Complaint Review: TruGreen - Acworth Georgia

I cannot express my dismay enough that I experienced with this particular branch of TruGreen, after I have been a loyal customer for years. It is quite clear they do not care anymore. Anyone is welcome to contact me directly about my experiences. It ragnes from not reacting, not responding to any e-mail or phone call, to my latest two month epsiode with their so-called "sprinker services" that I signed up for when they started marketing that via a mailed flier.

My husband and I also fell for the great sales pitch and signed up for service with them last year. Our contract was supposed to be 7 visits beginning in Feb, 2010 (pre-treatment) and ending in Sept, 2010. Also included was 2 lime treatments to help "green up" the lawn. They gave us a total for the entire contract and divided it by the 7 visits so it came out to $87 each time. We had just spent a lot of time and money on our landscaping and thought this would be a great way to keep it looking great. BAD DECISION!

They came out for the first visit and billed me the $87 (which I paid immediately). We live in the Southeast (North Carolina) so, at this point, our grass was still partially dormant, but some weeds were beginning to show. I was told by the technician that I would see the weeds begin to die in 4-5 days. If not, to simply call them again and they would return for free. The weeds remained green and thriving so I called them. I was told someone would come out to re-treat. They never showed.

After 2 weeks, I tried to call again but all phone numbers were disconnected. I finally was able to reach someone at their corporate headquarters in Memphis, TN who assured me that he would email the local branch to schedule my free follow-up. Again, I heard nothing.

Fast forward 2 months... My lawn was now fully grown in but the weeds had not died. I continually called and eventually was able to get through to the local branch. They apologized and said their phone system had been "overhauled" which was why the phones had not been working. They scheduled an appointment with me for a specific date/time (we keep the gate to our backyard locked so I needed to be there to let the guy in). On the day in question,  I ran to the store in the morning, a full 2 hours prior to the scheduled visit. I was gone for only 20 minutes. When I returned, there was a sign in my front yard with a hand-written note taped to it. The note said that because I was not home, they treated the front yard only but said to call and they'd come back the same day.

I immediately called and spoke with a manager.  I explained that the technician had come 2 hours early and then left without completing the job. The manager got the tech on the phone and he confirmed that he had just left my house but would come back after he finished his next job. Once again, they never came back.

After multiple calls over several days, I finally got them to agree to come back. They arrived 5 days after the original visit. My entire front lawn died a week later. My back lawn died within a week after that. I don't think it's a coincidence that they treated my lawn in 2 separate visits and each portion of the lawn died within 10 days of their supposed "weed treatment." In addition, when the tech left after the last visit, I went out to make sure the gate was locked and found that they had broken one of the decorative finials off of the gate. I later found the broken piece hidden behind a fence post in the very back of my yard behind a tree!

Obviously I called to complain about the broken fence and the dead lawn. They offered me nothing! To add insult to injury, they refused to come back and then double-billed me for the front/back lawn visits (as if they were 2 separate treatments). I told them it was not my fault they came early, didn't complete the job and then had to come back. I paid the $87 as I was supposed to and requested a credit for the other $87 which was mistakenly billed. I also insisted they come back to fix the damage to my lawn and fence. (This was all in April, 2010)

I heard nothing from them, despite numerous calls to the local branch and corporate. In June, 2010 I began receiving harassing phone calls from collections trying to collect that $87 that should never have been billed. After explaining my story, I was assured a credit would be applied immediately. Of course it never happened. They continued to call me and harass me, even though I had a "Credit Confirmation Number" from their corporate offices. This continued through July/Aug.

After wasting a ton of time on the phone and via email, I finally received the much overdue credit to my account. However, they never completed the terms of their contract. (Out of the 7 weed treatments + 2 lime treatments I contracted for, I only received 2 total-yard weed treatments and no lime whatsoever). Since they had lumped it all together and then divided it evenly, I was angry that, having paid twice, I technically paid for a portion of the services I never received (i.e., the lime treatment).

It is now April 2011 and they have never come to fix my fence or offered any compensation for the lawn damage. We ended up spending hundreds of dollars to fix what they destroyed.

Best part... I just got a call from them a month ago asking when I'd like to schedule them to come out to renew my contract for this year! HAHAHAHA I told the guy it would be a cold day in Hell before I'd ever allow anyone from TruGreen to step foot on my property again.

This company is the ultimate rip-off! They bill you for services they don't provide, whatever services you DO receive are sub-standard or actually destructive, their customer service is AWFUL and their billing practices are shady. Stay away from TruGreen!