The Green Industry's Resource Center

akp · #11 05-18-2010, 06:16 PM

What's my recourse in all of this - how do I bring this company down?? I don't want this to happen to anyone else. How can I hurt them?? Yes, I file an official complaint with the BBB and the Attorney General in Michigan, but any other suggestions besides waiting years for small claims court and spending a bunch of money? Help guys!

AllSeasonServices · #12 05-18-2010, 06:18 PM

Like I said before you $ is probably gone...

akp · #13 05-18-2010, 06:30 PM

Yeah, I get that - my money is gone. But how can I prevent this from happening to anyone else??

mdlwn1 · #14 05-18-2010, 07:17 PM

Well..you could spend even more money..or time chasing them. Look into pressing charges against them...let the system do the walking instead of your fingers.

Darryl G · #15 05-18-2010, 07:20 PM

Here in CT you call News 8 and if they like the story, they run it. They did that for an oil company that went under but still accepted pre-pay for the season til the day they closed their doors and a company that sold wood stove pellets but never delivered and some others too. Basically make some noise, but make sure they're not just running behind schedule or there's some miscommunication first.

poncho62 · #16 05-18-2010, 07:29 PM

You could just let your grass grow for a while and put a big sign on it stating why its like that........It will get the message out to your neighborhood anyways.

ajslands · #17 05-18-2010, 08:05 PM

Man you need to Venture over to plowsite once in a while, we've talked about this guy constently and guess how long he'll make it till, I think he mows with his wife and I think (idk for sure) but ithink Jason might know him from back In the 80s or maybe it was metro that met him back then, idk maybe I am thinking of someone else.
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mowerbrad · #18 05-18-2010, 08:26 PM

My aunt's brother had something like this happen to him and his neighbors. It was in a nice neighborhood and a guy (very professionally dressed with company shirts and all) was going door to door soliciting lawn mowing for the year. He said that he'd do everyone's lawns for $500 for the year if they paid up front. Well, most people in that neighborhood ended up paying the guy the $500 for the season thinking they were getting a great deal. The guy would tell everyone that "your neighbor just signed on with us, would you like to as well?". So most people ended up giving this guy the money. But once the grass started to grow, the guy never came. The phone number they used was a fake, so no one could contact this guy or the company. And they did this to a pretty large neighborhood as well.

But this guy was professionally dressed and everything, made him look like a real company employee/owner. These types of things happen all the time, I just don't think you hear about it all the time.

The best thing that you can do to avoid scams like this is by knowing when to walk away. Yes their are guys out there who do this type of work for really cheap but sometimes things can sound just too good.

It might be a scam if....
1) The price sounds way too low
2) They ask for 100% of the money up front
3) The price doesn't reflect the amount of work they will be doing

The best way to avoid scams like this is by contacting the company and talking with the "owner". If it really does sound too good, ask to speak to some references. If it still sounds too good, just walk away and contact a different company.