[ML Smith]

Good Afternoon. I was one the new Villages that fell for the BS from Good Neighbor Lawn Services. Paid in advance and finally terminated the service 6 months into the contract. Have been trying to get refund now since Jan 12. Yes, I know, Good Luck with that one. Needless to say, nothing has been refunded. My question is... are there or is there any type of advocacy groups I can call or go to? Don't really want to get an attorney and incur more costs. Do I just write this one off as lesson learned and walk away?

To all new or potential new residence - AVOID THIS COMPANY at all costs. Don't fall for "a good deal" like I did. It is anything but a good deal.

[retiredguy123]

Write it off as a lesson learned. This company, with several different names, has been ripping people off in The Villages for more than 7 years. The consumer organizations have all been notified over and over, and they have chosen to do practically nothing about it.

But, it is also a good idea to never, ever pay any contractor for any work in advance. If you need to pay for a custom order, insist on using a credit card. Credit card charges can be easily disputed with your bank. If a contractor refuses to accept a credit card, find another contractor.

[jebartle]

Originally Posted by ML Smith

Good Afternoon. I was one the new Villages that fell for the BS from Good Neighbor Lawn Services. Paid in advance and finally terminated the service 6 months into the contract. Have been trying to get refund now since Jan 12. Yes, I know, Good Luck with that one. Needless to say, nothing has been refunded. My question is... are there or is there any type of advocacy groups I can call or go to? Don't really want to get an attorney and incur more costs. Do I just write this one off as lesson learned and walk away?

To all new or potential new residence - AVOID THIS COMPANY at all costs. Don't fall for "a good deal" like I did. It is anything but a good deal.

Try clean green, 352-406-6095, 352-499-1317. Ryan, we have corner lot, walk mow, $60/mo. Very dependable, great work, family owned.

[SIRE1]

Boy, this sounds exactly like the type of TOTV forum post that was being written several years ago about Service Smart. And unfortunately, I was one of their customers. I wonder if Good Neighbor Lawn Services is a reincarnate of Service Smart.

[retiredguy123]

Originally Posted by SIRE1

Boy, this sounds exactly like the type of TOTV forum post that was being written several years ago about Service Smart. And unfortunately, I was one of their customers. I wonder if Good Neighbor Lawn Services is a reincarnate of Service Smart.

Yes, it is the same company.

[villagetinker]

Contact Seniors against crime, they may be able to help.

[DAVES]

Originally Posted by ML Smith

Good Afternoon. I was one the new Villages that fell for the BS from Good Neighbor Lawn Services. Paid in advance and finally terminated the service 6 months into the contract. Have been trying to get refund now since Jan 12. Yes, I know, Good Luck with that one. Needless to say, nothing has been refunded. My question is... are there or is there any type of advocacy groups I can call or go to? Don't really want to get an attorney and incur more costs. Do I just write this one off as lesson learned and walk away?

To all new or potential new residence - AVOID THIS COMPANY at all costs. Don't fall for "a good deal" like I did. It is anything but a good deal.

My view. We deserve what we get. A store catches someone stealing. They make a business decision not to press charges due to attorney costs and possible protests.
It happens all the time. Criminals know there is no risk in criminal behavior.

As far as the landscapers. For many, I am licensed and insured. That means he has a drivers license and the minimum insurance to get plates for his truck. Both may be expired.

The police run crimes against seniors. I would report them to the villages and ask how to further proceed.

We have been in the Villages for eight years. We have always paid by the month.
We would never not pay. I'm sure that is not true of all villagers. So far we had one guy who decided to quit. All went smooth he recommended a nice young guy we liked him, he did good work. He used to ride motorcycles. He had hit a bear and broke his shoulder. He called us from the hospital. He got a replacement for us. He later was mowing with his arm in a sling. How could your not trust this guy? Later he disappeared leaving us having paid for three weeks in advance-never refunded.
Enter the next guy. Another nice guy. Reliable, honest etc. Not as good as the other two but good enough for me. He too quit mid month. I called him. He refunded us for the paid for work-not done. An honest nice person. We now have yet another guy.
Quality of his work is worse than any of the others but so far he comes as agreed.

Some will say no one wants to work. I ran a very small lawn mowing service when I was in high school. Truth it was far cooler than is Florida and I was 52 years younger. Lawn mowing people. Truth this is the first time in my life that I have ever not mowed my own lawn. It is an option, I still do the chemistry, the weeding and the pruning. NO I AM RETIRED AND IT IS TOO HOT IN FLORIDA.

[DAVES]

Originally Posted by retiredguy123

Write it off as a lesson learned. This company, with several different names, has been ripping people off in The Villages for more than 7 years. The consumer organizations have all been notified over and over, and they have chosen to do practically nothing about it.

But, it is also a good idea to never, ever pay any contractor for any work in advance. If you need to pay for a custom order, insist on using a credit card. Credit card charges can be easily disputed with your bank. If a contractor refuses to accept a credit card, find another contractor.

Re: Disputing a bill with a credit card.
I've done this twice in my life. Both times I got what I proposed with the company before notifying the credit card company. From speaking to the people who handle this stuff for the credit card company, it is sort of strange. They will notify the company there is a dispute and give them a chance to resolve it. They will tie up the payment but it is just for a period of time. They will not refuse to pay unless it is found the company is a fraud and there is no one to pay.

A company that says I will give you a cash discount actually that is in violation with there agreement with the credit card company. Obviously they are avoiding the 2% or so that the credit card company takes but likely taxes due to the government. Charging you sales tax and not paying it is actually jail time. Likely hood of being caught, TURNED IN WITH PROOF is unlikely. Perhaps, an idea for the original post.

[retiredguy123]

Originally Posted by DAVES

Re: Disputing a bill with a credit card.
I've done this twice in my life. Both times I got what I proposed with the company before notifying the credit card company. From speaking to the people who handle this stuff for the credit card company, it is sort of strange. They will notify the company there is a dispute and give them a chance to resolve it. They will tie up the payment but it is just for a period of time. They will not refuse to pay unless it is found the company is a fraud and there is no one to pay.

A company that says I will give you a cash discount actually that is in violation with there agreement with the credit card company. Obviously they are avoiding the 2% or so that the credit card company takes but likely taxes due to the government. Charging you sales tax and not paying it is actually jail time. Likely hood of being caught, TURNED IN WITH PROOF is unlikely. Perhaps, an idea for the original post.

That doesn't exactly track with the mandated process required by Federal law. When you dispute a credit card charge, you must first attempt to resolve the issue with the merchant. Then, the bank must remove the charge from your account and investigate the issue. The bank is required to make a good faith and fair decision about the card holder's issue. They cannot just release the money to the merchant without a good reason. The process works best when a merchant has failed to deliver a product or service, or when the merchant has filed for bankruptcy.

[charlieo1126@gmail.com]

Originally Posted by SIRE1

Boy, this sounds exactly like the type of TOTV forum post that was being written several years ago about Service Smart. And unfortunately, I was one of their customers. I wonder if Good Neighbor Lawn Services is a reincarnate of Service Smart.

and I’m sure if you look at all the complaints he is soon to be under another name ,when he was service smart he was very good for years but then it changed , I got an inside tip and continued for sometime even out in fenney because I wouldn’t pay him till the work was done surprisingly he can do very good work , but he was doing so well at ripping off people in new section that he wanted to be payed upfront for my services so I stopped using him . There seems to be no way to stop him so stay away

[JohnN]

Do not pay anyone in advance around here for anything. If you do, consider it a donation.
Not sure how much $$$ is involved. If you used a credit card you can file a grievance. If not, you're probably out of luck without going to a lot of trouble.

[Kay Hartt]

I have a good, dependable lawn service. It's called Sumter Lawn Services. I pay $35.00 a month for up to 3 x a month. They do mowing and edging. I think they'll weed, trim bushes too. Call and ask.

[ML Smith]

Thanks to everyone that replied. Learned a valuable lesson on this one. Thankfully it is only $480, not a large amount but it have been so much worse.

Now I check almost everyone on the forums before I engage any services.

Learn from me. Don’t make the mistake I did. Good Neighbor is BAD news and not a company to do business with. Thanks again.

[cbv0211]

We also got taken when Good Neighbor was operating under another name. We then tried to support a local small business owner and his landscaping company and also got burned by him. Poof! One day he just disappeared. We finally hired one of the larger, well-known landscaping and pest control businesses. We pay a little more money but they show up and do the work.

[Shapdaddy]

Good Nrighbor was Service Smart. Rip off. Why do people pay these companies in advance? Smh