I contacted Harmony Tree Service to remove a dead Ash tree from our property. I called several companies to quote the removal and my husband and I decided to go with Harmony because they were less expensive than other quotes we received and they were able to schedule the job rather quickly.
Well, folks, you get what you pay for.
Damian and his crew came to our home on time to do the removal. And he did actually remove the tree from our property… BUT while he was doing so, Damian felled the tree on our 2 year old driveway and made several holes in our otherwise new driveway.
Damian was quick to say that he is responsible for the damage done and that he would ensure that our property was restored to the condition it was in prior to Damian and his crew arriving to remove the tree.
He patched the holes with cold asphalt but it was not an acceptable repair for a new driveway and I told him that. I paid him (in good faith) $500.00 of the agreed upon $980.00 charge for the tree removal and he wrote and signed that the balance was being withheld until the conclusion of the damage done to our driveway.
I had several reputable companies come to quote the job to repair our driveway. Most said that we would need a new one (upwards of 2000.00) but one company said they could and would repair it and provided a reasonable quote
I emailed the quote to Damian and he was unresponsive. He then came to my home and surveyed the damage once again and said that if he didn't give me a different company for a lower quote than I had provided he would happily pay the difference owing to my husband and I ($367.50). He once again admitted his negligence in how he took down the tree and once again said he would make it right.
My husband and I waited for his other quotes.
Nothing came.
No word from Damian after several email attempts.
So we went ahead with the repair (as the structural integrity of our driveway was at risk with the damage he caused) and asked Damian to pay us the money we are out of pocket from having paid the asphalt repair company.
Not one word from Damian. Nothing.
So we have repaired our NEW driveway and Damian as well as Harmony Tree Service has NOT stood behind their work or their mistake. They FAIL to honour their word and they are not a company I would ever recommend for any job.
Save yourself the trouble and find a licensed arborist to do whatever job you called Harmony for.
UPDATE (October 2013)
We did receive payment in full from Damian for the repair to our driveway. It took a while but he did pay.
I will change my 0 to a 5 now because he did own up to his responsibility but the truth is that he misjudged taking down the tree and damaged our property. It's hard to recommend them after that. A tree service company should know better. It also took a lot to get him to respond to me or my husband or our lawyer's letters and pay. I really can't give Harmony Tree Service a raving review.
UPDATE 2: Damian's response below is very skewed and not at all accurate.
1) My husband did not cuss. He told Damian very calmly that he would need to restore our NEW driveway to the state it was in before he arrived and felled the tree on our driveway
2) 5 WEEKS elapsed between when Damian said he would send a company to give us an estimate to when we had our reputable company do the repair (also the CHEAPEST quote we received of the SEVEN quotes I got to repair our driveway)
3) Damian never responded to numerous emails. Perhaps he was busy, but he could have responded to our requests.
4) Damian completely IGNORED the lawyer's letter and left me no option but to fairly and honestly review his work here and to launch a complaint with the BBB. Why wouldn't I? Wouldn't you want to have your property fixed if a negligent company damaged it?
5) We live in a semi detached home. Two years ago we got a new driveway along with our attached neighbour as a seam down the middle is an eye sore. The driveway was PERFECT prior to his arrival so clearly any repairs to the damage HE caused would have to include both sides (as in sealing the driveway was done to both sides) so that no seam would be visible to our shared driveway.
I'm sorry but an ARBORIST should KNOW that you don't fell a tree ON A DRIVEWAY!!!! You do it to the lawn. Who does that? Damian and Harmony Tree Service. That's who.
Update 3: the proof of the quotes is now atrached to the photos. The proof was offered to Damian when he came to my home ans he declined to see it. He did state that he would send in other compamies to quote but after 5 weeks of SILENCE we went ahead with the cheapest quote we received.
He can spin this any which way he wants but the fact remains that until I old him of my plan to HONESTLY review his work and a complaint with the BBB, he didn't respnd or take any responsibility for his negligence.
And to clarify Damian's below claim that he "ha a company lined up to do the repair". I asked who. I got no answer. I asked for information and references about this alleged company he knows. He gave me nothing. This is my property and I have an absolute right to know and approve of anyone doing work to my property. Is that unreasonable? To want to know who is going to work on my property?? Of the numerous companies I called to view the damage and quote the job, only ONE said they could repair it. That quote was more than half of the nearest other quote. We tried to be kind and went for the repair even through we will always see the patch where none existed before Harmony removed our tree. So for all the below claims of who he had that offered better prices and such, not one name was ever given to me. Not one reference. Nothing. I wasted 3 days of my life getting quotes from companies. Aggravation and stress. It wasn't worth it. Of all the ash trees that have been removed from my street (a lot!!!!), only Damian's crew caused damage.
- Approximate cost of services:
- $980.00
- Company Response
Felling plan was fine but trunk was not flat as I expected. Accident can happen and I was glad there was no personal injury. Our insurance can cover the damage or we could find a company to repair it. Suzi soon came out and had me Facetime with Rob (Lawyer husband). He was not too pleased with the accident. He calmly explained his position and his emotion towards the driveway being damaged (F*ed up). I apologized, explained my position and intention as the representative of the company and promised them to get it repaired sooner. Half of the payment was to be held until the problem's resolved. I right away looked into insurance and repair cost. The next day, Rob impatiently sent our company a legal letter with a repair estimate for theirs and the neighbour's driveway claiming their rights, asking for the half amount they paid earlier. The document claimed that there are other damages such as “lacerations”. Repair cost was three times the quote I’ve received for the repair. I explained to Rob that chainsaw cannot cut through asphalt but he did not listen. I even contracted a company to perform the repair within two days and notified them. They stayed stubborn and kept asking me to drop the matter and make our company pay them the cash. Suzi told me they’ve received three quotes, with no proof. Plus they wanted their neighbour's driveway redone. Repair cost was not even close to a fair price I know since I've contacted several contractors for the same matter. I did not understand their intention. A legal letter before giving a company a second to make moves to get it right? Back and forth of "I demand money" and "We take responsibility for the damages ourselves" many times. That was the end of our conversation. I cancelled the appointment for repair since they said they won't take it, I let them know that we cannot be responsible for a damage we did not cause. especially when there is no damage besides the one from the accident. Back to our regular schedule, because there was a company circumstance, I had to be at job sites at all times. We were swamped with work and Suzi never called me once. If you were that desperate about immediate response, perhaps a phone call was not a bad idea. We were busy. Later I noticed an email from Suzi. "I now have no choice but to take this to the next level." open up a case with BBB and sue our company and BAD REVIEW unless they get the money. Hands down. I just wanted to get it over with. I replied to her with an email on the same day of the arrival of her email to let her know that I will be sending a cheque (despite the opposition of higher management) that week and did. She did not respond her email nor phone calls. Called Rob, and he says "All I care about is the payment. When we get the money, we will clear everything and remove the review". Okay keep the review. We were clear about our intention since the first moment of the accident. We were bringing over professionals to repair the damage. They turned it down. Tree Service is not an insurance company where in case of an accident, you try to get as much as possible out of it. Because we broke a wood piece on a fence, we cannot not replace the whole 60 feet of fence. Especially when the job that was done for you is at half price that you will never find anywhere else and all of your special requests being done for you. I Sincerely apologize for the accident. Your experience with Harmony Tree Service could've been much better.