the wait is killing me
Unprofessional?
- Thread starter TNTreeHugger
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USMC615
Wood's Tougher Than Woodpecker Lips...
Hopefully the law is there by now, handling and sorting things out. I certainly understand one of the tree guys chiming in, saying it gives a bad rap to those guys...turds like this make any occupation look like ****.
First the visual...
Did you give him the green light to cut that, even at that I would make his insurance pay for the damage. Most deals are that the guy takes the wood with him unless told to leave it.
This is what it looked like when it came down in a storm five years ago...
I don't have a recent photo of how nice it looked with the smaller trees and flower beds around it.
I don't have a recent photo of how nice it looked with the smaller trees and flower beds around it.
Nope, no permission graned. In fact, the last conversation I had with him was the one I told you about this morning - he never called me back at noon like he said he would.
Which was fine with me, I'm thinking, 'Good riddance."
I go to work thinking that's the end of that.
Wrong.
I am closing up the office and here he comes walking in the lobby. I think my mouth actually dropped open, it was such a shock to see him there.
He says to me, "I got that tree cut up for you and put on the brush pile."
Sill in shock, I ask, "What tree?"
He says the hickory laying in the front yard, he cut it up and put it on the pile.
I asked, "What about the root ball?" Oh we moved that too.
I said, "I didn't tell you to do anything. Why did you do that?" He said he thought I wanted him to do that. I reminded him of our phone conversation - the one where I said I was going to make a list and he was going to give me a price.
Then I said I would be off work shortly and asked if he would meet me there. He said okay.
Before I hit the road, I called the Sheriffs dept. and asked them to send out an officer which they did.
So, he shows up and I go out to talk to him. Again I asked him why he did that when I never asked him to - we were still negotiating. He says, "it was a misunderstanding" and wanted to know what he could do to "make it right." I said he could clean up the mess he made. Then I said, let's back up a bit to the phone conversation. I told him I was offended by his remarks. He got all puffed up and denied saying anything offensive to me, I told him I'm sure he must have thought it was a compliment, but to me it was offensive.
Then he asks me if he can move the logs to the property line where they can rot away!!! I told him the entire point of doing all this clean up work was to clean up the place which included reclaiming the overgrown property line.
Then he gets an idea... he says to me, "You know, this is a $500 job, cutting this trunk, moving it and hauling it off..." That's when the Italian in me came out.
I said I never asked him to do anything and if I need to, I'll take him to court. At that precise moment the deputy pulled in the driveway. I said, "Hold that thought, I'll be right back."
So anyway, the deputy says it's a civil matter and then tells HIM that he can take me to court if he feels I owe him money. I keep trying to tell the deputy that there was never any agreement in the first place. Not getting it.
So tree-cutter man says he he will come back, load up the logs and cart them and his equipment off and that will be the end of it. I agree. Everyone leaves.
The more I thought about it, this scam artist could easily take ME to court saying he did this work and I refused to pay him... especially if there is no criminal report filed. So I call the police back and ask if a report was made. No there wasn't. Please send out another officer. Now there is a report.
This guy had a scam in the works right from the get go. That's why he came out when he knew I wasn't home, so he could say he did the work, and try to make me pay him.
So, he came back. Loaded the logs in a dump truck (at night in the dark. What an idiot!) and hopefully, that's the end of it.
As he pulled down the road I hollered out, "And don't f-ool with me again!!
Which was fine with me, I'm thinking, 'Good riddance."
I go to work thinking that's the end of that.
Wrong.
I am closing up the office and here he comes walking in the lobby. I think my mouth actually dropped open, it was such a shock to see him there.
He says to me, "I got that tree cut up for you and put on the brush pile."
Sill in shock, I ask, "What tree?"
He says the hickory laying in the front yard, he cut it up and put it on the pile.
I asked, "What about the root ball?" Oh we moved that too.
I said, "I didn't tell you to do anything. Why did you do that?" He said he thought I wanted him to do that. I reminded him of our phone conversation - the one where I said I was going to make a list and he was going to give me a price.
Then I said I would be off work shortly and asked if he would meet me there. He said okay.
Before I hit the road, I called the Sheriffs dept. and asked them to send out an officer which they did.
So, he shows up and I go out to talk to him. Again I asked him why he did that when I never asked him to - we were still negotiating. He says, "it was a misunderstanding" and wanted to know what he could do to "make it right." I said he could clean up the mess he made. Then I said, let's back up a bit to the phone conversation. I told him I was offended by his remarks. He got all puffed up and denied saying anything offensive to me, I told him I'm sure he must have thought it was a compliment, but to me it was offensive.
Then he asks me if he can move the logs to the property line where they can rot away!!! I told him the entire point of doing all this clean up work was to clean up the place which included reclaiming the overgrown property line.
Then he gets an idea... he says to me, "You know, this is a $500 job, cutting this trunk, moving it and hauling it off..." That's when the Italian in me came out.
I said I never asked him to do anything and if I need to, I'll take him to court. At that precise moment the deputy pulled in the driveway. I said, "Hold that thought, I'll be right back."
So anyway, the deputy says it's a civil matter and then tells HIM that he can take me to court if he feels I owe him money. I keep trying to tell the deputy that there was never any agreement in the first place. Not getting it.
So tree-cutter man says he he will come back, load up the logs and cart them and his equipment off and that will be the end of it. I agree. Everyone leaves.
The more I thought about it, this scam artist could easily take ME to court saying he did this work and I refused to pay him... especially if there is no criminal report filed. So I call the police back and ask if a report was made. No there wasn't. Please send out another officer. Now there is a report.
This guy had a scam in the works right from the get go. That's why he came out when he knew I wasn't home, so he could say he did the work, and try to make me pay him.
So, he came back. Loaded the logs in a dump truck (at night in the dark. What an idiot!) and hopefully, that's the end of it.
As he pulled down the road I hollered out, "And don't f-ool with me again!!
DR. P. Proteus
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To make any sort of judgement on this case I am gonna have to see what you look like in boxer shorts.
And what kind of idiot would clean up that big ass hickory for 500 bucks!?
And what kind of idiot would clean up that big ass hickory for 500 bucks!?
Hopefully you got it worked out and he is gone. But he still left you damage. If not a lot it might be easier to let it go. you shoulda had your husband or boyfriend scare him a little.lol
Ohhhh Dan, yer a bad man.
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DR. P. Proteus
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I think the damage in question was caused by the fallen tree.
That's why I called the cops... if I had one, or the other of what you mentioned do you think I would have had to deal with this moron in the first place???
DR. P. Proteus
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Ohhhh Dan, yer a bad man.
I think you would know better than to egg me on and I also think there is MUCH more to this story than this lady's version.
No, the tree came down five years ago and all that was left was the trunk. Believe me, it really was a pretty sight. In fact I called it my outdoor entertainment center. Had bird feeders hanging from the roots. Now it literally looks like a disaster area. All he did was create more work for me because now I'm going to have to clean up the mess he left behind.
Really? Like what?
Oh yeah. I left out the part where I was actually wearing a thong when he came out for the estimate.
lol, No wonder he was so cooperative.
Actually, what happened with this tree right after it fell, is several people came and cut off what they could for fire wood - for free. Then someone came with a larger saw and a splitter and cut more fire wood - for free. All of the smaller limbs no one wanted to fool with, I dragged to the brush pile myself. I called every logger and saw mill in the area trying to get rid of the trunk. No one wanted it. I hated to see all that good wood rot and go to waste. So I decided to make the best of it and work it into my landscape. I really miss it now that it's gone.
DR. P. Proteus
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Like what? Like how he knew you wore boxer shorts, how he knew where you worked, how there were already a bunch of people involved, how one of the things you mentioned to us just recently is how good you still look for being so old.
GrassGuerilla
Olympic Piss-reving wanna be.
I'll share this with the OP. He who files first, usually wins. Meaning, don't let this guy file a claim for unpaid work done. Take him to small claims for damages first. Not sure what actual damages you'd be able to recover, but it will limit his likelihood of being able to claim you just didn't pay him for the work he did.
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