KT Tree Removal

We only went with KT Tree Removal because of the low bid, and unfortunately we learned that you get what you pay for. He came out to quote the job and wrote the cost on the back of his business card, rather than an itemized quote. We called back around 6 weeks later when we felt ready to have the work done. At that time he said he'd call when the weather was OK - he called very suddenly on short notice while I was traveling for business and my husband had to take a half day off of work to be at home. He gave half of the wood from the tree to our neighbors as we discussed at the time of the estimate (it was overhanging their property). However, at the time of the estimate he had stated that his work would include removing the small branches/brush and leaving the large wood stacked in the corner of the yard for us to split. He did not stack the wood, nor did he remove the brush - he just left 18" long chunks of limbs lying around our backyard. Later my father in law and husband had to stack the wood neatly and dispose of the brush. He said to my husband at the time he rendered his services that he would send an itemized bill in the mail, but instead showed up one afternoon at the house asking for payment. I was alone with our toddler and was frightened when a man suddenly appeared in our driveway right after we had pulled in - our neighbors later said they thought he saw him driving up and down the street for a while before we got home. He walked up to my car as I was getting my child out of her car seat and said, "Can you pay me?" All I could think of was to get my daughter safely into the house and away from this guy, so I found my checkbook and paid him. We got an itemized list of the services rendered when I paid him. We have more work that needs to be done on our trees but there's no way we would ever use KT Tree Removal again! Edit 2/2/2013: We received a handwritten letter in the mail from Mr. Balfour, addressed to my husband but written to me, which stated (presumably sarcastically) "Nice review on Angie's List" but that I had ostensibly forgotten some details. He then proceeded to explain his side of the story at length. The thing is, in both his response here and in the letter he blames the entire situation on what my husband told him the scope of the work would be, implying that I was somehow unaware of what the job was supposed to entail. Unfortunately Mr. Balfour seems to have forgotten that I, not my husband, was the one who made the initial phone call to his company and was also the one who was present and discussed the scope of work with him when he came to look at the tree. He gave the business card with the cost estimate to me. My husband was the one home when the work was done, as previously indicated. He was ready to pay upon completion of the work (in cash) as would be expected by a contractor doing work on one's property. Mr. Balfour's written correspondence indicates that he attempted to knock on the door after he finished the job but no one answered, so he came back later to be paid. Their accounts differ, but perhaps we can chalk that up to the fact that the work was done nearly 11 months ago. I still feel that the manner in which I was approached for payment was inappropriate and unprofessional. Perhaps Mr. Balfour can appreciate that a woman arriving home alone with a young child close to dusk will be uncomfortable or frightened if a near-stranger suddenly appears next to the car with no warning. A phone call or a knock at the front door would have been a completely different story. Lesson learned for us, we will use an established full-service tree service in the future and will insist on a detailed written estimate before agreeing to have any work done on our house or property. To be frank this was the only time a contractor has not done so and as I said, it's a lesson learned for us as well. In light of the written correspondence and the fact that the services were provided somewhat in accordance with what was agreed-upon, I have increased the overall rating a little. Professionalism remains an F - particularly after the tone and nature of the handwritten letter.

Terrible.