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Company wrecked my yard with Rocks

11K views 57 replies 24 participants last post by  Tx_LawnNerd  
#1 ·
Hey fellow lawn nerds,

I am not typically someone that tries to flame a business but feel compelled to warn all of you of a company in DFW that has caused serious damage to my reel cutting hobby. When I reached out to express my concern prior to billing they told me the would get back to me and 4 days later and multiple calls and e-mails still hadn't responded to me and they appear to immediately charge the 1,350. Not only were there large rocks in my yard after their leveling but it also appears they didn't spread the contracted 6 cu yards (which ended up being a blessing given the material they were using)

Also, if anyone has a better way to handle this or advise about legal actions I would appreciate any and all feedback. Below is a picture of my yard earlier in the season for reference and then an email i sent to them after they proceed to charge me the full price of the service after I let them know of the issue.

Before service:


After Leveling:















If you have hung out this long then you might be interested in reading the whole e-mail:
Dear Purple Care,

This message is in regards to the sand leveling and top dressing performed at [REMOVED]. At this point I have contacted your office 5 times, emailed 3 times with pictures, and only received a single call back on the initial day I reported the issues. I reached out and spoke with Paige at 4:31 pm 5/13/2021 which was as soon as I was able to inspect the work completed. For reference your crew finished at 3:39pm that same day. At that time, you indicated that the crew had not marked the job as complete and therefore you had not initiated the charge to my card. Instead of your company reaching out to me about the reported issues, which were considerable, you opted to charge me first thing the next morning despite having the reported issues and being aware of my concerns.

On May 14th I sent three images as requested by Paige in one email, one video of me collecting the rocks in another, and a third e-mail that documented my concerns as I hadn't received any communications back at that point. I also tried calling the main number listed on your website to see if I could finally speak to someone other than a customer service representative (CSR) but was only able to speak to a different CSR. She said that she had spoken with the owner who assigned the director of operations to do the Quality Control check himself, that they couldn't discuss any resolution until the QC was done, and that they were running way behind so she had no idea when they could do the QC check but indicated it could take a long time. I asked like a day or two, next week? She said it could be longer.

Upon further review the Director of Operations is Brandon Damborsky who was one of the two people who performed the work. So, you are advising me that the person most familiar with the work that was completed cannot go off his own recollection of the work the day after it was completed? This seems like a very thinly vailed stall tactic. This whole issue could have all been resolved with a simple phone call.

At this point after making multiple attempts to contact a decision maker, not receiving any additional communications back, and your companies stall tactics I have opted to dispute the charge with Discover. I have also opened a claim with the Better Business Bureau. Should I need to I am prepared to take the pictures below, along with the documentation I have and images to small claims court and seek damages for the hours I have had to spend collecting the rocks your company spread throughout every corner of my yard and, possibly, to replace the sod if I am unable to mow without damaging my mower due to the rocks.

My claim to dispute the charge is twofold:
1. Material other than sand (as it included rocks) was used and therefore the materials were not as described/agreed. When asked on arrival Brandon said it was triple screened sand and the clumps were due to moisture and as a precaution they would pick up any clumps that would not break up or appeared to be rocks
2. I Didn't receive the contracted amount of materials. Based on the trailer you pulled the sand in being a 16 ft 2.5ton trailer that is approximately 82 in wide counting the fenders and having 27in side walls based on the arrival image below the most your crew would have been able to haul is about 3 cubic yards not the 6 that is in the quote/invoice. 3 Cubic yards would have also put you at double the weight rating of the trailer with just the sand not including the equipment and the soil & sod that was at the front of the trailer (based on the average dry weight of sand being 1.3 tons per cubic yard). This further indicates that there is no way you could have fit 6 cubic yards of sand on the trailer you arrived with as that would have been nearly 8 tons of sand (assuming it was dry which weighs less) + the 320 lbs spreader and soil/sod you had on the trailer. To have delivered 6 cubic yards of sand the trailer would have had to have been nearly solid sand front to back and the entire height of your trailer sidewalls.

Picture used to make Cubic yard claims: Please feel free to double check me on this
 
#4 ·
BobLovesGrass said:
Edit your address out of the post d letter.

I wish you luck, they are clearly in the wrong.
Thanks for the catch, I have edited and removed. Appreciate the conformation. I don't want to be an asshole about it. But they strung me along long enough I am considering legal action and requesting they pay for me to have this stripped and replaced with new sod to eliminate the risk of the rocks
 
#6 ·
DuncanMcDonuts said:
The picture isn't that zoomed in, but from the eye test, it does look around 6 cubic yards of material. Your other complaints are valid. I'd be livid with that material if it was supposed to be triple screened sand.
Thanks for the feedback!

The first section of the trailer had soil and sod on it that wasn't going to my yard so it really is just the middle. When I did the math it looks like its somewhere around 3 to max 4 cubic yards but it is approximate since i didn't think to get out there with a tape before they started.

Also, I own a tandem axel utility trailer and a 5 ton dump trailer and I opted to hire the work out because 6 cu yards of sand would have put even the 5 ton dump trailer over capacity on weight and the highest rated utility trailer I could find online was 2.5 ton payload. I know not everyone is as careful with their payloads but I don't ever want the insurance company to deny a claim due to me being over weight if an accident happens.
 
#7 ·
Some of the card companies have a dispute features. You may want to see if yours does, and use that feature to get the charge off the card. The BBB is sort of out of date, and not something the world relies on to buy. I wouldn't use that as a hammer. I'm sorry you're having to deal with this. It's also a good reminder for me as a small business owner to not let crap like this fester, and handle it immediately. I would've refunded your money, we would've fixed the issue, or both. I'm not in that industry, but service businesses are all the same at some point. Writing the refund check is a pain, but not worth the pain of a ticked off customer that can tell all their friends how crappy of a company you own. Writing that check is also a great "spanking" to take so you won't make the same mistake twice. Good luck. Hopefully someone will make it right.

Just curious. Not being smart. What do you think will make it right? They can give you a refund. But that doesn't get the rock out of your yard. Do they get a crew to comb the yard and pick up rocks? Not sure what the business does to solve it, but that's their problem. Not yours.
 
#8 ·
I don't think you should be required to fix your own lawn from their actions, but if in the end you have to, I have seen a power broom pick rocks out of grass with ease. My father in law has a gravel drive and every now and then will rent the Echo Power broom and get the rocks out of his grass and back on the the drive. Here is a video of it in action: https://youtu.be/4VO-tCxunBM

(I realize you probably already know of this as well, just thought I would share with you on the off chance you don't)
 
#9 ·
That credit charge is getting disputed ASAP if it were me especially if the company is non responsive. This is also why EVERYTHING I purchase in life goes on a credit card (with autopay every month). From what I have found most companies get very nervous when you mention disputing the credit card charge. I don't know the details of it but I imagine it isn't good for them.
 
#10 ·
JRS 9572 said:
Some of the card companies have a dispute features. You may want to see if yours does, and use that feature to get the charge off the card. The BBB is sort of out of date, and not something the world relies on to buy. I wouldn't use that as a hammer. I'm sorry you're having to deal with this. It's also a good reminder for me as a small business owner to not let crap like this fester, and handle it immediately. I would've refunded your money, we would've fixed the issue, or both. I'm not in that industry, but service businesses are all the same at some point. Writing the refund check is a pain, but not worth the pain of a ticked off customer that can tell all their friends how crappy of a company you own. Writing that check is also a great "spanking" to take so you won't make the same mistake twice. Good luck. Hopefully someone will make it right.

Just curious. Not being smart. What do you think will make it right? They can give you a refund. But that doesn't get the rock out of your yard. Do they get a crew to comb the yard and pick up rocks? Not sure what the business does to solve it, but that's their problem. Not yours.
Hey JRS 9572, I have already disputed the charge and submitted documentation. I also have a small business and am probably more concerned with my reputation then I should be but would rather error on the side of the golden rule then maximizing profits which is why I spent a significant amount of time trying to get any effective response to work with them before posting this.

What makes it right is a difficult question. Initially I was thinking I would pay for their guys original time and have them come out and help me gather rocks and I would have been fine. They could have disputed the charge with the supplier that sold them that sand and they would only be out the cost of the labor to help pick up rocks. But given they charged me after knowing the issues were there, then went radio silent on me, I am not feeling quite as agreeable and also I have now spent hours collecting rocks so the help from their team doesn't go as far in my opinion and i have a better understanding of the scale of the issue they caused. If they had refunded me or not charged me and got a crew out to pick up rocks I probably wouldn't have sought any additional remedies. At this point if they dispute my dispute and it the charge remains I will take them to small claims and request reimbursement for the time spent collecting rocks and potentially also request compensation of another company to come do it correctly.
 
#11 ·
Jeremy3292 said:
That credit charge is getting disputed ASAP if it were me especially if the company is non responsive. This is also why EVERYTHING I purchase in life goes on a credit card (with autopay every month). From what I have found most companies get very nervous when you mention disputing the credit card charge. I don't know the details of it but I imagine it isn't good for them.
Same here, autopay full amount and bank those miles :). I did mention disputing it on the second day and then went 3 days without any call backs or e-mail responses. I began the dispute on Monday as soon as the charge posted and I was able to initiate the dispute. thanks for the feedback
 
#12 ·
OK_Bermuda said:
I don't think you should be required to fix your own lawn from their actions, but if in the end you have to, I have seen a power broom pick rocks out of grass with ease. My father in law has a gravel drive and every now and then will rent the Echo Power broom and get the rocks out of his grass and back on the the drive. Here is a video of it in action:

(I realize you probably already know of this as well, just thought I would share with you on the off chance you don't)
WOW, I was not aware of that attachment. That looks much more complete than my dethatcher has been doing. I get the big stuff but the little stuff is getting left to hand picking. Now that i have the big stuff out i might actually try the brush attachment on my swordman. If that doesn't work i guess I will look into getting a new toy. Thanks for the input this gives me hope!
 
#15 ·
Slim 1938 said:
I know it sucks but I would start getting the rocks out now before grass grows and It makes it even more difficult to remove. Maybe rent one of those powerful backpack blowers or use a shop vac on some of it. It sucks either way. I feel for you brother.
I've been hand picking rocks every night and used the dethatcher to pick up most of the big ones first. I broke out my beater reel last night and was able to mow at a little less than 1/2 in and only clipped 2 rocks in the front yard. I am not even going to try the back yard yet.
 
#18 ·
As another poster mentioned, BBB is somewhat outdated and few use it during purchasing. However, the average user looks at Google reviews. I would post your review of this company there with a star rating. I am not suggesting anything but, "neighbors" can post a review as well that did not actually use the service.

Best of luck, that is a gut punch.
 
#22 ·
I would blast them on every social media platform and google reviews. But considering you have a small business yourself probably a better financial decision to invite some buddies over drink some beer clean them rocks up and play some cornhole when the job is done. Be less of a stress then trying to fight them over the money.
 
#24 ·
TJ_FortWorth said:
Slim 1938 said:
Maybe we all go on and leave a bad review on your behalf. See how quickly they make it right.
I checked them out on Google Review. Seems like the owner is very quick to reply to a bad review on there (quite snarky actually), also it appears a "neighbor" has commented already!
Their responses to bad reviews is horrible
 
#25 ·
ag_fishing said:
TJ_FortWorth said:
Slim 1938 said:
Maybe we all go on and leave a bad review on your behalf. See how quickly they make it right.
I checked them out on Google Review. Seems like the owner is very quick to reply to a bad review on there (quite snarky actually), also it appears a "neighbor" has commented already!
Their responses to bad reviews is horrible
The more I read, the more my eyes and jaw opened. I don't know how anyone runs a business that way and believes it's okay. I guess that's why ethics is a thing -> queue the "business ethics" gif from Billy Madison.
 
#26 ·
Sorry to see/hear what happened to you! I had a reputable lawn leveling company come level my lawn last year and after they finished and I watered my lawn I saw many pebbles but not even close to what you're dealing with.

I called and complained and the branch manager came in and apologized and helped me pick up dozens of pebbles. He offered to send his crew back with more sand to spot level again during mid summer for free but I didn't take him on that offer. I picked a couple hundred pebbles over 4-5 days with help from my 6 year old. I was able to get them all before reel mowing. I know it's a pain but your situation is much more serious! I'd definitely take them to court if they don't cooperate. Good luck!