- Report: #760331
Complaint Review: O'Briens Landscaping & Design - Getzville New York
Reported By:
cnc1229 -
Buffalo, New York, United States of America
Submitted:
Updated:
-
Author Not Confirmed
Why?
O'Briens Landscaping & Design
620 Campbell Boulevard Getzville, 14068 New York, United States of America
Phone:
(716) 574-4798
Web:
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Business Rating:
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O'Briens Landscaping & Design David O'Brien Horrible Landscaper Getzville, New York
I hired Mr. Obrien to do some landscaping work for me for the cost of $4700.00 of which I have paid him $3700.00. My property did not look like a professional landscaper did the work. His work did not enhance the look of my property or my neighborhood. In fact Mr. OBriens lack of workmanship made my property look neglected, in some cases a hazard, and was not worth the money that I paid him. When Mr. Obrien finally showed up at my house to get a scheduled payment I confronted him about the quality of his work and the mess he left on my property. He immediately became belligerent and started lying about things he had done on my property. I tried to workout a solution with Mr. OBrien to bring my property up to an expectable standard but he was too hostile and stormed out of my house stating that he was going to get his $1000.00 and I would see him in court.
Pink stone bed
Did not level the dirt that he dumped into the front garden from the side before putting the stone on. This dirt was also all clay. The garden is noticeably uneven and to fix it correctly all of the stones have to be removed so the ground can be leveled. In picture 1 you can see that the bed is not level; I have marked the brick line so it can be seen well in the picture. Pictures 1 & 4 shows the unevenness of the bed. Did not use enough border stones to make the area attractive. Did not use enough pink stones to cover the soil. The front garden was not graded correctly at the sides to prevent erosion. No base under the rock border/wall. This will cause them to shift and fall during the freezing and thawing that is common in this area. No weed barrier as Mr. OBrien claimed there was. Weeds and lilies from the side where the walkway was installed were coming up through the rocks. The roots were transplanted when he dumped the clay on to the front bed from the side.
Back beds
Did not dig the area up before throwing down the mulch. Did not pull weeds before throwing down the mulch. Did not use enough mulch to cover the areas Not enough stones to complete it. Used broken concrete as some of the stones. Used broken pavers stones, they were all supposed to be natural stones. Used my stones that were being stored in my garage and by my stairs, about 15 in total. No base under the stone border. Dumped some chunks of clay from the side area into the flower beds. Did not level out the area where he dumped the clay. No flowers.
Sod
Did not complete the area; Only laid sod on 50 sq ft of the 157 sq ft, and had no plans too complete the area as he complained there were to many tree roots
The area is lumpy and not level, the sod over the lumpy parts is currently dying as can be seen in picture 29 at the end of the photos. Dug up and cut many tree roots. This can cause tree branches fed by those roots to die and stress the tree. Did not cut the sod nicely around the tree. Damaged the tree trunk when he was digging up the area.
Fence
Did a horrendous job staining the fence, missed spots with huge noticeable drips. Got stain all over my house, my neighbors house and the sidewalk. Opened both gallons even though 1 was more than enough to cover the whole fence with two coats plus the stain that he wasted by leaving it in buckets on my stairs.
Flagstone walkway
Mr. OBrien claims that walkways and patios are his specialty. The walkway was becoming a bigger hazard everyday. Uneven with many places for people to trip. The flagstones were lifting, causing an even greater tripping hazard. Did not dig the ground to the proper depth. Holes were forming under the flagstones. Lillys were coming up in the middle of the walkway. Rocks were breaking. Put grit all over the basement window sills. Didnt seal the flagstones. Left a pile of grit in the middle of the walkway. Not graded correctly for drainage. Did not use the proper materials or proper amounts to do the job. The wrong type of flagstone, very thin and cheap stones were used when the size of the walkway called for thicker ones. Did not cut the stones to fit the area.
Trash and tools all over my property
Left trash, buckets, and tools blocking the stairs to my front door
My hose was left in a tangled mess on the ground in the back under the hose hanger
Chunks of dirt were thrown behind my garage and a large pile left next to the garage
Started lying and became combative when confronted about the quality of his work
Took my shovel
Pink stone bed
Did not level the dirt that he dumped into the front garden from the side before putting the stone on. This dirt was also all clay. The garden is noticeably uneven and to fix it correctly all of the stones have to be removed so the ground can be leveled. In picture 1 you can see that the bed is not level; I have marked the brick line so it can be seen well in the picture. Pictures 1 & 4 shows the unevenness of the bed. Did not use enough border stones to make the area attractive. Did not use enough pink stones to cover the soil. The front garden was not graded correctly at the sides to prevent erosion. No base under the rock border/wall. This will cause them to shift and fall during the freezing and thawing that is common in this area. No weed barrier as Mr. OBrien claimed there was. Weeds and lilies from the side where the walkway was installed were coming up through the rocks. The roots were transplanted when he dumped the clay on to the front bed from the side.
Back beds
Did not dig the area up before throwing down the mulch. Did not pull weeds before throwing down the mulch. Did not use enough mulch to cover the areas Not enough stones to complete it. Used broken concrete as some of the stones. Used broken pavers stones, they were all supposed to be natural stones. Used my stones that were being stored in my garage and by my stairs, about 15 in total. No base under the stone border. Dumped some chunks of clay from the side area into the flower beds. Did not level out the area where he dumped the clay. No flowers.
Sod
Did not complete the area; Only laid sod on 50 sq ft of the 157 sq ft, and had no plans too complete the area as he complained there were to many tree roots
The area is lumpy and not level, the sod over the lumpy parts is currently dying as can be seen in picture 29 at the end of the photos. Dug up and cut many tree roots. This can cause tree branches fed by those roots to die and stress the tree. Did not cut the sod nicely around the tree. Damaged the tree trunk when he was digging up the area.
Fence
Did a horrendous job staining the fence, missed spots with huge noticeable drips. Got stain all over my house, my neighbors house and the sidewalk. Opened both gallons even though 1 was more than enough to cover the whole fence with two coats plus the stain that he wasted by leaving it in buckets on my stairs.
Flagstone walkway
Mr. OBrien claims that walkways and patios are his specialty. The walkway was becoming a bigger hazard everyday. Uneven with many places for people to trip. The flagstones were lifting, causing an even greater tripping hazard. Did not dig the ground to the proper depth. Holes were forming under the flagstones. Lillys were coming up in the middle of the walkway. Rocks were breaking. Put grit all over the basement window sills. Didnt seal the flagstones. Left a pile of grit in the middle of the walkway. Not graded correctly for drainage. Did not use the proper materials or proper amounts to do the job. The wrong type of flagstone, very thin and cheap stones were used when the size of the walkway called for thicker ones. Did not cut the stones to fit the area.
Trash and tools all over my property
Left trash, buckets, and tools blocking the stairs to my front door
My hose was left in a tangled mess on the ground in the back under the hose hanger
Chunks of dirt were thrown behind my garage and a large pile left next to the garage
Started lying and became combative when confronted about the quality of his work
Took my shovel
2 Updates & Rebuttals
CGD
New York,United States of America
When will the lies Cease?
#2Consumer Comment
Tue, April 10, 2012
I was an unfortunate witness to the latter half of this particular job completed by Mr O'Brien. I say unfortunate, due to the manner in which Mr O'Brien conducted himself. I was contacted as a mediator for Ms Carrigan during the first of 2 payments of the final $1000.00 to complete some other work she wished to have done.
During this exchange, I felt it best to not become involved and to let Ms Carrigan handle the situation. However it became readily apparent that Mr O'Brien, was determined to get money out of Ms Carrigan... Even if it was 'only' $400. He hadn't up til this point, in his 'contract' completed the work which he was originally paid to do. However demanded more money to complete the work, and do a few other things. He became loud, obnoxious and extremely combative. He finally stormed out of the house after realizing that his sub par work, and his lack of business skills got him fired. He left, saying that he would file a lien against Ms Carrigan's home and then sue her in court.
First off. NYS requires that all transactions, include NYS Sales tax. This tax is to be a line item, separate from the total. This was not included. He did not even charge NYS Sales tax.
Second, at the time the job was 'completed' Mr O'Brien was not a legal entity to do business in NYS as he did not have a Tax ID number. Nor did he have a FEIN. (Federal).
Third, his contract was completely bogus. Not so much as his companies name, or address on his contract. This is an actual crime in NYS. Due to his illegal contract, Mr O'Brien, was left with no legal standing to challenge Ms Carrigan in any court.
He also claimed to be insured, however could not produce any sort of documentation. According to NYS Law documentation must be presented if requested.
I spoke directly with his supplier, who told me that the flagstones required for Ms Carrigan's application had to be at least 3 inches thick or they will break. The Stones provided by Mr O'Brien were no more than 1 7/8" inches thick.
It is illegal, for a person to dump dirt, on another persons property with out their consent in NYS. Mr O'brien, did such behind Ms. Carrigans garage.
Ms Carrigan did file a small claims lawsuit in a local court, in which Mr O'Brien was there for. However, when it came to trial, Mr O'Brien was no where to be found. If Mr O'Brien, was the victim here, why did he not show up for trial? He was notified by the court. His attorney was present, however Mr O'Brien was not. He was found guilty as charged as he did not attempt to defend himself in a court of law. As Such, a judgement has been filed against Mr O'Brien, for the original $3,700.00
I hope all involved learned something from this experience. I also hope that Mr O'Brien has rectified his short comings.
David O''Brien
corfu,New York,
United States of America
Landscaping job in kenmore new york
#3REBUTTAL Owner of company
Thu, February 23, 2012
Ms, Carrigan , i have been doing landscaping for over 10 yrs. I learned my work from a well known company called elbers landscaping that has been around since 1919. They are an awesome company and full train all of there employees. I decided to start my own company. I have done very well for myself and grew my company pretty quick. i have done a lot of landscaping for some of the well known restaurants and including designing the landscaping for the biggest developer and most successful man in buffalo ny, Marc Croce owner of the statler city. A gentlemen that has been so successful and has done so much for buffalo NY. I have also done landscaping for some smaller company's and other places for no profit just to make company's more business. When i met ms. carrigan she seemed nice and i figured that i would give her a very fair price for everything. She had saved over 40% of which another company would charge. I used expensive flagstone not cheap like the customer is talking about. It is over 300 a pallet. I get it from Russels Tree & Shrub farm . When i do a job i always use the best materials. The customer stated that the rocks broke that is impossible they are over 3 inches this and they take 2 people to lift, some weigh over 400lbs. Her house looked nice when i was done and was complimented by the customer from day 1 and was continued wow it looks great, how nice etc. She paid me in full wanted more work done, if a person didn't do it right or it looked terrible then why would a customer pay me in full. She told me the extra work that she needed done and i told her an extra 1,000. I completed the work and she said that her work was shut down it was a federal job and she needed to pay me in payments. So i said no problem and i let her pick 2 dates with 500 a piece. I never do that but she was a good customer the whole time . She didn't pay me either date that she picked. She even told the court that she didn't pay me . I am very good at what i do and can provide hundreds of referrals from all over wny. well known people. Thank you very much .
