ComplaintsforThe Natural Way, Inc.

• Initial Complaint

  02/29/2024

  Complaint Type:

  Service or Repair Issues

  Status:

  Answered

  More info

  My name is *******************. I am the power of attorney for my widowed, 86 year old mother. I maintain a residence in **************, **, but moved in with my mother, ************************************************************************************* about 18 months ago to provide daily care due to her declining mental and physical health. During the summer of 2023, we retained the lawn care services from ********************, discontinuing service with past providers; The Natural Way (TNW) and Tru Green. In Sept 2023, I called TNW to give me an estimate to prune two trees. ****** came out a few days later. He did not carry a pad of paper or pen. He did not take any notes regarding the work we wanted done. During his visit, he repeatedly taunted my mother by saying, "you should see the notes on your account. You're the talk of the office. You're a legend." When I asked him what that met, he shook it off and didn't reply. Upon conclusion, ****** said we would be sending us a written estimate and a proposed schedule date for Jan, 2024. My mother asked if they could do it sooner, but he said they couldn't do it until January. About 1 week later (Sept 2023) a TNW employee shows up at our door and says he's there to apply "Fall Fertilizer." I told him, that we did not order it and did not want it. The employee was insistent stating that he had to apply it and that it was already paid for. I told him, "Fine. If it's already paid for, have at it." 10 minutes later, the employee comes to the door and hands me a bill for $160. I had to call the office to have the charges removed. At the end of Jan 2024, I had not received an estimate for the trees. I called TNW and told them I was waiting for an estimate and date. I was informed that they completed the work on 12/04/23. No one came to the door on 12/04 nor did they leave any info. I went to TNW office to discuss. ****** said my mom signed a work order. She didn't. I was present the entire time. I asked to see the ** and any and all notes on the acct. I was denied.

  

  Business response

  03/13/2024

  Regarding Complaint: 21368711
  ***************** has been a client of The Natural Way since 2013,she maintains a beautiful landscape and has always had a great relationship with our crews and arborists. 
  In 2022 *** prepaid her plant health care services, a nutrient, had to be rescheduled for the following year.  Since she had prepaid the service there was no charge, as stated by **** in his complaint. I tried to explain this to ****,but he would not let me speak.  The work order that was left should have been a receipt for the services.
  In September of 2023, there was a request to prune the crabapple.  ****** met with *** and **** to review the pruning work she requested. This would be the 14th time she had us out to prune her property.  ****** reviewed the work with *** by the back gate, ************** stayed in the backyard about 25 feet from them and made no indication that he would be further involved in the transaction.  The trees being pruned were crabapple.  Crabapples should only be pruned in the winter, to avoid fireblight spreading.  **** never advised ****** that he had power of attorney or that *** was unable to authorize work, as well, he never removed *** as the contact. We were only given his contract information this month.

  
  ************** did not act nor appear to be the main contact during the estimate, he mostly stood off to the side and made some minor comments.  When I was leaving the property and asked *** if she wanted to authorize and schedule the work, ************** did not participate in that discussion, and it appeared he was not involved in the decision-making at that time. *******************************
  On December 5th we sent a pruning crew to prune the tree as written up by ******.  ******** arrived near 10:15 am and completed the work as described. After that, we mailed an invoice and later an invoice with a late fee.  On January 31st, **** called the office, I spoke with him, he stated that he didnt think the crew had been there to complete the work on 12/5.  I removed the late fee and notified **** (the pruning manager) who went to the property, he showed **** and *** the prior cuts and arranged with them to come back an do some additional pruning work.   
  When **** went back to the property the 3 of them met again outside, **** and *** directed **** to make some additional cuts.  **** asked **** for a copy of the invoice and indicated he was going to pay him that day. **** didnt have one on him, so **** said he would mail in the payment. **** said we would email them the bill and **** stated that his mother didnt use email.  Again, implying that she was the main point of contact. **** repeated the details of this interaction to ****** and me in the office and he confirmed that he said he would mail in the check that day.  If the work wasnt authorized,why did he let **** do additional work on the trees and state he was going to mail payment?
  **** came into the office at the end of February, he said he had come down to have the $25 late fee removed and would mail a check.  We advised him the late fee had been removed and he only owed for the pruning work. He also wanted a copy of all the notes and was very concerned that his moms property was known in the company and referred to as a legend.  In his complaint ************** states that ****** was taunting ***, it is unthinkable that complimenting her manicured landscape would be interpreted as taunting. **** asked me to send a signed estimate, I emailed him the work order that was created on the day ****** visited the property and a copy of the invoice with the late fee removed.   ****** repeatedly told **** that the work was authorized by his mom, not that she had signed the estimate.  Until the day that he visited the office, **** had never identified himself as having POA.  Last week when **** called, I asked to speak with *** and get her permission to talk to ****. He gave her the phone and she confirmed we could speak with him regarding her bill. I confirmed with her and him that she had authorized the work, we had completed it at her direction, and that they would be mailing in a payment.
  

  In summary
  *** gave ****** verbal authorization to prune her crabapple in person.
  **** agrees that we were out to look at the property in September.
  **** was unaware that his mom approved the work and that we were scheduled there on 12/5 to complete the work.
  **** met with *** an **** to review the pruning work.  **** was never advised to leave or informed that the work was not authorized.
  **** was present when *** directed **** to make additional cuts on the tree. 
  **** stated he would pay **** and then decided to mail a check.
  **** told ******, with ********* and me as a witness, that he would mail payment when he was in the office.
  **** never disclosed that *** could not authorize work, nor did he advise us to contact him regarding scheduling.  We only got his contact information on or after 2/28.
  **** has asked for a signed estimate the estimate was verbal between *** and ******, we have given him a copy of the work order and the invoice.
  **** has asked for a copy of the account notes.  Im not sure what he would like to see, the notes we keep pertain to estimate requests and service completions.  The last pruning we did on this property was in 2019. All previous services were promptly paid.

  
  

  Customer response

  03/18/2024

   
  Complaint: 21368711
  
  I am rejecting this response because:
  
  Sincerely,
  
  *******************

*Some consumers may elect to not publish the details of their complaints, some complaints may not meet BBB's standards for publication, or BBB may display a portion of complaints when a high volume is received for a particular business. ↩