ComplaintsforMonkeyman's Tree Service Inc

• Initial Complaint

  04/09/2024

  Complaint Type:

  Product Issues

  Status:

  Answered

  More info

  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.

  Customer response

  04/11/2024

  Edited the document to include experience after the original complaint was submitted. I am beyond disappointed at how this was handled by the company.

  

  Business response

  05/16/2024

  1/13/24
  
  We were contracted by ******************************* to remove a fallen tree. The tree had fallen from her property onto her neighbor's property. Insurance companies can only perform work for their insured which can make removing a tree that has fallen across multiple homes difficult. Luckily, her neighbor's had also contacted us and we sent billing "Rate Sheets" to both parties.
  
   A billing rate sheet is a pre-disclosed pricing list for any trucks, equipment, hourly rates, dispatch fees, or other costs associated with projects that are billed to insurance. This rate sheet has been used by our company for all storms for the last 4-5 years and has been paid by all carriers for all of our clients. We do not send fixed cost estimates for emergency projects due to the hazardous and unpredictable nature of emergency tree situations. We bill based on actual costs and time required to complete the project. Both parties agreed to our pricing sheet and we informed both parties that we would work with their insurance if needed.
  
  Both properties were on a downhill slope that was completely shaded and left in the ice for weeks. We weren't able to respond to many homes that had suffered damaged due to road conditions, downed powerlines, and a thick layer of ice that had the entire region locked up. 
  
  The majority of the tree was laying on ********'s neighbor's house. We were in communication with both ******** and her neighbor regarding the arrival time of the 275 ton crane that was required to lift the tree off of ********'s fence and her neighbor's home. The layer of ice on their street didn't melt for weeks. As soon as it melted, we sent the crane at the first possible opportunity. 
  
  1/22/24
  
  We communicated with ********'s neighbors that the crane would be able to access their street on 1/25/24 and confirmed the date and time with them. It was our understanding that the neighbor's would communicate the scheduled date and time with ********. This did not happen. 
  
  1/25/24
  
  I spoke with ******** who was understandably upset that she wasn't informed of our arrival and that she was blocked into her home. I apologized for the lack of communication and assured her that we should have confirmed with her individually instead of relying on her neighbor. She asked how much longer it would be and I let her know that I would get with the ******* on the project and get back to her asap. 
  
  ******** expressed concerns about her insurance covering the cost to remove the tree and the root ball. The tree was a massive ******* fir tree that was well over 100' tall. I informed her that her insurance would cover 100% of our invoice and offered to call her adjuster to clarify and get approval ahead of time. She agreed. 
  
  I texted the ******* for a total time required to complete the project, responded to ********, and then called her adjuster. 
  
  
  TEXT LOG: 
  
  10:08 AM *****/Monkeyman's: Hi, there. **** (*******) says roughly 2 hours to being complete. The crane will need some time to break down as well so maybe 3 hours. 
  10:08 AM ********: Thanks. Just to clarify, 3 hours from now? 
  10:09 AM *****/*********'s: Yes.
  10:09 AM ********: Ok. Thanks. 
  
  At this time I made a call to ********'s adjuster, *************************, and discussed the billing for the project. 
  
  I told him that we would only be able to remove the portion of the tree that was on the fence and extending onto her neighbor's home and that we would leave the root ball. I communicated to ***** that estimated the cost of our services would be around $7,000-$8,000. I estimated that the cost of removing the root ball would be appx. $10,000. I told him that I would leave the "Debris Removal" itemized cost off of our invoice so that ******** could have the root ball removed by a different company under her policy limits, (we weren't set up for massive root ball removal at that time). I verified with ***** that all costs (not just ours but also the root ball) would be covered under ********'s policy under ******************* Structures". 
  
  ***** approved the estimated charges. I communicated to ******** that our invoice would be approved and paid in full. 
  
  I shared with ******** that I had advocated to ***** that her root ball should be covered under her policy limits and that we would leave the root ball there for another company to remove. We referred a company to ******** and they eventually removed the root ball at a later date. 
  
  10:38 AM *****/*********'s: ***** is good to go. All is well *thumbs up*.
  10:39 AM ********: Thanks for talking to him. What are my actions?
  10:41 AMChris/Monkeyman's: Just sit tight, submit invoices to ***** as they come in. I am going to leave the debris removal item cost open for the next company to bill. We will leave rootball. 
  10:41 AM ********: *likes previous text*. 
  12:13 PM ********: Landscaping is coming out Sat. Will you be back out for work or is it done? I'm noticing this tree leaning on the fence. I'm not sure if it was loosened by the storm or if you remove (much smaller tree). If it was and you will be back out here, I'd like to include that in the work too if possible. 
  12:13 PM ********: *sends picture of **************.
  12:14 PM *****/*********'s: We will only be back to remove logs - landscaping company would be a good fit for that. 
  12: 15 PM ********: Ok thanks. 
  
  We completed the work, and awaited the invoice from the crane rental company so that we could generate the final invoice for ********'s insurance company. 
  
  2/8/24
  
  We received the invoice from the crane company. We generated the invoice for ******** and sent it via email and text. 
  
  ******** sent a response on 2/8/24 requesting that we remove the charge for the wood chipper. 
  
  (This email was buried in our inbox along with hundreds of other emails that we simply weren't able to respond to in a timely manner due to the massive amount of storm damage riddled throughout the region.)
  
  2/13/24
  
  ******** sent a follow up email asking for a response to her previous email. 
  
  (Again, this email was buried in our inbox along with hundreds of other emails.)
  
  2/21/24
  
  *********'s insurance company processes payment IN FULL for our invoice*
  
  2/27/24
  
  ***** (Office Manager) responds to her email requesting that we remove the charge for a wood chipper. ***** clarifies with ******** that there is no charge for a wood chipper. 
  
  2/27/24
  
  ************************** that she is asking about the "Support Truck - Chip Body Package". ******** outlines additional questions regarding the invoice:
  
  "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,
  *******************************"
  
  2/28/25-3/4/24 
  
  Multiple attempts were made to contact ******** by phone. ******** did not answer any of our calls. 
  
  3/5/24
  
  ***** emails asking if she was able to connect with ***** to get her questions answered. 
  
  3/6/24
  
  ******** states she has not connected with ***** and repeats her questions. 
  
  3/7/24
  
  I attempted to call and ******** did not answer. I followed up via email: 
  
  "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,"
  
  I awaited a response from ******** regarding whether or not her adjuster was having issues with the invoice. She did not respond to that question. 
  
  3/11/24
  
  ******** sent a partial payment to us with an explanation as to her logic behind what she felt she was entitled to pay. 
  
  3/18/24
  
  ********'s partial payment is received. 
  
  I attempted to call and ******** did not answer. 
  
  TEXT LOG: 
  
  9:35 AM *****/Monkeymans: Hi ******** are you available now?
  
  9:36 AM ********: Sorry at work. Can you please email me and respond to my questions. Thanks.
  
  9:38 AM *****/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?
  
  9:39 AM ********: Hes aware of my concerns about the pricing.
  
  9:41 AM *****/Monkeymans: Hmmm. Usually they contact me directly.
  I called and left a message for him today.
  Do you by chance have his email?
  
  9:42 AM ********: Please answer my questions directly. Im your customer. This feels really sketchy.
  
  9:43 AM *****/Monkeymans: Sketchy?
  
  9:44 AM ********: Yes. Just respond to my email either the questions. 
  9:44 AM ********: With
  9:44 AM ********: Thanks in advance
  
  9:47 AM *****/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.
  9:49 AM ********: Great. Thank you for answering my questions.
  
  *3/18/24 1:33PM: An email was sent answering all questions in detail. See below.* 
  
  ********, 
  
  I apologize for the delay in getting these questions answered. After fielding over ***** requests for service and responding to as many people as possible, we are now working through the mountain of administrative work. Thankfully, we have hired additional administrative help to assist us and are finally starting to get caught back up. Please find the answers to your questions below:
  
  
  -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.
  
  Priority dispatch is for dispatching our teams and tools at the earliest possible moment. During the storm we prioritized responses by severity as well as access. The roads to your project were frozen and not able to support a crane until the roads started to thaw. As your street is primarily in the shade it was one of the last streets to thaw. As soon as the roads cleared, we responded as soon as the crane was able to. Regardless, this dispatch fee is our standard fee for responding ahead of all of our normally scheduled work. This fee is billed to all projects that receive priority scheduling ahead of clients that had been on the schedule for weeks or months. While you didn't have a hole in your roof, your project required a crane, and it required to be addressed at the same time as your neighbors - there was no reasonable way to remove their portion without removing yours. Both of which were scheduled ahead of hundreds of other projects. If I remember correctly you mentioned that your drainage / irrigation was now causing issues and potential damage? This alone would warrant a priority situation as you have a "Duty of Care" to satisfy your obligations to mitigate further damage to your home per your homeowner's insurance policy. These fees have been paid by 100% of all insurance carriers that have been billed since 2021. They are considered reasonable and customary for the circumstances. 
  
  -What are consumables?
  
  Consumables are abnormal costs of doing business associated with hazardous / emergency / abnormal circumstances. This generally is associated with tools, blades, chains, parts, or other items that are no longer usable as a result of severe weather or abnormal circumstances. We do not bill consumables during normal work. However, during this storm, our company was faced with a tremendous amount of abnormal consumable costs due to circumstances related to the nature of storm work in general. 
  
  -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.
  
  We apologize for the communication errors. We were told that your ****************************** and *******, were communicating with you directly regarding the response date and time. We should have reached out to you directly to make sure. I'm sure that was frustrating having a crane show up and block you in - I really apologize for that. It appears that there was an oversight on the crane billing. The crane billed a total of 9 hours. Crane companies bill from "port-to-port" and have an 8 hour minimum. This means that the crane starts billable time from the time they start moving to the time they return to their shop. In this case, they began at their shop to set the counter weights for the crane before they started out on the road. We split the bill between you and your neighbors in direct proportion for the amount of time that was allocated to each project. However, the total bill should not have exceeded 9 hours.The total billable time includes setting counter weights onto the crane, travelling to the project, setting up the crane, breaking down the crane, and travelling back. While your neighbor had the majority of the crane usage, your total billable time is 2 hours. The invoice that we received was for 9 hours and had your neighbor's address. I have double checked all of our invoices and we did not receive a crane invoice with your address. This means that we billed the 2 hours for your portion as it was reported back from the team assigned to your project. When we received the invoice from the crane company we billed 9 hours for your neighbor's portion in error. The total bill for both properties should have been for 7 hours at ***** and *******'s, and 2 hours for your project. 
  
  -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.
  
  I am sorry that the tree root ball is still in your yard. However, using a crane to remove rootballs is not safe. It is not something that our company does as it is one of the most dangerous operations in tree care. However, as I have stated in a previous email, we have upgraded our ***** grinding equipment and are now able to grind extra large uprooted tree stumps / root *****. I am sure we can save you a considerable amount of money on the cost to remove the *****. It is more likely that the ***** grinding would cost closer to $1500, provided we have access and the terrain will support the large grinder. I spoke with ***** in detail regarding the rootball. We did not bill for any disposal on your project in order to allow for your policy coverage for debris removal to be allocated toward the *****. *****, your adjuster, agreed to this as well as the other costs that we spoke about before we responded. 
  
  -Please adjust the fuel surcharge to reflect the new balance if edited.
  
  No edits were made. 
  
  We have not deposited the partial payment and are happy to shred or void and return the check in exchange for full payment. 
  
  Please let me know if you have any other questions. 
  
  Best, 
  
  *****
  
  4/8/24 
  
  We did not receive any responses from ******** regarding her invoice or any response regarding whether or not her insurance adjuster had issues with the invoice after he agreed to pay it. In ******, a contractor has 90 days to record a Contractor's Lien or they forfeit the right to pursue a Contractor's Lien. We were approaching our 90 day **** and sent invoices with Notice of Intent to Lien via email and text. 
  
  ******** called at 4:45PM and left a message. Our auto responder responded with a text message: "Hi this is Monkeyman's Tree Service, I saw that we just missed your call how can I help?" 
  
  ******** replied with a text: "Please call back."
  
  4/9/24
  
  We attempted to call ******** and, again, she did not answer. 
  
  Our office administrator, ******, sent a text from our company's digital messaging platform: 
  
  3:29 PM ******: "Hello, ****** here with Monkeyman's Tree Service. We did attempt to give you a call but we were not able to reach you at this number as the call did not connect. Is there another number we can reach you on?"
  4:56 PM ********: Please have ***** email me with responses to my questions about my bill. This is my 6th request for a response.
  4:57 PM ********: There were no calls or voicemails. 
  
  4/10/24
  
  *Messaging between company and *********
  6:54 AM ******: May I have your name? 
  8:04 AM ********: *******
  8:48 AM ******: Thank you ********, The last email I see is from ***** to you responding to the questions you had sent on March 18th. I can have him give you a call to discuss if you have further questions? 
  8:48 AM *At this time ***** texts ******** directly from his cell*
  8:55 AM ********: Can you check the email address. I did not receive a response. 
  
  *Texts between ******** and ******
  8:48 AM *****: Hi ********. I answered all of your questions on the 18th. Did you have any other questions?
  8:56 AM ********: Can you look at the email you used? 
  8:57 AM ********: And what email address was it sent from? 
  8:57 AM *****: I replied to an email you sent. 
  8:57 AM *****: *****************************************************
  8:57 AM *****: *sends screenshot of time stamped email from 3/18/24 at 1:33PM*
  9:00 AM ********: *sends screenshot of a previous email from ***** dated 3/7/24*
  9:00 AM ********: This is the last email I have from you. 
  9:00 AM ********: Can you please forward your responses and try again so I can read it? I've searched and it's not in my junk or spam either. 
  9:03 AM *****: Just resent it. 
  9:06 AM *****: Please confirm receipt. 
  9:06 AM ********: Got it
  9:07 AM ********: I'll have to look at this later. Heading into several meetings today. 
  10:53 AM *****: Sounds good. Let's connect tomorrow. 
  
  4/11/24
  
  *At this point ******** has already cashed the checks that were given to her to pay our invoice and has been holding the funds for over 50 days.* 
  
  At appx 7:00 AM a Monkeyman's employee sent me a screenshot of a bad review left by ******** on Nextdoor.com accusing us of not responding to her requests to answer questions and over-billing her by "thousands" of dollars. 
  
  I called ********'s insurance adjuster, *************************, and asked him if he had any issues with the invoice. He stated that he had no issues and submitted payment for our invoice in full immediately after he received it from ********. 
  
  He further went on to disclose that not only did he pay our invoice in full ($7,184.50) but he had also included an additional appx. $10,000 for the remainder of the ***** as it was the amount I had estimated would cost to remove. 
  
  In total, our invoice was $7,184.50 and ******** received $17,534.50 for the total cost of tree removal (less deductible & $500 coverage limit). Payment to ******** for our invoice and the root ball was sent to her as soon as our invoice was received by her insurance company.
  
  The amount that was paid to her was the exact amount I had advocated for on ********'s behalf. 
  
  Text messages were exchanged between ******** and myself over the next hour or so. I informed ******** that I was now aware that she had been paid in full and that she was simply trying to keep funds for herself. Due to that fact, we would move forward with the Contractor's Lein until payment was made in full. 
  
  She argued that she didn't agree with the bill and that we "over-billed" her. I continued to stand on the fact that her bill was already paid in full, and it was approved before we even began work. Again, I stated that if there were any billing issues the insurance adjuster would have contacted us as the provider.
  
  ******** reluctantly paid her bill and sent us full payment. 
  
  She continued to attempt to negotiate a lower bill over the next day. We declined to provide her with a lower bill as the invoice was already paid in full by her carrier. Any delta in funds would need to be paid back to her insurance company. However, the adjuster didn't have any issues with the amount that was billed and he made payment for our invoice in full, immediately. 
  
  ***** was very helpful in providing proof of the payments he made regarding our invoice, as well as the additional amount that we advocated for on ********'s behalf.
  
  Please see attached screenshot from her adjuster, *************************, regarding proof of payments made to ******** for the total amount of our invoice, as well as the additional amount paid for the estimated cost of the root ball. Proof of payment is detailed and outlined on Page 5 of the attached document titled "Final Draft..."
  
  Once again I truly apologize for the delay in getting to this. Obviously having an unresolved complaint with the BBB is detrimental to our reputation and image - especially given the circumstances and nature of this particular issue. 
  
  Please let me know what the next steps are on our end. 
  
  Best, 
  
  *****************************
  
  On Thu, May 9, 2024 at 10:20 AM **************** <**********************************************> wrote:
  Good morning,
  Thank you for contacting your Better Business Bureau regarding complaint ID ********. We are in receipt of your email below.
   
  I attempted to call you back today and left you a voicemail. As an accredited business you are required to be responsive to consumer complaints based on our standard 6 of being responsive. 
   
  We would ask the business to please address the consumers issues with contact with the business as well as their request for itemization of charges as well as their desired outcome for a billing adjustment.
   
  If you have any questions or concerns, please do not hesitate to contact me directly.
   
  ****************
  Resolutions Consultant
  Better Business Bureau
  bbb.org Start With Trust
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  From: ***************************** <*************************************> 
  Sent: Monday, May 6, 2024 9:48 AM
  To: **************** <**********************************************>; *********************** <*************************************>; *********************** <********************************>
  Cc: *****************************************************
  Subject: Re: Better Business Bureau ID ********
   
  Hi *******, 
   
  I left you a voicemail this morning regarding this. 
   
  I am not sure what to do with this one. 
   
  ****************** attempted to keep funds that were invoiced to her insurance company for services rendered after the ice storm. 
   
  After a tree fell on her property, ****************** suffered a covered loss. Our company spoke with her insurance company and conveyed the cost to remove the tree. The insurance adjuster approved the cost before we began work. We sent the invoice for the work after the tree had been removed and the project was completed. The invoice was paid by the insurance company in full.
   
  ****************** received the funds within a couple of weeks but whe withheld the funds for months and refused to speak with us over the phone. She insisted that the total amount was incorrect and that we overcharged her and tried to get a lowered bill, even though our invoice was paid in full by her insurance company. I confirmed that our invoice was paid in full with the original adjuster. He issued full payment of our invoice to ******** within weeks. 
   
  ****************** kept the funds until we sent a Notice of Intent to ****. She reluctantly paid but then proceeded to write bad reviews online - including one with BBB. 
   
  ****************** wanted to keep a portion of the funds for herself and we stood by the invoice (which was paid in full by her insurance company). 
   
  At this point I am not sure if we should be pursuing legal action for defamation. 
  
  What is the best way to address this issue with BBB?
   
  Best, 
  *****
  

  
  

  Customer response

  06/05/2024

  Hello, 
  
  I don't consider this issue resolved.
  
  Regardless of what he verbally convinced the insurance company to cover, the pricing was unethical.
  
  Furthermore, there was never a 'pricing sheet" (it was a menu of pricing with all possible charges- no quantity or fee amount) and there were circumstances of him changing documents and document descriptions after issuing them.
  
  This was the worst customer ********************** I have ever received from a contractor. The level of professionalism once he read my review was incredibly unprofessional. It is not appropriate to accuse me publicly of insurance fraud and share personal details about a customer. It is also not appropriate to harass via text and threaten me. This company works hard to maintain their image publicly. It should be noted, I had other neighbors reach out to me with pricing concerns also. He thinks if he can talk the insurance company into approving it that it is "his money" regardless of the pricing integrity.
  
  My communication on 4/19 to this company:
  
  Hi there, 
  
  I'm just following up on this. It looks like you were able to cash both of my checks and acknowledged that you received them. 
  
  I am requesting that Monkeyman's return $3804.50. Just clarifying full payment was made because of the threat to lien. 
  
  The charges I dont agree with are:
  Priority dispatch- $1000
  Hazardous/Priority tree service $1700
  The tree was on my fence and not a priority. The potential flooding in my yard was a priority but *********'s left the root ball so the emergency situation wasnt alleviated until I could get another company to handle it.
  Support truck- chip body package $1250
  I would agree that could be charged for half of this if indeed this was a truck to haul equipment and not a chipper. Both my neighbor and I are charged for the same truck. This doesn't make sense to charge per project.
  The administrative fees, consumables and fuel surcharges would need to be recalculated on the total of $3125. It is questionable why we would both also be charged for gas. Paying a surcharge % for fuel x2 on thousands of dollars when we live less than 5 miles away is absurd.

• Initial Complaint

  02/12/2024

  Complaint Type:

  Service or Repair Issues

  Status:

  Resolved

  More info

  Monkeyman's Tree service overcharged for emergency tree service. Their prices did not match their emergency quote, as it included extra charges as well as charges for items that did not match the service provided. They came out on January 14, ****, for an hour and a half, with two men. I was charged for FOUR hours of "Priority Tree Service" at $850 an hour. They were not here for four hours as they explained they could only provide the minimum services required since they were only doing "surveys and not tree removals that day". They removed the tree from the house and left it in a "safe state" but a huge mess. I hired another person to cut up the branches and limbs and remove them. While they did provide emergency services, they charged to equipment not used. (Support Truck - Chip Body Package - required to haul chipper in order to process debris - $1250; 5 chainsaws - 1 @ $35, 2 @ $50 each, 2 @ $100 each; they also charged the following which were not listed on the emergency quote I approved for items as needed - Tarp Roof $500, Administrative Fees @ 1% of invoice total - $64.85, Consumables @ 3% of invoice total - $ ******, and Fuel Surcharge @ 5% of invoice total - $324.25). I believe I was overcharged over $2,000 and fully taken advantage of during the winter storm. When I inquired about the charge for line 8 "Support Truck - Chip Body Package", I was told "this can be used to haul the chipper, however it is also used to haul personnel and all tools and would still apply in this case" by Office Manager *****.

  

  Business response

  02/16/2024

  I have addressed the concerns of ********************* directly. She has assured me that the matter is resolved and has agreed to close the complaint. There were no changes in billing. The invoice was already paid in full. 

  Customer response

  02/16/2024

   
  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,
  
  *******************************

*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. ↩