ComplaintsforBark River Tree Service

• Initial Complaint

  09/09/2021

  Complaint Type:

  Service or Repair Issues

  Status:

  Answered

  More info

  Bark River removed trees from my property on August 30, 2021. While removing the trunk of one tree, they broke one of our fence posts. I have video of it happening. After the men left, I walked to the back where the trees came down and found another fence post broken and lying on the ground. The owner came to see them on August 31st. The owner said it wasn't their fault because my posts were rotten. My posts were old, but they were holding the fence just fine when I took the panels down. They were standing just fine while the branches were removed. On that same day, August 31st, the stumps were ground. On September 4th, when we removed all the ***** shavings, we discovered that they had only ground the stumps down four inches from the grade of the backyard. Their website said they grind down almost 12 inches. When I asked them to do it, they refused and changed their website, but I have a screen shot of what it said and it includes the date!

  Customer response

  09/09/2021

  The trees were removed by Bark River on 8-3-21. On that date, they knocked down two fence posts. On 8-31-21, Bark River came to look at the fence posts (because I called about them) and they ground the stumps. Later that same day, I spoke to the owner, who told me it was my fault that the fence posts broke, because they were old and rotten. I have video of all of the fence posts standing and of a giant tree trunk swinging into one of them and breaking it. The owner said the other broke when they "bumped it with some brush during cleanup." I said I didn't want to press the issue. On 9-4-21, we removed all the bark shavings from the ***** grinding to discover that they had only ground the stumps to about 4 inches below the grade. We were shocked. I looked at their website and took a screen shot of the text on it that states they grind almost a foot below grade. That screenshot was included in the original complaint. I looked at other websites and researched what "grade" means. The general consensus from other tree services is that the grade means the level of the earth in that area, not including the mound of earth that often forms at the base of large trees. So on 9-7-21, I called Bark River and left a message for the owner with the secretary. The message was that the ***** grinding did not go deep enough, as their website states. They only ground about 4 inches below grade. I have included photos of the depth in my original complaint. On 9-9-21, I received a voicemail from the Bark River secretary stating that the owner had stopped out and seen one small space they missed, and that they would not be grinding any deeper. I then called my husband to relay the message, and he went onto their website. He found that they had ALTERED the text regarding ***** grinding. A screenshot of the new text was included with the original complaint. I then called Bark River this afternoon, 9-9-21 and left a voicemail stating my disappointment, and that I would be contacting the BBB. 

  We are not asking for anything more than the service they advertised. I was not even going to make a big deal about the broken fence posts. However, now that I know how dishonest they are, (changing their website so as to NOT have to finish the ***** grinding as described), I'd like to add on that they should have to deduct the price of two fence posts from our charges. I honestly cannot believe that a business would treat a customer in this way. We are hoping that they will complete the ***** grinding to the "foot" mentioned on their website when we hired them without extra charge (as their website now states). 

  

  Business response

  09/16/2021

  We were contracted by the ******* to remove trees and grind stumps. Prior to going out to their property the homeowners removed portions of their fence for access. After removing the trees we received a phone call from **************** stating that we knocked over a fence post. **** ( the owner here)  went out to look at the property and called **************** to say that he looked at the posts and they were extremely rotted ( see pictures). She agreed and said that her husband had also broke one in the process of removal. The owner here offered to pay for the post and **************** said no and that one was broken when removing the post and they had already bought replacement posts prior to us coming out ( our ******* saw them sitting off to the side) After grinding stumps,  Mrs ************ called ( 9/7/21) and said they were not ground far enough. A standard grind for when replacing with grass is 4-6 inches. a deeper grind for concrete can be done if necessary but the ******* said they were planting grass. After the owner went and looked at the stumps (9/8/21)he determined that the stumps could be ground a little more. On 9/8 I notified our ***** grinder that he needed to go back out to the property (see email i sent earlier on 9/9/21) on 9/9/21 Mrs ******* was contacted and told that we would get our ***** grinder back out there. On 9/10 the owner called and said it would be Mon or Tues pending weather. Tues 9/14 our ***** grinder and owner went out to the property to grind the stumps  deeper.  They also ground out all the roots that should have been extra charge. The homeowner exposed the roots and sprayed them white.( see pic) We did an extra ****** worth of grinding and root chasing at no charge. At this time we feel that we have done everything possible and even extra deep grinding and chasing of roots. We feel that the posts are not an expense at this point since the owner admittingly knew their condition and had already bought new posts. **************** also said to **** that there was no need to pay for them since  she admittedly knew their condition ( see pics). If you need additional pictures or details please don't hesitate to call. ************ 

  Customer response

  09/27/2021

  Better Business Bureau:
  
  I have reviewed the response made by the business in reference to complaint ID ********, and have determined that this does not resolve my complaint.  For your reference, details of the offer I reviewed appear below.
  
  

  Bark River Tree Service has finished the job they were hired to do.

  
  

  Am I happy I hired them? No. 

  
  

  Would I recommend them to friends, family, or neighbors? Never. 

  
  

  Do I think they tried to cheat me by saying they dont do deep grinds and then changing their website? Yes. I dont think they would have ground deeper if I hadnt had a screenshot of the original wording on their website or without my complaint to the BBB. 

  
  

  Do I think its unprofessional, underhanded, and appalling that after I told them what their website said they do, they changed the website and then told me, We dont do that? Absolutely!

  
  

  Did they do an extra $650 worth of grinding? Not according to their website when I hired them, since it said they grind almost a FOOT BELOW GRADE and remove all visible signs. The roots were visible when they came to do the estimate, when they took the trees down, and when they came to do the grinding. (I exposed them completely after the first grind, when they said they WERENT coming back, so we could cut them ourselves.)

  
  

  Did I tell them I wanted to plant grass? Never. Thats a lie.

  
  

  Did they even ask what I planned to plant? Never. 

  
  

  Did they apologize for knocking down two fence posts, which although old, were holding up our fence just fine? They did not. 

  
  

  Had we bought new posts? Just ONE for a different post that needed replacing. We put the old one in when they came to work so the new taller one wouldnt be in the way. Now we have to buy two more for the posts THEY broke.

  
  

  Do they deserve an A+ rating from the BBB? ABSOLUTELY NOT!

  
  Regards,
  
  *******************************

*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. ↩