JACKSONVILLE, Fla — Joyce Hodges is looking for help. She's looking for someone to take care of what she calls a huge financial burden in her front yard.
"I am just hoping something comes of this," she told First Coast News on Thursday regarding her frustration.
She paid $3,000 to East Coast Tree Pro's to cut down a magnolia tree in November. She says an employee told her it was dying and needed to be removed. Hodges paid for the work upfront and says the employee cut off the upper branches and never returned to remove them.
"He needs to do what he was supposed to do, what he got paid for," she said. "If I hadn't paid him, that would be a completely different story."
The owner of the company, Kenny Sims, spoke with First Coast News last week promising to remove the rest of the tree.
Hodges said she also called Sims days later but was told he was too busy to talk.
She's considering taking him to small claims court.
"If he can get by with what he's done to me, he can get by with it with anybody," she said.
Hodges, whose husband planted the tree in the 1950s, feels duped and wants someone honest to finish the work.
Having already spent $3,000, she's understandably upset because she doesn't want to spend any more money.
"They are taking advantage of, I guess, old ladies that don't question enough and that trust people more," Hodges said.
We reached out to Sims multiple times regarding the matter, but we haven't heard back from him since we first spoke to him a week ago.