Complaints

The complaint text that is displayed might not represent all complaints filed with BBB. 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.

• Initial Complaint

  Date:04/14/2024

  Type:Order Issues
  Status:

  ResolvedMore info

  Complaint statuses

  Resolved:

  The complainant verified the issue was resolved to their satisfaction.

  Unresolved:

  The business responded to the dispute but failed to make a good faith effort to resolve it.

  Answered:

  The business addressed the issues within the complaint, but the consumer either a) did not accept the response, OR b) did not notify BBB as to their satisfaction.

  Unanswered:

  The business failed to respond to the dispute.

  Unpursuable:

  BBB is unable to locate the business.

  Allen Outdoor Solution failed numerous times to show up for sprinkler startup and backflow test. After numerous junior technicians failed to properly startup system a senior technician was able to correct the junior technician errors without any part replacements. Company never sent a bill via US Mail, Email, or any other means. Received a letter from SCA collection agency trying to collect $312 for them. Agency said they didn't have a breakdown of the charges. I explained the situation and the reasoning that we should only owe about $200. We request a phone call from ***** Allen, a breakdown of the $312 bill they are requesting payment on, and correction to our credit report if they filed one. Please see attachment for full details of this issue.

  

  Business Response

  Date: 04/19/2024

  This matter has been resolved directly with the consumer and he will take the complaint down. He will be paying us once the complaint is removed. 

  Customer Answer

  Date: 04/22/2024

  I spoke with the owner of Allen Outdoor Solutions April 16th about 11am. ***** said he spoke with all parties involved at his company and agreed that the bill should be adjusted to down from $312 to $200. ***** also agreed that they would contact the *** collections agency and inform them that they are NOT to proceed any further with collections and to DROP the issue. I received an email April 16th about 1:30pm from ****** detailing this request (see below) - 

  
  From:**************************************************************
  To:'************************'
  
  
  ***, Apr 16 at 1:28 PM
  
  Hello and Good Afternoon *********,
  
  I am confirming we have contacted *************** and instructed
  them to have your account and name removed completely. No further
  collection effort will be performed on this matter.
  
  I appreciate your understanding in this situation and most of all,
  your past business. We are happy to inform you that we do have
  a MUCH better in office crew as far as billing is being handles from
  here on out so as to avoid any further miscommunication and
  misunderstanding. We sure hope you will use us again in the
  future.
  
  Please dont hesitate if you have any questions ??
  
  Have a great rest of your day and week,
  
  ***************************
  Landscape Coordinator
  
  Phone: ********************
  Email: **************************************************************
  
  **********************br>**************, ** 63119
  
  www.allenoutdoorstl.com

  I spoke with ********* at the *** at 4pm, she unaware that they were to stop the collections process. I contacted ****** and he said he deals with the supervisor at *** who is ****. He said **** only works part time for *** and is only helping out until they fill his position.

  April 17th - I called ********* again at ***. I left a voicemail for her since she did not answer. I wanted to know if she heard from Gabe yet.

  April 18th - I called ********* again at ***. She said her boss told her not to call me anymore and that Allen Outdoor Solutions adjusted the bill to $200. I thanked her and hung up.

  Now that the *** had been informed, I felt I could safely pay the $200 bill that ****** had emailed me.

  I now consider this issue resolved to my satisfaction.

   

  Customer Answer

  Date: 04/23/2024

  Please add this additional information to the Complaint ID: ********

  We wanted to document this issue properly before closing it out. We have spoken with ***** Allen at Allen Outdoor Solutions, and we have accepted the bill adjustment of $200, as well as the company removing the request for SCA to attempt the collection. We paid the invoice of $200 on April 18th. This issue should now be closed. Please see all of the details in the attachment.

  Customer Answer

  Date: 04/23/2024

  Better Business Bureau:
  
  We have reviewed the response made by the business in reference to complaint ID ********, and find that the resolution is satisfactory with the addition of a few notes. Please see the attachment we have added to the correspondence for further details.

  
  Sincerely,
  
  ****** And *********************

• Initial Complaint

  Date:04/06/2024

  Type:Service or Repair Issues
  Status:

  ResolvedMore info

  Complaint statuses

  Resolved:

  The complainant verified the issue was resolved to their satisfaction.

  Unresolved:

  The business responded to the dispute but failed to make a good faith effort to resolve it.

  Answered:

  The business addressed the issues within the complaint, but the consumer either a) did not accept the response, OR b) did not notify BBB as to their satisfaction.

  Unanswered:

  The business failed to respond to the dispute.

  Unpursuable:

  BBB is unable to locate the business.

  We hired Allen to inspect our backflow last July, 2023. A member of the team came out, inspected, and gave us a green/blue tag saying we were all good to go. He mentioned that we didnt need any paperwork, and that they would submit it directly to the water district. March 2024, our water district called letting us know they were shutting off our water because they never got a passing test from Allen. They called several times since July. and Allen never called them back. The manager and receptionist BOTH said it was mine and my husbands fault because we mentioned in casual conversation with the inspector that we would eventually take out our sprinkler, so they decided to never submit the information to our water district. Also, our backflow was missing a part that we had inside our house, however the inspector said we didnt have to fix it unless we were planning on using the sprinkler, which we replied we werent. At that time, He said we were all good to go, and gave us a blue/green tag that we passed. When speaking with the manager, he was yelling at me saying that they couldn't possibly do an inspection without all the pieces available and that his inspector never even completed the test (although he did let us know in person that we had passed). This was also after admitting that the inspector didnt work there anymore for good reason. After arguing with the Manager who still insisted it was mine and my husbands fault, they sent out a new tech who told the manager while I was standing there the inspector did pass them in their inspection and gave them a tag. The information is all here. The office must not have filed the paperwork correctly. They still continued to send us a bill for the re-inspection. I would like to have our fee waived, and for this to be noted at how they handle business and aren't legitimate with their inspections.

  

  Business Response

  Date: 04/22/2024

  I spoke to the consumer and we have resolved the issue.  

  Customer Answer

  Date: 04/22/2024

  Better Business Bureau:
  
  I have reviewed the response made by the business in reference to complaint ID ********, and find that this resolution is satisfactory to me.
  
  Sincerely,
  
  *********************

• Initial Complaint

  Date:06/01/2023

  Type:Service or Repair Issues
  Status:

  ResolvedMore info

  Complaint statuses

  Resolved:

  The complainant verified the issue was resolved to their satisfaction.

  Unresolved:

  The business responded to the dispute but failed to make a good faith effort to resolve it.

  Answered:

  The business addressed the issues within the complaint, but the consumer either a) did not accept the response, OR b) did not notify BBB as to their satisfaction.

  Unanswered:

  The business failed to respond to the dispute.

  Unpursuable:

  BBB is unable to locate the business.

  2/4/23, Allen Outdoor came to our home to start up our sprinkler system. They installed and have been maintaining the system for over 20 years. During start-up, they normally identify leaks and issues and offer (at a price) to fix them. The tech identified no issues during start-up.Early March, we ran the system for the first time and noticed some leaking from the backflow unit. We used it a few more times and noticed pooling water, so we shut the water off and called Allen Outdoor. 5/31 was the first availability to send a tech out to look at the issue.Yesterday, the tech came by late afternoon and said it looked like the system hadn't been winterized properly (Allen Outdoor did that work for us) and that the Backflow Preventer needed to be replaced ($300 part, $700+ labor). He couldn't do the work then.I called Allen Outdoor's office to ask that our original $285 start-up fee be put toward the fix; they said that since that happened in February, they wouldn't be able to do that. I asked to speak with a manager; the scheduling agent said the manager likely wouldn't return my call as that they are all out in the field and don't get back in until 6pm each night. But the agent did offer to send me an estimate for the $1,000 repair.

  Customer Answer

  Date: 06/07/2023

  Allen Outdoor has reached out to me and came out to re-service the back flow unit. They seem to have fixed it and were timely in their response. Id like to withdraw my complaint accordingly. Thank you to the BBB for all of your help in getting this matter resolved!

• Initial Complaint

  Date:05/09/2023

  Type:Customer Service Issues
  Status:

  ResolvedMore info

  Complaint statuses

  Resolved:

  The complainant verified the issue was resolved to their satisfaction.

  Unresolved:

  The business responded to the dispute but failed to make a good faith effort to resolve it.

  Answered:

  The business addressed the issues within the complaint, but the consumer either a) did not accept the response, OR b) did not notify BBB as to their satisfaction.

  Unanswered:

  The business failed to respond to the dispute.

  Unpursuable:

  BBB is unable to locate the business.

  This year they charged us 300 dollars for their service. Set an appointment, didn't show up. Then when we called them to reschedule put ** off 2 more weeks. When we contracted with another company refused to refund the annual charge.

  Customer Answer

  Date: 05/11/2023

  I have spoken to the owner of the company and he has resolved the issue.

• Initial Complaint

  Date:08/11/2022

  Type:Service or Repair Issues
  Status:

  AnsweredMore info

  Complaint statuses

  Resolved:

  The complainant verified the issue was resolved to their satisfaction.

  Unresolved:

  The business responded to the dispute but failed to make a good faith effort to resolve it.

  Answered:

  The business addressed the issues within the complaint, but the consumer either a) did not accept the response, OR b) did not notify BBB as to their satisfaction.

  Unanswered:

  The business failed to respond to the dispute.

  Unpursuable:

  BBB is unable to locate the business.

  Paid almost 5,000 for landscaping and an irrigation system. Final result is horrific. We now need to hire a new landscaper to fix the damage. Plants were inappropriate, weed control was not in place, mulch attracts bugs and mosquitoes, irrigation system was not working. Hoses run across sidewalks creating trip hazard. Everyone who views the work remarks how horrible it looks. It was an absolute scam.

  

  Business Response

  Date: 08/30/2022

  We regret that any situation should come to a formal complaint, and wish to apologize to *** ****** for not making you feel comfortable enough to come to us for a resolution.

  We have since reached out to our client, and wish to resolve this quickly. We are working with her to come to an agreement and resolution in the above matter.
  

  Customer Answer

  Date: 09/07/2022

  I hired this company for a landscaping job and the whole encounter with this company has been a nightmare. The designer arrived and encouraged me to not pursue what I wanted to do, but instead go with his design. It ended up being a poorly executed eye sore. I can provide pictures of this . It started when the company failed to show up four times and never bothered to call or text to say that they weren't coming. I finally had to leave for work overseas and asked that they complete the job and charge it to my card as it was too late to hire another company. They finally showed up unannounced. I didn't get a real understanding of what was done until I returned. The mulch was not placed to the correct depth. ( causing weed city ) The plants and arrangement looked terrible. The rocks looked as if they were picked up from the side of the road. The Boxwoods are dying and brown inside. The irrigation system doesn't work properly and is a trip hazard crossing multiple sidewalks. The hellstrip wasn't even completed properly. The owner came to the property, but seemed more interested in selling more services than repairing the work. When explaining the irrigation system problems. The owner stated that is a temporary system which is not stated in my contract, but instead tried sell me a new one for $3500.00. I agreed to reschedule the work and pay for any additional elements originally not included. The new designer came up with his own plan. It was nice, but upon further review I thought it wasn't what I was looking to achieve. I sent pictures and examples of what I wanted. The designer has shown no interest in providing a proposal. Four landscapers came to my house today and were all able to quote and are willing to complete the work. I hired someone today. They will start in the morning. This company has shown no interest in completing a proposal or finishing the job. They have been playing games for weeks even when I offered to pay a deposit and sign a contract.

  

  Business Response

  Date: 09/19/2022

  Below is our response to the above complaint.
  
  Initial response:
  
  We at Allen outdoor Solutions take matters such as this very seriously. We have been in contact with the client and are working to find a mutual solution to the matter.
  
  Second Response:
  
  Currently, we are confused by the conduct of the client. We feel at this point the client has not been cooperative with our attempts to correct the situation to her liking and has changed her mind at every junction. We do not feel the client is attempting to resolve the matter. Her recent comments to the BBB reinforce this conclusion. Below is an order of events. At this time, we believe we have done our best to come to an agreement, and with the hiring of a different company the discussions have been ended.
  1.      Client was sent drawings, design and proposal. The design was based on her desire to furnish a low maintenance garden with hearty perennials. All items and materials were discussed and listed on the bid contract. The design was contracted was approved, signed and completed.
  2.      2 months later the client reached out suggesting that none of the work was correct and that everything we installed per contract was not appropriate. The client mentioned we had installed a "trip hazard" over a sidewalk. This temporary irrigation was installed per the customer in her efforts to save money, instead of us installing a new permanent irrigation system. Also contested were the appearance and mulch. All of which was reviewed and approved prior to beginning work.
  3.      Despite these inconsistencies between her and the work ordered we offered a credit greater than half of the original invoice and work to create a new design with her to resolve matters.
  4.      The client then made a complaint to the BBB. We responded quickly and began
  5.      Communication since has occurred through multiple emails, phone calls and visits. Our designer has made repeated attempts to create a design per her specs only to be changed each time one was completed. We have invested hours attempting to resolve the matter and we are not getting the impression that it was her intention to cooperate with a resolution. The client has agreed to things on one occasion, just to disagree on the next.
  We have worked diligently to resolve the matter, and found it impossible to do so. The communication and actions, along with hiring someone else in the middle of negotiations, led us to conclude the conversation was over. We are moving on.
  
  Thank you for your time.