JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — As we move into hurricane season now is the time to check your trees to see what needs to be trimmed or removed.
But when it comes to hiring a tree-trimming service, you need to be careful.
In Florida, a license is not required and sometimes you may end up with the short end of the deal.
On Monday at Grumpy's Resturant in Orange Park, Alicia and Dan Harrett came to the I'm Telling Ken session with a complaint about a tree company.
"The estimate was $1500, we gave him a check for $750," Alicia Harrett said.
She said the next day the owner of Tree Logic showed up to their North Jacksonville home and worked for three hours.
"He said all of our equipment was stolen last night so they did what they could," Alicia Harrett said.
The company promised to remove three large pine trees and trim several others along their fence line.
"He has done nothing along the fence line," Dan Harrett said.
In fact, the pine tree they were worried about expected the company to cut down, is still there.
On Your Side contacted Josh Parker of Tree Logic.
Parker said his equipment was stolen by a former employee and that made doing his job difficult.
"Since then I showed up three times to do the job and they turned me away three times," Parker said. "I am perfectly capable of doing the job and willing to do the job but not if they're not going to pay me."
Parker said he knows he is in a business where some will take the money and run, as he puts it, but said he is not one of those guys.
"I am not a liar, I am not a thief," Parker said. " We did over half of the work if they are willing to let me, I will come do the job."
Dan and Alicia Harrett said they have heard too many excuses and because of poor communications, they are ready to move on.
"We have lost confidence in him and don't want him on your property," Alicia Harrett said.
When it comes to hiring a tree company there are a few things you can do to minimize a problem:
- Check the company's history.
- Get at least three quotes in writing
- Ask for references from the last three jobs
- No formal license is required for tree trimming in Florida, so be sure to do your homework.
The company began working on the job in April and left behind a pile of debris.
Recently, the Harrett's had the debris moved to the curb for pick up and do not want Tree Logic to finish the work.