Business ProfileforMonkeyman's Tree Service Inc

Monkeymans Tree Service CCB #****** Complaint filed 4/9/2024 by ******************************* 1-13-24 Called Monkeymans for a tree that had fallen on my fence. They explained that they dont provide quotes, they do a menu of pricing that I should accept and the insurance company is required to pay me for. ***** also explained that he (understandably) had to prioritize other emergency requests and I would not have priority dispatch. Provided me with a general list of services they called a proposal. I was charged on 2/8 $1000 for priority dispatch and $1700 for hazardous/priority tree services.Note: I noticed 4/9/24 that the link they provided me to the proposal in their system was edited it after I accepted it to reflect their bill. Any reference should be made to the original PDF from 1-13-24.Approx. 1-16-24 A man was on my back porch taking pictures. I asked him who he was, it was ***** from Monkeymans. No notification prior.1-25-24 A large crane and trucks arrived in front of my house. I learned from my neighbor that this was Monkeymans arriving to work on both of our trees. I spoke to the *********************** onsite and he had me talk/text *****. I needed to find out how long they would be there. I have 3 dogs I needed to be home with to keep out of the yard (doggy door). I needed to take off of work for this unplanned arrival. They were there for 4 or 4.5 hrs and bill for a min. of 8 hrs. They charged me for the middle portion of the tree that they craned out that was in my yard. They left the extremely large root ball and referred me to another company to take care of that. There was no wood chipping. I was charged $1250 for support truck- chip body package. I was charged $2500 for 2 hours of crane rental. My neighbor was charged approx. $21,000 for their service and this included an additional 9.5 hours of crane rental. This is a total of 11.5 hours of crane rental with the actual being 4 or 4.5 hours (including their break time).2/8/24 I received via text a deposit invoice for $5,000 and an invoice for $7,184.50 both dated and due on 1/25/24. I received a text from ***** following up on this asking about questions and remaining debris. I also received a follow up email from *****. I inquired about the wood chipper fee.2/13/24 I sent Monkeymans an email asking them to respond to my question.2/27/24 ***** responded via email that the (high capacity) wood chipper was not used and the bill reflected a balance of 0. I clarified that I was asking about the support truck- chip body package line item with the fee off $1250. I also had the following additional questions about my bill:(from my 2/27/24 email)Thank you for following up. I actually had a few additional questions:-I was charged $1000 for priority dispatch and an additional $1700 for Hazardous/Priority Tree Service. I did not have a priority situation (my tree only fell on my fence), service was provided 2 weeks after the incident. ***** had made it clear that he needed to prioritize emergencies over mine.-What are consumables?-How does the crane rental charge work? My neighbor was charged $10,800 for 9 hours and I was charged $2500 for 2 hours. It was there for 4 or 4.5hrs. Nobody notified me that the crane was showing up or would be used. I have 3 dogs that have yard access via doggy door. I had to call into work and take the morning off when I saw a crane in front of my driveway. The communication was pretty poor on this.-I'm disappointed the tree ball is still in my yard. I now need to pay an additional $10,000 to get this taken care of.-Please adjust the fuel surcharge to reflect the new balance.Thank you,******************************* 3/5/24 I received an email from ***** following up on the bill and asking if I had spoken to ***** and had my questions answered.3/6/24 I responded to ****** email and let he know my questions had not been answered and I had not spoken to *****. I repeated my questions.3/7/24 I received an email from ***** saying he would answer my questions today. He never responded later that day with responses to my questions.(3/7 email from *****):Hi ********, I will respond to this later today. Happy to clarify your questions. These items can all be addressed, but typically these are questions that would be coming from your carrier. I have already spoken with your insurance adjuster and during our discussion he had no reservations with the pricing. We have added a price of equipment to our lineup and can now help with the rootball for far less than $10,000. Please let us know if you have any needs for that. We should be able to help within a week or so on the rootball. In most cases, it is much easier for us to manage the claim with your adjuster directly. If there are any issues with the pricing we can clarify with him directly. Has your adjuster given any negative feedback regarding the pricing? I am happy to reach out to him directly. Best,3/11/24- Since I had been unsuccessful at receiving a response about the billing questions multiple times, I noted on the bill what I was charged for, what I had questions about and sent a check in for $2,834.00. This total is from $2500, 2 hrs billed for crane rental, $26 administrative fee, $78 for consumables, and $130 for fuel charge.3/18/24 Texts from *****. Once again, he never responded to my questions.(Texts with *****):*****/Monkeymans: Hi ******** are you available now?Me: Sorry at work. Can you please email me and respond to my questions. Thanks.*****/Monkeymans: No problem. Thought a phone call would be much faster.Generally we work directly with insurance your adjuster.I would like to include him in the email.***** and I had a conversation about the services prior to us responding and he didnt have any issues.Has he brought any concerns to you? Do you have his email?Me: Hes aware of my concerns about the pricing.*****/Monkeymans: Hmmm. Usually they contact me directly.I called and left a message for him today.Do you by chance have his email?Me: Please answer my questions directly. Im your customer. This feels really sketchy.*****/**********************: Sketchy?Me: Yes. Just respond to my email either the questions. With Thanks in advance *****/Monkeymans: Happy to. Just to let you know, there isnt anything sketchy happening. Everything by is covered by insurance 100%. Ive reviewed the invoice and there are no adjustments to make. I will address everything item by time.Me: Great. Thank you for answering my questions.4/8/24 I received texts and emails from Monkeymans that I owe them $7,184.50 and an intent to lien. I called a couple of their phone numbers. One was no response and the other I left a message informing them that I needed a call back and I would be contacting the BBB about this. I received a text asking about a missed call and I asked for a return call. There was no return communications of any kind. A check for the remainder of the balance in the amount of $4350.50 will be in the mail tomorrow 4/9/24. This is not me choosing to accept these unexplained charges. I am reacting to a threat about an intent to lien. I am still requesting an explanation and I am shocked at how this has all been handled.(from 4/8/24 email): This notice is provided to inform you that the NOTIFYING PARTY has provided the above described SERVICES to the PROPERTY, and that patyment for these services is due and owing to the NOTIFYING PARTY in the amount identified as the AMOUNTS DUE AND UNPAID. A claim of lien, commonly referred to as a construction or mechanics lien, will be filed against you and/or the PROPERTY in ten (10) days after delivery of this notice unless payment is made to the NOTIFYING PARTY in full.Client note: I am extremely frustrated that ************** from Monkeymans will not respond to me about my questions on items I was billed for. He has contacted my insurance company multiple times and will not respond to me as a client about the questions. He seems more concerned with making sure that these high and possibly inaccurate charges are covered and hes following the insurance companys systems as opposed to providing me with the actual details on why I was charged what I was. I did mention to the insurance company that I was concerned about the charges and was awaiting a response on some of the line items I had questions about. Since Monkeymans is forcing me to pay and threatening via intent to lien, I have submitted the check to them. They will need to pay back the insurance company directly now (further complicating the matter) for inaccurate charges. Because of the unprofessional way this was handled and the track record of unhappy clients being overcharged including myself. I do not recommend that anyone choose this business for service. This has required hours of my time and could have been alleviated back in February if they could have responded to my billing questions.