn't want a token payment prior to starting. In the thousands of contracts I have fulfilled , I can say the very few times I got screwed by a home owner, they did not want to pay even a small amount up front, and I know now in hindsight, they had every intention of screwing me before I ever started.

If you don't trust your contractor, why should the contractor trust you? If you don't trust them enough to pay an installment, for the acquisition of materials, the scheduling of equipment and laborers to set aside for your project, then by all means.. pay that extra 20% or more a couple of these guys charge that don't want money up front.

[retiredguy123]

Not wrong. I have been a contractor, consultant AND inspection engineer on many state and Fed construction projects. Every single major project had a mobilization pay item. Money up front, PRIOR to any work being done.

Who said the contractors wanting money up front won't accept credit cards? I can name several who do, including the largest landscape company in this area. And unless your job was small, less than 10k, I doubt seriously there are 5 landscapers that wouldn't want a token payment prior to starting. In the thousands of contracts I have fulfilled , I can say the very few times I got screwed by a home owner, they did not want to pay even a small amount up front, and I know now in hindsight, they had every intention of screwing me before I ever started.

If you don't trust your contractor, why should the contractor trust you? If you don't trust them enough to pay an installment, for the acquisition of materials, the scheduling of equipment and laborers to set aside for your project, then by all means.. pay that extra 20% or more a couple of these guys charge that don't want money up front.
On the Federal contracts I worked on, mobilization was a scheduled line item, but no payment was made until the mobilization work was done. And the contractors were fully vetted and purchased a payment and performance bond which guaranteed the work would be completed. But, comparing Government contracting to a guy in The Villages with a pickup truck and a cell phone asking for money upfront is absurd.
The contractor being discussed on this thread did not accept credit cards for advance payments. That is why people are complaining about them. If you use a credit card for the advance payment, you can just dispute the charge with the bank and get your money back if the contractor disappears.
I have always refused to make advance payments, have gotten a lot of work done, and have never regretted it. Why are so many people complaining on this web site after making advance payments? If you do feel the need to pay in advance, use a credit card. If the contractor will not accept a credit card, don't hire him.

[John_W]

There are probably 50 landscape companies operating around TV. At least half are legitimate. I've lived here almost 6 years and have used two and both were good and I know of two more that many in the neighborhood have used. They give free estimates, they don't ask for any money up front, and they operate on a schedule and show up and do what was proposed. You can use any of these four and should end up happy. They all have websites, links provided, and the first three have nurseries that you can visit.

Before you hire a landscaper, check out the 'search' button of the top of this site, type in the name of the business and search. It's free, and you can do that with any business, painters, roofers, flooring, handyman, remodeling, granite, cabinets, concrete, etc. If you hire someone and pay up front and the job doesn't get done, it's your own fault. Someday a poster will search 'Artistascapes Landscaping' and one of the results will be this thread, and it will keep someone else from making the same mistake and hopefully this business will lose business and no longer be around.

Village Palms Village Palms (http://www.villagepalms.com/)

Terrascape TerraScape Creative Landscaping (http://www.terrascape.biz/)

Mansfield Landscaping Landscaping | Landscape Design | The Villages | Mansfield Landscaping (http://www.mansfieldlandscapingllc.com/)

S. McGowan S.McGowan Landscape Design | (http://designbymcgowan.com/)

[Ozzello]

Village Palms requires 10% up front, and all of these charge 20 to 50% than the average.

[John_W]

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[Ozzello]

Comparing them to other good landscapers. Citrus and Palms, Escapes, Ron's.

I personally don't like 'copper' (walnut) rock, I think it looks dirty. I also think pink granite in the right landscape looks great. And a 2 week wait is pretty fast IMO.

It looks like the Sylvester palm is pushing the wall blocks out. The queen palm is also too close to your sidewalk and drive, it will push the concrete up soon.

I would give your Sylvester a little coffee to fix the yellowing, the average soil in this area is about a 7.2 pH and add a little concrete and rock dust to the limerock base under the stack wall.. probably higher. It causes the tree not to be able to uptake Magnesium, Manganese and iron. Just fertilizing won't fix it, you have to acidify the soil.

[Moderator]

The topic of this thread is Artistascapes Landscaping. Please return to that topic. Further off topic posts will be deleted.

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