Sprinkler Contractor Fraud
 

I am embarrassed to report that I was defrauded by a sprinkler company, Arrow Lawn Services (not to be confused with Arrow Landscaping) run by Sean and Stephanie Fletcher. I should have known better and want to warn the community if Sean is still out there soliciting work. We bought a house, have not moved in yet and were in town in May for a few days to get work done, including getting a poorly maintained sprinkler system fixed. Sean came, evaluated the issues and said he needed to get parts because the system was in such disrepair (it was). Because I was leaving town the next morning and wanted a fairly expensive Wi-Fi controller installed, Sean asked for payment and prepared a very detailed, itemized invoice. Because he got decent google reviews and seemed very professional in his invoicing and explanation of the issues, I wrote a check for almost $1,700 and he was to return in a week. Needless to say, he never returned, and will not respond to voicemail messages, texts and emails. We went to the business address in Umatilla, only to find an abandoned home. Be careful and do what I did not do, do not pay in advance. Give a neighbor a check to hand to the contractor when he is done.

Pay with a credit card. You can contest payment with the credit company if the service/product is substandard or not provided. If a contractor won't accept a credit card payment, find another contractor.

Consider it your initiation to The Villages.
Never pay in advance.
Sorry you got taken.

Did you contact your bank about the check, you may still be able to stop payment.

Check written May , he probably cashed it on the way home………

I would NEVER write/pay/send any personal check for any reason.
Cash or Credit card only for me.

My landscaper, being a small business will not take credit cards, I pay him by the quarter. so every three months, I go to Chase bank and get a cashiers check worth 3 months payment and send it to him.
Easy Peesy

Why not personal checks?

Thank you for sharing this. A good reminder for us all. I'm sorry it happened!

Keep trying to get justice. People who choose to be scumbags need to be exposed and pay for their evil ways.

MichelG....you would pay in cash?? BIG MISTAKE!!!!

They registered that business a year ago, and the year before registered a shell massage parlor.

FLETCHER, STEPHANIE | Florida Company Directory

If you have not done so already, you need to file a police report. You may not get your money back but at least you may stop these people from doing the same thing to other people.

Seniors vs Crime in The Villages Seniors vs crime may help you.

Probably had friends write the glowing reviews. Sorry to hear your troubles.

Police warn: 'Do not use outdoor blue Post Office bins'

so this is why there are USPS mail issues:

check washing. . .

you need to use certain types of pens to prevent the use of personal checks to prevent it if your mail gets stolen. .

The reasons here can happen within the post offices as well, or from truck heists, etc. .

This is why i use electronic payments from my on line bank account wherever possible, I still have unused check books from the 2000, and I don't need waste time going to the bank, because I have better activities to do during the day than stand in line at a bank.

I won't be judgmental about who is doing this, but they are people who lack respect for the US systems . . .

I rarely write a paper check, but, if you do, I would suggest that you order new checks. The newer checks almost look like currency and they have many security features to prevent fraud. They are way different from the old paper checks. Also, they are designed to prevent "check washing".

Also report to Seniors vs Crime

A wifi sprinkler controller for a 4 station cost around $60. I have put in a couple of these in my last 2 houses and installed a few in my friends house. It takes a whole 10 mins to install and 15 mins to program. If all you have to do is replace the sprinkler heads, this is east to do. You have a filter in each head that might be clogged, it is very easy to take off the head and clean the filter.

Also, never pay upfront with cash or check.

Maybe it's hard to respond from prison.

Fraud
 

I have new checks and one was "washed" this week. Fraud was still committed twice due to a failure of a bank branch to follow security procedures. Sumter county sheriff office advised me to "never" mail paper checks unless you send them from inside the local post office only.

We use Arrow Exterminators for our termite control, who also do our lawn care. They are a good, legitimate business. I think your scammer picked a name that sounded like a reputable business, in case you asked around. The Villages, unfortunately, attracts a lot of door-to-door fakers, especially in the brand new neighborhoods.

Fletcher is derived from a French word meaning arrow maker. Maybe that's how they came up with the bogus company name.

Does this company have any connections to Arrow Exterminators in Wildwood?
Falcon Lawn was bought out by Arrow Exterminators.

The check should have an area on the back that is identified as a chemical detection area. It is white, but if the check has been exposed to a check washing chemical, it will not be white.

File a police report, get a lawyer, trace the check back to the receiving account, start proceedings.

Sprinkler
 

Never, never, never pay in advance. If the company is ligit, they have enough resources to cover the job.
So many people here and everywhere have gotten taken by fly by night operations. Unfortunately you had to learn the hard way.

Sorry you had this happen to you. What is wrong with some people? Is there any chance you have a doorbell camera or security camera where there would be a video of his face. If so you could post it and also provide the police with it. We could share it and maybe catch him.

I would never post a photo of the contractor. You are just asking for a lawsuit that could cost you way more than $1,700. I don't think the police treat these cases as a crime. They would probably tell you that it is a civil matter. And, it is not worth hiring a lawyer.

We tried to help start-up businesses believing that we could help them succeed. They scammed us instead. One landscape company changed business names multiple times and scammed victims for years. Another landscape guy left his clients high and dry after a few years of service. He apparently had a drug problem -- took the money and ran. We're done with start-up businesses no matter how highly rated they are.

Because then they have you routing number, your account number, know your address and phone number.
They might casually ask for your birthdate in conversation - wala, identity theft.

no connection to Arrow Exterminators